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This week, junior college (JUCO) All-American defensive end Derek Burns Jr. of Kilgore Junior College announced his decision to commit to play college football at Troy University.  

Burns was a star football and basketball player at Richardson High School in Texas, earning All-District honors in both basketball and football as a high school senior. He also earned District Defensive Player of the Year.  

Final Tape!! #JUCOPRODUCT pic.twitter.com/LL92bKzmJx

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— Derek Burns jr (@derekburnsjr) December 15, 2022

The 6-foot-6-inch, 250-pound edge rusher started his college career at Kilgore Junior College and earned JUCO All-American honors as a freshman with 35 tackles, 17 tackles-for-loss and 9.5 sacks. This season, Burns also earned All-Conference honors with 44 tackles, eight tackles-for-loss, four sacks and a forced fumble.  

Burns is rated as a three-star prospect by 247Sports and is ranked as the No. 62 overall JUCO prospect and the fourth ranked JUCO edge rusher in the country. He committed to Troy over offers from other schools like Texas State, Marshall, Massachusetts, Old Dominion and more than 10 FCS programs.