PLAYER spotlight

henry burton - offensive line

Hi Henry. Let’s start with what first attracted you to football?

I remember going round to a friends house when I was 9 or 10 and playing a Madden video game and playing with Mike Vick on the Eagles and remember thinking it was a pretty cool game. I then decided to start following the sport from that point on and eventually playing it when I got to university.

And what brought you to the Giants?

Having played it through university the next step up really for me was to play at the adults level. The Giants had talked to me and members from within the Sabres had mentioned going, so I decided to try it out and ultimately decided I wanted to play for the Giants for the next season.

How does playing for the Giants compare with university football?

It’s certainly a step up, I feel. The speed of which the game goes at and the physical strength of the opposing players is higher than that at the university level. However once I’d adjusted to those differences I felt comfortable playing at the Giants.

And what do you like about the Giants this year?

Coming to the Giants new this year I felt instantly welcomed and embraced into the culture and the team. On top of that the resilience shown from our team through injuries or poor results means we always come back stronger and I feel like the foundations of a really great team have been planted.

What about on a personal level – how is this season going for you?

Personally I feel this has been a strong season for my rookie adult season. I’ve yet to let up a sack or been flagged. However there is certainly room for improvement. The O Line as a whole has been averaging incredibly high rushing yards per attempt. Personally, I need to get stronger to win more dominantly in the run game.

It’s only be one season so far, but do you have any highlights?

There’s certainly been a lot of highlights this season, from winning our first game after a slow start or bouncing back after losses, but the highlight has to be winning the game against Chester. I did not play in the first fixture but completing a 103 point turnaround within a month and a dominant rushing game was a culmination of hard work by the team and the payoff was definitely the highlight of the season. How are you finding Coach Lilley and his offensive scheme?

Working with Coach Lilley has been very good this season. Having been brought into the sport with him as my coach at the Sabres it’s nice having familiar faces taking the next step up in the game. I feel like as an offence we’re very good at having open discussions about what’s working and what isn’t and in particular on gamedays how to plan and adjust for what we are seeing.

Speaking of coaches, how is it working with Coach Monaghan and the O Line?

Oli has significantly improved my game since I’ve arrived at the Giants. When

I look back at tape from the start of the university season the comparison is almost night and day. I feel my kick step and hand placement in pass pro have improved and leveraging myself better in the run have been big improvements since Oli started coaching me. Furthermore, helping with a transition from tackle to guard as well.

What are your thoughts on the Knights game?

I feel pretty confident going into the next game against Northants. In the first fixture we played the game was incredibly close and when I look personally at our team then compared to now, we are significantly better and more refined than in that first game. Furthermore, taking the energy and momentum from the win against Chester I feel sets us up nicely and hopefully we can finish the season at .500. You’ve also been involved with the GB program this year. How has that experience been?

It was an amazing experience to be a part of. It came very unexpectedly, 3 days before the penultimate training, so learning the whole playbook was certainly a challenge going into it. For me getting to see what the best of the best in this country have to offer was brilliant to see and to go up against. I felt like I was able to hold my own against the players there but again the quickness of the game and strength of the opposition was a step up that would take some adjustment. And what does Henry Burton do away from the game?

I’ve recently finished my masters in aerospace engineering at the University of Sheffield so for the most part over the season my time and focus has been going into university work. Outside of university and sport I try to travel as much as possible, in particular meeting up with friends who now live abroad. player info

Finally, tell us something that fans of the Giants would never know about you.

I lived and studied in Buffalo, USA for a year and will be moving to Australia to play over there following this season.

Name: Henry Burton

Position: Offensive Guard/Tackle

Number: 78/65

University/College Team: University of Sheffield Sabres

Years Playing: 4

Giants Playing Debut: 2023 versus Northants Knights

Favourite NFL Team: Philadelphia Eagles