Brandon Burrows had an eventful summer.

In addition to his school work and workouts there was a time where the 6-foot-3, 242 pound linebacker’s spot on the University of Georgia football team was in doubt.

Unhappy with the amount of playing time he was projected to receive, Burrows made the decision to transfer. He had an exit meeting with coach Mark Richt and moved out of his campus apartment. For four days he was in search of a new school, but it was during that respite where Burrows began to believe he had made a big mistake.

“I wanted to get back to playing defensive end in a 4-3 defense,” Burrows said, about the position he played as a member of the Walton Raiders. “But coach (Rodney) Garner called me. He said I owed it to myself, now that I was healthy, to prove that I could play at this level.”

Between the phone call from Garner and some extended time for prayer, Burrows decided to head back to Athens.

He took some good natured ribbing — from his roommates, including former Lassiter and current Bulldogs’ back-up quarterback Hutson Mason – but Burrows said he is happy and grateful to be back.

Now the red-shirt sophomore is just waitng for September 1, the season opener against Buffalo, for a chance to touch the field for something other than a practice for the first time since 2009, the end of his junior season at Walton.

“(The extended layoff) has been honing my patience,” he said. “I’m very ready to play.”

Burrows missed his senior season at Walton because of a knee injury, he red shirted his freshman year, and then lost the 2011 season after having surgery to repair his shoulder. Over the last two years he has added 17 pounds of muscle, and Burrows said he feels stronger and quicker.

“I feel like I am moving the best I ever have,” he said. “It’s nice to have the extra weight. It makes it easier to take on those bigger players.”

Burrows enters the season third on the depth chart at inside linebacker behind Michael Gilliard and Amarlo Herrera. He said his plan is to solidify his play on the field to make sure he is used in the rotation. After a three-year layoff, getting back up to game speed is not the easiest thing to do, but Burrows, who will also see time on the kick-off coverage unit, said he is getting close.

“I’ve been working toward getting more instinctive,” he said. “Everything is making the most sense it ever has.”