Tuesday, September 12, 2023 | Football, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – When Trey Burton crosses paths with a Philadelphia Eagles fan the reaction is almost always the same.
"Hey Trey!" comes the shout. " 'Philly Special,' baby!"
Burton, as a part-taker in the most famous play in Eagles history (one of the most famous in Super Bowl history, in fact), Burton gladly acknowledges the recognition. Ditto when he gets a shout-out from random Florida fans who recall his history-making afternoon in the "Swamp." Even if he sometimes has to correct them.
"Hey Trey! I was there when you scored those five touchdowns against Kentucky," they have said over the years.
Burton is always polite about it.
"Six, actually."
The date was Sept. 25, 2010. The opponent was Kentucky. Burton, a true freshman and walking orange-and-blue Swiss Army knife, scored touchdowns on runs of 11, 10, 9, 3 and 7 yards out of the "wildcat" formation, and caught an 11-yard scoring pass from quarterback John Brantley in UF's 48-14 defeat of Kentucky. His performance broke the single-season TD record of five set in 2007 by Tim Tebow.
Burton, the 6-foot-2, 225-pounder out of Venice, went on to play four seasons for the Gators, lining up at multiple positions (quarterback, tailback, fullback, wideout, slot, tight end). The half-dozen TDs is a record that may never be broken, but it was hardly his lone memorable moment. There was also that night in Knoxville in 2012 when Burton rushed three times for 93 yards, including TD dashes of 14 and 80, as the Gators came from behind to defeat the Tennessee Volunteers 37-20 in front of a 102,000 at Neyland Stadium.
It's with that flailing of the Vols in mind that Burton is invited back this weekend to serve as celebrity "Mr. Two Bits" when the Gators (1-1) open their Southeastern Conference slate Saturday night against the 11th-ranked Volunteers (2-0) at Spurrier/Florida Field. UF will seek its 16th win in the last 18 series meetings, including a 10th straight at home.
"I haven't been back for a game in a while," Burton said. "I'm going to be so dialed in for this."
Burton's final season with the Gators was 2013, which coincided with the first year the University Athletic Association began the honorary "Two Bits" ritual. After that, Burton spent the next seven seasons in the NFL, playing four years with the Eagles, two with Chicago and one with Indianapolis. The Burton family (clockwise from top) Trey, Yesenia, Ariella (10), Jaxon (8), Kaia (6).
It was in January 2018, his final season in Philly, when the Eagles, with a three-point lead, eschewed a field-goal try and came to the line against New England in Super Bowl XXXIX at Minneapolis on a fourth-and-goal from the 1 and just 39 seconds left in the half. They took the Patriots by surprise when quarterback Nick Foles shifted from behind the center and tailback Corey Clement got the direct snap, began running to his left and pitched the ball to Burton coming on the end around. Burton soft-tossed a touchdown to Foles – "Philly Special" – and the Eagles went on to defeat the Patriots 41-33 in a Super Bowl shootout for the ages.
And now Burton, 33 and retired, will return to his collegiate roots. He'll bring wife Yesenia, plus his three kids – Ariella (10), Jaxon (8), Kaia (6) – for their first college football experience.
"I've been hyping them all week, and they can't wait," Burton said. "They were born to go to a game."
Like their dad, who was born for big moments, in big games and big stadiums.
