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Brown's Leading Man
Created: 8/9/2004 10:39:48 AM
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 In film, successful leading men often share similar characteristics. They’re strong leaders, admired team members, parts of family legacies and fight for what they believe in. That’s how it appears on-screen anyways.
Not much differs on the field. In football, each show is a contest of strength and determination, and it’s during these performances that Brown senior captain Will Burroughs has learned about leading an offensive line, bonding with his fellow Bears and what it means to win. His hard work and dedication in this role earned him honorable mention All-Ivy honors last season and continues to offer promising results for the team.
The Bears’ offense had been an aerial showcase for the last 10 seasons, with record-setting quarterbacks and wide receivers. Last season, with Burroughs leading the way for a young offensive line, first-team All-Ivy running back Nick Hartigan exploded for 1,498 yards of rushing and the offense averaged 408.5 yards of total offense per game.
With Hartigan and the entire offensive line returning, the Bears could pile up yardage at a record pace this season. Burroughs credits hard work, along with the fact that Hartigan and the O-line have a fantastic bond off the field, as a reason for their success.
“We all get along, we hang out and have a good time,” Burroughs said. “Nick acts like a brother. And I think that his positive attitude, along with the offensive line, a group of guys that was out here last year and was already good friends, only helps the chemistry. We can really challenge each other to be better, and it really paid off in the end.”
The loss of quarterback Kyle Slager could pose a problem, but, like any leading man on the field, Burroughs feels that last season’s success will help take some pressure of the new signal-caller.
“A new quarterback is going to bring his own style into the huddle, and it’s just going to fire us up even more,” Burroughs said. “If anything, it’s going to take the pressure off him and put more pressure on us to make him feel as comfortable as he can in his first couple of games.”
The Bears enter the 2004 campaign after winning four of their final five games last season. The wins included last second triumphs over Dartmouth and Yale.
Burroughs said those wins, along with the Bears teamwork, will play a huge role in cementing the team’s chemistry for the season ahead.
“The way we won a couple of games, particularly Yale and Dartmouth, it was unbelievable,” Burroughs said. “As an offensive player, the defense creates opportunities for us and we actually capitalize on them or we put together a long drive and give the defense a break when they need it. That’s just something that is really special in terms of everyone coming together on the sidelines.”
Even some of Burroughs’ younger teammates are already forming solid team relationships by spending time practicing with the upperclassmen in Providence this summer.
“I feel real positive (about 2004),” Burroughs said. “We have a strong group of guys who are coming back and that’s always important. Also, the best part of the Yale and Dartmouth games was that we had a lot of younger guys there. They really got to feel that excitement, and I think that really helps in terms of staying positive over the off-season.”
 So what else has this rising senior been up to this off-season? Burroughs admits that whenever he finds a break in his busy schedule, he may be found relaxing with either a remote control or bookmark firmly by his side.
“I’ll watch any movie, no matter how good or bad it is,” the self-proclaimed film fanatic said. “I like all types of movies, from (comedies) Dazed and Confused and Almost Famous, to old school samurai movies like Seven Samurai.”
Not content just watching the big screen, Burroughs, a native of Yuma, Arizona, also says he is trying to catch up on some novels he may have recently missed.
“I’m trying to be more proactive with my reading,” Burroughs said. “I’m just trying to catch up on some of the books that a lot of people have read and said were really good. I recently read Tuesdays With Morrie and The Da Vinci Code, and the next book on my list is Angels and Demons.”
During the school year, it’s not all fun and football for this busy student however.
When Burroughs isn’t browsing the aisles at Barnes and Noble or enjoying Asian cinematic classics, he finds time to participate in the Bears’ Big Brother program, in which he and his fellow teammates work with a local kindergarten group. This fall will also begin Burroughs' second year as co-president of the Brown Student Advisory Group.
“My co-president and I run the meetings and go over any new NCAA and Ivy League issues. We work with our administrative advisors about the dates of the events along with any new ideas,” Burroughs said. “We also just started working with the ECS, which is our undergraduate council of students. We try to point out to some of the other students that we are just regular kids like they are; we’re just trying to work to integrate more into the school, so there isn’t a stereotype of athletes.”
While he's unsure of what exactly life holds for him after his years at Brown, Burroughs has a few ideas going into his senior year.
“I’d like to extend my football career; just at least to have some fun,” Burroughs said. “You get kind of depressed thinking about this being the last season of a big part of your life, so I’m definitely going to look for some post-college football options after my senior year.”
If family tradition has any say in his decision, the senior might be heading West, to Green Bay. His grandfather, Jack Vianisi, is an NFL Hall of Fame scout credited with bringing Bart Starr, Paul Hornung, and LB Ray Nitschke to the Packers in mid-1950s.
--Eddy Lentz
Connect to the 2004 Ivy League Football E-Guide
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Related Schools: Brown
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Related Sports: Football
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*This Article has been archived.*
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