‘He’s got what it takes’: New Myrtle Beach quarterback Burger growing into marquee role
Myrtle Beach coach Mickey Wilson thought his new quarterback, Ryan Burger, would grow into the starting role over the summer.
He didn’t realize how much the junior signal caller would grow physically, sprouting from just over 6 feet a season ago to nearly 6 feet, 4 inches going into this season.
“Physically, he looks grown and has done a great job working in the weight room over the (time away) from football,” said Wilson. “He’s up to 178 (pounds) this year, last year he was 138 or so. That showed me his commitment to the process of becoming a better player.”
A season ago, Burger had the opportunity to learn from Luke Doty, who now suits up for the University of South Carolina. However, Burger was thrust into duty when Doty went down with a season-ending hand injury in the opening round of the Class 4A playoffs. A sophomore with little experience to his name, Burger piloted the Seahawks to the state championship game, rattling off victories over Lakewood, North Myrtle Beach, Airport and Hartsville before falling to Wren in the season finale. In the playoffs, he passed for 881 yards and eight touchdowns, completing over 50 percent of his passes.
Wilson credits the quick successes to having Doty in Burger’s ear, something that isn’t an option this season.
“Last year he was kind of thrown in the mix, into the fire so to speak,” Wilson said. “He had Luke (Doty) as almost another assistant coach out there, showing him the way a little bit. This year, he’s really got a grasp of what we’re doing and you can see his confidence growing each day going into this season. He’s a quiet young man, but he leads by example and with hard work.”
The confidence Wilson referenced is palpable to one of Burger’s top targets, JJ Jones.
“Ryan has been one of our leaders all summer,” the four-star wide receiver said. “We’ve gotten together to throw and get timing down during the COVID times where we couldn’t get together as a team and he’s been great. You can see the work he’s put in physically, I’m still trying to get him in the weight room as much as me, but his mental game is on a different level this year.”
The Myrtle Beach offense, on paper, is loaded with talent across the board. Burger’s role this year is as much point guard as opposed to carrying the load offensively. With Jones, a University of North Carolina commit; Adam Randall, a top Class of 2022 receiver with multiple Power 5 offers; and a host of other experienced players, the pressure isn’t on Burger to be perfect on each play.
Those targets played a big role in the Seahawks’ season-opening 69-0 win over Darlington in the opener. Burger threw five touchdown passes — with Jones and Randall hauling in two each.
“He’s got some good targets on the outside, there’s no doubt about that,” Wilson said. “(Jones and Randall) have incredible catch radiuses and can make a lot of plays in this offense. (Ryan is) a Power 5 (conference) quarterback and throws the ball downfield as good as any young quarterback I’ve been around. This season, he’s going to have every opportunity to make big plays for us.”
As the quarterback for the No. 1-ranked program in Class 4A, back-to-back Lower State champions, and replacing Doty’s production, Burger will have plenty of pressure on his shoulders. Jones has confidence in his guy.
“We know what Ryan is made of,” he said. “He showed us last year in the playoffs that he’s got what it takes to play at this level. With all the work he’s put in over the summer, I expect him to be even better. If we want to accomplish our goals, especially getting back to Columbia and winning a title, it’s going to take all we’ve got.”
This story was originally published September 29, 2020 at 5:36 PM.