"It's just unbelievable to be here," Rex Burkhead tells Local Profile. "I can't thank everyone enough for inviting me out to this."
This is the 2024 Invited Celebrity Classic, held at Las Colinas Country Club and featuring 40 celebrity golfers competing alongside the pros to raise money for local non-profit organizations. And while some of the players, like baseball Hall of Famer John Smoltz, might have traveled far to participate. Burkhead, who won a Super Bowl ring with the Patriots, did not. He grew up in Plano and still calls Collin County home.
"We love it here," Burkhead says. "I mean, my parents are still here. My brother and his wife are around here. And, of course, my wife went to Plano Senior High, and her parents are in Plano. It's home. It's where our family is."
"And, you know, it definitely helps to have some babysitters around whenever you need them."
Burkhead was born in Kentucky, but moved to North Texas when he was six. "My dad ended up getting a job down here," he says. "My mom got a job as a teacher in Plano and is actually still teaching to this day."
At Plano Senior High School, Burkhead played varsity football all four years, going to the state semifinal playoffs at the old Texas Stadium. He also played basketball and as a freshman, he was part of the team that won state.
"You can't beat Friday night lights — running out in front of the people you grew up with, your family and your teachers," he says about his time on the Plano gridiron. "Nothing beats that."
After high school, he played football at Nebraska. And he was ready, thanks to his time at Plano Senior High.
According to Burkhead, "There are a lot of similarities between the Nebraska tradition and the Plano tradition, just in having so many great teams and the way we ran things, from our coaches, the accountability and the standards we had were very similar."
But it wasn't only the program itself, but the teams Plano played.
"Of course, when you are playing at one of the top-level high school football teams across the nation and against Euless Trinity, Allen High School and those types of schools, it definitely prepares you," he says. "You know some of their defenses are all D-1 players, so it gets you ready."
Earlier this year, Burkhead retired after ten seasons in the NFL. "I've been coaching my boy's youth sports team, and it's something I've always wanted to do," he says. "As far as workwise, I'm not sure yet. I don't think I would coach college or pro. But maybe at the high school level? That would be a lot of fun. Or maybe in the sports performance field, training kids. We'll see. I'm weighing some options now."
During his career, Burkhead has been involved in the community and dedicated to giving back. "Something preached to me by my parents when I was growing up was to give back when you get that opportunity," he says. Burkhead launched the Team Jack Foundation after Jack Hoffman, a pediatric cancer patient in Nebraska, asked for a photo. Burkhead befriended Hoffman and brought him on the field to run for a touchdown during a 2013 Cornhusker game.
"The foundation has now raised over $2 million for pediatric brain cancer research," he says. "So I definitely will continue to be a part of it." This fall, Burkhead will be part of a Team Jack Foundation event at Canyon Creek Country Club in Richardson.
The 2024 Invited Celebrity Classic will be held from April 19 to April 21. For more, see the official site.
