Zohn Burden is an assistant coach, pass game coordinator, and wide receivers coach for Duke football in Durham, North Carolina. He joined the Blue Devils in January 2022 and added pass game coordinator duties again in 2026, a role he previously held in 2022 and 2023 under Mike Elko. Burden has built a reputation for developing productive receivers and high-output passing games, and his work at Duke has continued that pattern with multiple all-conference performers and several players climbing the program record book. Burden’s wide receiver room delivered one of its best seasons in 2025. Cooper Barkate became Duke’s first 1,000-yard receiver since 2014 and earned Second Team All-ACC honors after finishing with 72 receptions for 1,106 yards, totals that ranked third and 10th on Duke’s single-season charts. One of his standout performances came against No. 18 Georgia Tech, when he caught 13 passes for 172 yards, tying for the fifth-most receptions in a game in school history. Que'Sean Brown also flourished that season, catching 64 passes for 846 yards and five touchdowns. Together, Brown and Barkate became just the second Duke receiving pair to each top 800 yards in the same season. Their combined 136 receptions ranked seventh best by a Duke duo, while their 1,952 yards ranked third. Burden also coached Sahmir Hagans throughout his Duke career. By the end of 2025, Hagans ranked tied for second in program history for games with at least one catch, fourth for games with at least two catches, tied for fifth in seasons with three or more touchdown receptions, tied for fifth in seasons with five or more touchdown catches, 12th in total receptions, tied for 12th in touchdown catches, and 17th in receiving yards. The 2024 season was another productive year for Burden’s group. Jordan Moore and Eli Pancol became only the second Duke tandem to record eight or more touchdown receptions each in a season, joining Jamison Crowder and Conner Vernon from 2012. Both Moore and Pancol earned Third Team All-ACC honors. Moore, who also received Duke’s Carmen Falcone Most Valuable Player Award, finished with 55 catches for 861 yards and eight touchdowns, while Pancol had 60 receptions for 798 yards and nine scores. Moore ended his Duke career ranked tied for fifth in touchdown catches, seventh in receptions, and 10th in receiving yards. Brown also emerged as a redshirt freshman with 41 catches for 455 yards, finishing among the top five on Duke’s freshman receiving charts, while Hagans added 47 receptions for 413 yards and three touchdowns. In 2023, Burden coached Jalon Calhoun and Moore into one of the program’s most effective receiving duos. They became the first Duke pair since Conner Vernon and Donovan Varner to each post 600 or more receiving yards in back-to-back seasons. Calhoun recorded 50 catches for 666 yards and four touchdowns, while Moore led the team with 62 receptions for 835 yards and eight scores. Moore earned Second Team All-ACC honors and ranked among the conference leaders in receiving touchdowns, receptions, receiving yards, catches per game, and receiving yards per game. Calhoun finished his Duke career tied for third in program history in receptions and fourth in receiving yards. Burden’s first season in Durham also showed his development skills. Calhoun earned All-ACC recognition after catching 62 passes for 873 yards and four touchdowns, ranking among the ACC leaders in catches and receiving yards per game. Burden also helped Moore transition from quarterback to wide receiver during fall camp.
In his first season as a starting receiver, Moore caught 60 passes for 656 yards and a team-best five touchdowns. Together, Moore and Calhoun became one of only 14 Duke duos ever to both top 600 receiving yards in the same season, and Duke was one of only two ACC teams with two players over 650 receiving yards that year. Before Duke, Burden spent the 2021 season at Maryland as wide receivers coach. The Terrapins went 7-6 and closed with a 54-10 win over Virginia Tech in the Pinstripe Bowl. Burden coached two All-Big Ten selections and had seven receivers reach 300 or more yards. Rakim Jarrett led the team with 829 receiving yards and also ranked among the conference leaders in receptions and touchdown catches. In 2020, Burden founded G.A.M.E. Academy, which provided football training, recruiting guidance, and tutoring support for middle school and high school student-athletes during the pandemic. Burden previously spent five seasons at Virginia Tech from 2015 to 2019. He coached wide receivers in 2015 and then spent the final four years overseeing the running backs while also contributing heavily to recruiting. The Hokies won 40 games during his tenure, claimed the 2016 ACC Coastal Division title, and reached bowl games in each of his five seasons. In 2015, he helped develop Isaiah Ford into Virginia Tech’s first 1,000-yard receiver, as Ford posted what was then a single-season school record with 1,164 yards. Later, Burden’s running back groups helped the Hokies average more than 170 rushing yards per game, including a productive 2018 rotation that combined for 1,626 yards. Earlier in his career, Burden had two stints at Old Dominion. From 2012 to 2014, he served as passing game coordinator, recruiting coordinator, and wide receivers coach, helping produce three 1,000-yard receivers in Antonio Vaughan, Larry Pinkard, and Nick Mayers. In 2013, Old Dominion ranked fourth in the FCS in both scoring offense and passing offense and seventh in total offense. In 2012, the Monarchs led the FCS in scoring offense, total offense, passing offense, and touchdown passes while winning the CAA title and advancing to the FCS quarterfinals. Burden also helped Nick Mayers set school single-season records in catches, receiving yards, and touchdown receptions while earning All-America honors. In 2011 at Richmond, Burden developed Tre Gray into an Associated Press Third Team All-American after a record-setting season. During his first stint at Old Dominion from 2007 to 2010, he coached defensive backs and helped build the roster for a startup program that went 9-2 in its first season on the field. Burden began his coaching career in 2006 at Fork Union Military Academy, where he coached wide receivers and defensive backs while also serving as passing game coordinator and recruiting liaison. There, he worked with future first-round NFL Draft picks Kareem Jackson and Anthony Castonzo. As a player, Burden was a three-time All-Big South wide receiver at VMI and a four-year letterwinner. He finished his career with 162 receptions for 2,101 yards and 12 touchdowns and graduated ranked among the school’s all-time leaders in receptions, receiving touchdowns, and receiving yards. A native of Virginia Beach, Virginia, Burden earned his degree in psychology from VMI in 2006. He and his wife, Toren, have seven children: Langston, Zaria, Aaron, Zamir, Eli, Hosea, and Zen.
