BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer

MADISON, Wis. — In doing the math, Braelon Allen calculated that he was in the sixth grade when Noah Burks was redshirting as a college freshman. Their difference in age has occasionally come up in conversation since Allen and Burks dress next to each other in the Wisconsin locker room.

"People make fun of you being the old guy," said Burks, 24, speaking for himself, UW's oldest player. "I've got a teammate, Braelon, who's 17, seven years younger than me, and his locker is right next to mine. He's the youngest guy, I'm the oldest guy. We always joke about that."

Good-natured "old guy" needling aside, Burks listed some benefits, "I've got seniority over everybody. Another plus is I've been doing this for a long time now. I kind of know the ropes. That helps me understand my role and bring other guys along. I really can't think of too many negatives."

It's not like he has applied for an AARP card. Or chased anyone out of his front yard.

Asked if he feels that much older than most of his Badger teammates, he said, "I wouldn't say I feel my age. I still feel like a college student. People always say, 'Try and stay in college for as long as you can because you're going to miss these times when it's all over.' I've always taken that to heart."

After 47 playing appearances, the most on the roster, and 25 starts, you could say Burks' game is coming of age in his sixth year at outside linebacker. Last Saturday, the Badgers blanked Illinois, 24-0, and Burks led the defense with six tackles (1.5 TFLs, a partial sack). He also had three QB hurries.

"The first couple of series, they came out and threw the ball three times (each series) and we were expecting them to run," Burks said of an Illinois offense that had rushed 50 times for 336 yards the week before in a 24-14 win over Charlotte. The play-calling reversal did not fool the UW defense.

In the first quarter, the Illini had two three-and-outs on six offensive plays, all passes. Their first possession of the second quarter started from their own 3-yard-line. Burks had a hand in the first two stops on tailback Josh McCray. Along with Collin Wilder, he nearly tackled McCray for a safety.

"Once we had them back on their goal line, that's when I really started to feel comfortable," Burks said. "That's when I started getting in gaps and making plays down there. I felt like I was rolling. When you're making plays early on, you kind of get that mindset, 'I can do this all game.'"

In 2019, he had a similar feeling at Ohio State. It was his signature performance. The week before, in an upset loss that season to the Illini, Burks felt like he had begun to turn the corner even though it didn't show up in the stat sheet. He played with that newfound confidence in the Horseshoe.

"When Coach (Bobby) April talks to me, we talk about that Ohio State game a lot," said Burks, who had a career-high eight tackles, including 2.5 TFLs, and 1.5 sacks against the Buckeyes. "After this one (last Saturday at Illinois), he told me it was probably my best career game here.

"But the challenge is, 'How are you going to build off that?'"

To sustain, Burks knows that he must continue to be aggressive and energized in his execution. As he was at Illinois, where he combined with inside linebacker Leo Chenal on a stunt that foiled the blocking scheme and resulted in a 9-yard loss and sack of quarterback Brandon Peters.

"Before, I was always a drop kind of guy, just get your job done," he said. "Now, I feel a lot more comfortable not only in securing my gap but going to another one and getting involved and making plays. When I'm playing at my best is when I'm playing with high effort and getting to the ball."

April knows exactly what he's going to get out of the 6-foot-2, 245-pound Burks, who had six tackles and a 41-yard interception return in the 2020 Duke's Mayo Bowl victory over Wake Forest. It was his second career pick. Two years ago, he had a pick-six, a 68-yard touchdown return against Northwestern.

And yet, No. 41 largely gets overlooked by the fan base.

"He's just a consistent rock," April said of his steadiness and reliability. "He's going to be the same guy every day. He's going to give great advice. He's not that loud, boisterous guy. But he's going to give you his thoughts and honest opinion on how he sees it, and what he thinks of what you're doing."

In this respect, Burks has been an ideal mentor for bookend outside linebacker Nick Herbig. Although he didn't have at least one contact behind the line of scrimmage for the first time in five games, he had three pass breakups at Illinois; a sign of Herbig's developing coverage skills.

"Our relationship has grown a lot and we've both gotten to understand each other's personality a lot more, it has been great," Burks said of the 6-2, 227-pound Herbig. "When he first came in as a freshman, he was really eager and I was kind of like telling him, 'OK, slow your roll here.'

"I never really thought we'd have a true freshman be able to start at outside linebacker just because of what we have to handle mentally — we have so many responsibilities and jobs — and for him to do that is huge. The kid loves ball, he loves working. You can tell when he flips his switch.

"It's really a testament to him (April) for Nick being able to play right away as a freshman. No way he could do that without Coach April pushing him. He challenges all the guys from top to bottom to be on top of their stuff mentally. He's honestly probably meant everything to my development.

"I would argue that we have the hardest practice of anyone. In our individual period, we're sprinting out of the gates and it's really a slugfest. I've been able to learn so much from Coach April. He's a very passionate guy. He's got a lot of fire. And he can fire you up."

Burks will have plenty of incentive for Saturday night's game against Army. A large group of family and friends from his hometown of Carmel, Indiana, will be in attendance. Plus, his younger brother, Logan Burks, is a 6-6, 205-pound freshman wide receiver for the Black Knights.

"He (Logan) has really accepted the challenge," Burks said. "He was very under-recruited, he didn't play a lot in high school. But he did the camps and because he was an athletic freak, that's where he got noticed by Army. I've been incredibly impressed with his development so far."

Logan Burks, who went to the West Point prep school last year, has been operating mainly on the scout team. It remains to be seen if he will be dressed against the Badgers. But he will make the trip. There's a five-year separation in classes for the brothers, so they've never played on the same field.

Noah Burks cited his competitiveness; something that's serving him well in the service academy.

"It's a totally different breed," he said. "They're breeding soldiers. That's what they're doing."

Wisconsin safety John Torchio can attest to that. He was recruited by Army to play defense.

"I didn't take a visit, but I got pretty close with one of their coaches, I obviously respect the military," said Torchio, who's from Lafayette, California. "I considered Army but that really wasn't the route for me. One of my good friends went to West Point and he's coming out for the game."

Everybody on the UW defense is well aware of the challenge presented by Army's vaunted triple-option attack. The Black Knights, coming off a bye, rank No. 1 nationally in time of possession (40:05), No. 2 in rushing offense (318.2 yards per game) and No. 3 in total first downs (84).

"There's really not going to be much of an individual show, it's really going to be team driven," Burks said. "It's going to take all 11 guys to be on top of their stuff. 'Assignment-sound' means reading your keys and knowing which guy you're responsible for in the backfield. There's zero room for error."

The same can be said of the 2021 season as the Badgers try to crawl out of a 1-3 hole. Illinois was the first step, the first Big Ten win. But in the earlier words of a sage, old veteran, Burks, "How are you going to build off that?" The answer will come under the lights at Camp Randall Stadium.