2015 Football
Roster
Tanner Burch
- Height:
- 6-3
- Weight:
- 248
- Class:
- Redshirt Senior
- Hometown:
- Savannah, Ga.
All-America linebacker who missed the entire 2014 season with injury … Named second-team 2015 Phil Steele / Josh Buchanan All-Big South … Will anchor the Gardner-Webb defense in his third season as a starter in 2015 … Smart, physical tackler who understands the defensive scheme and is invaluable as the unit’s signal caller … Has enjoyed a tremendous career and is one of the league’s top performers at the position … Has made 237 career tackles, with 220 of those coming as a starter in 2012 and 2013 … Needs only 41 tackles to move into the top-20 in Gardner-Webb history … Key piece to one of the top linebacker units in the Football Championship Subdivision in 2015.
2014 at Gardner-Webb: Redshirted. 2013 at GWU: Led the team for the second-straight season in tackles, posting 107 hits … Ranked second in the Big South Conference in tackles per game … Added 7.0 tackles for loss (minus-13 yards) and a half sack … Posted two quarterback pressures … Made 10 or more stops in five different games … Had 13 total tackles in a 12-10 win over No. 11 Richmond (9/14) … Made 11 total stops the next week in a 3-0 win over No. 8 Wofford (9/21) … Had 10 stops (six solo) and 2.0 tackles for loss at Charlotte (10/5) … Had 11 total hits vs. Liberty (six solo), despite playing the entire game in a cast … Made 10 stops and had 1.5 tackles for loss in the 27-10 win over No. 12 Charleston Southern (11/16) … Averaged 9.5 tackles in four games against top-25 opponents, despite playing the entire second half against No. 6 Coastal Carolina with a broken hand. 2012 at GWU: A third-team FCS All-America selection by College Sports Madness following the season … Named first-team All-Big South Conference after leading the league and ranking No. 2 nationally with 12.6 tackles per game … Finished the season with 113 total tackles in nine games … Added 7.5 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, two fumble recoveries and a pair of pass break ups … Collected at least 10 tackles in eight of the nine games he started … Missed the final two games of the season after a fourth-quarter injury suffered vs. Coastal Carolina (11/3) … A testament to his impact on the defense, Gardner-Webb gave up 55 points in the fourth quarter of the three games Burch was injured … GWU allowed just 8.5 points per game in the fourth quarter with Burch in the lineup in 2012 … Made 51 solo stops on the season … Had 15 tackles in the season opener vs. No. 10 Wofford (9/1) … Had 16 hits vs. Samford (9/15) … Made 10 hits in the first half at Liberty (10/6), and finished with 13 and a sack for the game … Had a career-best 18 total tackles (10 solo) and 2.0 tackles for loss in the win over Mid America Nazarene (10/13) … Key tackle for loss on fourth down sparked the GWU win … Had 13 tackles at No. 10 Stony Brook (10/20) … Made 12 tackles (eight solo) and had a sack vs. VMI (10/27) … Made 11 tackles (eight solo) in three quarters of action vs. Coastal Carolina (11/3) … Averaged 14.0 tackles per game vs. top-10 teams … Lone game with less than 10 hits on the season came at Big East member Pittsburgh (9/22), when he finished with five. 2011 at GWU: Played in all 11 games, seeing reserve action at middle linebacker … Collected 17 total tackles (nine solo) and 1.5 tackles for loss … Made a season-high six total stops (one solo) at Ohio (9/10) … Had five hits (three solo) at Wake Forest (9/17).
High School: Played final two seasons at Savannah (Ga.) Christian Prep under Coach Donald Chumley … Led team to a 13-2 record in 2010 … Named to the U.S. Air Force/MaxPreps Small Schools All-America Team … Named Class A Georgia Defensive Player of the Year by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution … Earned Class A All-State honors from the GACA and Atlanta Journal-Constitution … Selected to play in the annual GACA North/South All-Star Game … Savannah Morning News Area Defensive Player of the Year … Region 3-A East Defensive Player of the Year in 2010 … Collected 133 tackles, 20.0 tackles for loss and 7.0 sacks as a senior … Helped Raiders to a 14-1 record as a junior … Named first-team All-Greater Savannah by the Morning News … Registered 93 total tackles and 11 tackles for loss … Earned second-team All-Greater Savannah honors from the Morning News as a sophomore and All-Region 2-AAAA recognition at South Effingham (Ga.) High … Chose GWU over Jacksonville State and Georgia Southern.
