UNW Football Wide Receiver Beau Burk Works Out in Front of NFL Scouts - University of Northwestern Athletics (2024)

Football 4/11/2024 3:44:00 PM David Pederson

ST. PAUL, Minn.- If there is one thing that football fans in Minnesota have gained a great understanding for over the years, its great play at the wide receiver position. Minnesota Vikings fans spent a decade enjoying the services of Cris Carter and Randy Moss; and the entire state has spent the last four years doing "the griddy" as an homage to their latest pass catching hero, Justin Jefferson.

The University of Northwestern Football team, whose Reynolds Field stadium is a mere 15 minutes away from the Vikings' home of US Bank Stadium, has had great receiver play in their program as well throughout the years. Chad Ruskinovich had a 200 yard receiving game against Eureka back in 2011 and, up until this year, he had the record for most receiving yards in program history with 977 yards in 2011. Jeff Thune is in the record books with 15 catches in a game with Mike Thate and Kyle Thomforde right behind him with 12 reception games (Thomforde did it two separate times). It was a bright, sunny day in Reynolds Field's inaugural season (2014) when Joe "Juice" Sutton hauled in four touchdown catches in a game against conference rival Greenville.

Among these legendary Eagle pass catchers (and the countless others who were not listed above) is a new face. It's the face of an Eagle wide receiver wearing the purple number 10 who has spent the last three seasons etching his name into the UNW Football record books and turning heads around the country in NCAA Division III Football. In fact, his performance has been so impressive at Northwestern that he has garnered attention from the league that houses Minnesota's beloved Vikings: the National Football League.

Beau Burk (Ogilvie, Minn./Ogilvie) is the Eagle donning the number 10 and he has turned himself into one of the best wide receivers Northwestern Football has ever seen. In 2022, in a nonconference game against Augsburg, Burk set the school record with 222 yards receiving. He broke his own record in 2023 with 14 catches, 289 yards, and three touchdowns. Burk's 2023 season was one for the ages finishing with 84 catches (school record), 1,250 yards (school record), and seven touchdowns.

After his record breaking junior season, people outside of Northwestern and the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) started to take notice. Two NFL scouts (one from the Minnesota Vikings and one from the Chicago Bears) put on an event called the "Rising Senior Day" at Bethel University. Two days before the workout, Burk got a call from UNW Football Head Coach Matt Moore. The Chicago Bears scout had reached out to the Eagle head coach about his star wide receiver. The late notice wasn't going to stop Burk from working out in front of a pair of NFL scouts. He made the short trip down Snelling Avenue to show the National Football League what he could do.

Burk gives a lot of credit to the UNW Football program for helping shape him into the player he is today. "Northwestern Football has helped me as a player by working with me and pushing me to improve in all aspects of my game," Burk said. "My coaches do a great job of putting me in a position where I can succeed and my teammates around me doing their jobs allows me to do that."

Coach Moore considers Beau to be one of the most special players he has coached in his tenure at UNW, not just because of his abilities on the field but also because of who he is as a teammate and a person. "Beau is one of the most exciting players I have ever had the joy to coach," the Eagles' head coach said. "He has the rare ability to impact a game at any time and to impose his will on a game. At the same time, he is humble enough to do whatever the team needs him to do. He has an immense amount of talent and is also such an exceptional teammate and person. It is special to have a player who everybody loves being around and can create a 'wow' moment on the field at all times."

One of those teammates that loves being around Beau Burk (Ogilvie, Minn./Ogilvie), and loves throwing him the football, is the man who has been the Eagles' starting quarterback for the past year and a half. Caden Cantrell (Snowflake, Ariz./Snowflake) broke the Eagles' single game passing record in the same game that Burk broke the receiving record. The two have become one of the most lethal combinations in UMAC football. "As a quarterback, it's comforting knowing that I can throw the football to someone with the ability that Beau has," the UNW gunslinger said. "His consistency, reliability, and play-making make my job much more manageable. I could throw to Beau with my eyes closed because he would be in the right spot every time."

Although it is unlikely that the UNW Football coaching staff would appreciate Cantrell throwing the ball with his eyes closed (even if it is to the best wide receiver in the conference), the Eagles' coaching staff does appreciate having Burk and Cantrell as leaders on their team. Cantrell gives a lot of credit to Burk for helping shape the quarterback as a leader: "Beau Burk (Ogilvie, Minn./Ogilvie) is the epitome UNW Football, leading not only with his words but also his actions on and off the field. Beau pushes everyone around him to be better. Since arriving at UNW, Beau has played a significant role in my leadership development and what it looks like to love football."

The man dialing up the offensive plays for the Eagles' offense is offensive coordinator, Boomer Roepke. Coach Roepke has experience coaching professional football players, having coached NFL stars Brock Purdy and Breece Hall during his stint at Iowa State. When asked about what makes Burk such a special football player, Coach Roepke referenced his work ethic. "Beau is a player that lets his actions speak for him. His consistency is one of the things that makes him special. Beau is consistent with his hard work ethic every day. We have had to pull him off the field at times to get some rest because he never wants to miss a rep in practice or in a game. Beau doesn't complain, is never late, and does a great job in the classroom. He has a championship mindset."

While the prospects of working out in front of NFL scouts may be exciting, Burk is working hard to stay in the moment and turn in a good day of spring practice every day for the UNW Football team. The junior is heading into his senior season with an already legendary resume but is still hungry for more. No matter what opportunities present themselves off the field or outside the University of Northwestern Football program, nothing is going to distract #10 from his main goal:

"After coming up just short last season, I really want to help UNW Football win another UMAC Championship."- Beau Burk (Ogilvie, Minn./Ogilvie)