From Mount Vernon to the Super Bowl
Former South County Player Is a San Francisco 49er
Alexandria, VA – Some Mount Vernon neighbors recognized a familiar face in the Super Bowl.
Number 48 for the San Francisco 49ers was Alexandria-born South County High School graduate Oren Spencer Burks.
The 6’3” linebacker graduated from South County in 2013 and turned down football offers from Duke, Maryland, and Boston College, among others, to play at Vanderbilt. He was a standout.
Burks signed with the Green Bay Packers in the third round of the 2018 draft. He joined San Francisco in 2022 on a two-year contract.
Burks’ parents, Orlanda and Wanda, who still reside in the area, told WJLA’s Natalie Spala before the game, “It’s crazy. We’ve watched the Super Bowl for years and (then) your son is in it. It just makes your heart race. I’m very proud because we feel we raised him right, and he took a lot of those life lessons from church and community.”
Oren Burks played several sports growing up, including soccer, baseball, and eventually football in high school. “His number one sport is and was basketball,” his dad said. “He’s now playing his number two sport.” Burks has a sister, Whitney, and is married to longtime sweetheart Jocelyn.
