Marble Falls linebacker Kaleb Burden signs with Texas Lutheran

JENNIFER FIERRO • STAFF WRITER

MARBLE FALLS — When it comes to dedication, few players are willing to pay the price quite like Marble Falls High School senior Kaleb Burden.

Burden and his father, Marble Falls assistant football coach Danny Sanchez, drove 150 miles round trip from the family home in San Antonio for work and school each day.

So it’s no surprise that Burden earned an opportunity to play college football. He signed his letter of intent to play at Texas Lutheran University in Seguin.

Each morning, the father and son woke up at 4:30 a.m. to ensure they were on time for early lifting, film sessions and practices at Marble Falls.

Sanchez said, to his son’s credit, he only had to wake him once to get dressed to leave the house.

Burden said the early morning sessions were challenging at first.

“I’ve grown accustomed to it,” he said.

Mustangs defensive coordinator Chad Bishop said coaches knew they were welcoming a fantastic coach when Sanchez agreed to join the staff in May 2015.

But after meeting and watching Burden in compete in his year at Marble Falls, Bishop said of Sanchez, “Yeah, he’s all right,” as laughter broke out during the signing.

“Kaleb made an immediate impact and proved to be one of our leaders,” Bishop said. “He did a fantastic job. We weren’t blessed with a whole lot of depth (last season). When you’re suiting up only 30, you have to have kids who can play.”

The linebacker, who also played fullback, had 62 total tackles, 13 tackles for losses, and was second on the team with six sacks.

And though he did a lot of traveling the past several months, including playing with the Mustangs 7-on-7 team in June, Burden kept his grades up while participating in football, powerlifting and as a thrower for the track-and-field team.

Burden, who will major in business, said he chose Texas Lutheran because he “felt that it fit me the best.”

jfierro@thepicayune.com