Southeastern Oklahoma State University Athletics

Football (1974-75)

Few athletes in Southeastern sports history could equal Randall Burks when it came to creating excitement on a football field. He was a state sprint champion whose gridiron play featured cross country touchdowns on pass receptions, kick-off returns, and punt returns.

Burks was born in Garvin, Oklahoma, on August 22, 1953. He attended the Idabel schools where he established himself as one of Oklahoma’s best high school athletes. He set the state indoor 60 yard dash record with a time of 6.1 seconds. He won the state 100 yard dash in 1970 and 1971.

As a junior in 1969, Randall scored on an 86 yard kick-off return the first time he ever touched a football in a high school game. Five years later at Southeastern, he scored on a 91 yard pass reception the first time he had touched a ball in a college game. In 1976 while playing with the Chicago Bears, he scored on a 55 yard pass reception the first time he caught a pass in a regular NFL game. He was an electrifying football player.

Burks attended Oklahoma State University before transferring to Southeastern for his junior and senior years. He was the OIC dash champion both years. In football he was twice All-Conference and in his senior year, he was the Oklahoma Intercollegiate Conference and NAIA District 9 Player of the Year. He was also selected to the NAIA All-American team and voted Southeastern’s most outstanding athlete for 1975.

Burk’s senior year statistics were outstanding. He led the district in pass receiving yards with 913 yards. He averaged 19.8 yards per reception. He also led the kickoff returns with an average return of 36.9 yards. He scored eleven touchdowns.

Randall was the first small college player taken in the 1976 professional football draft. The St. Louis Cardinals drafted him in the eighth round. He was released with the last pre-season cut and later signed and played the 1977 season with the Chicago Bears.

Randall Burks was a great athlete. He brought honor to his alma mater. On February 4, 1989 Southeastern honored Randall Burks with the induction into the Athletic Hall of Fame.