Travis Burton, a Division III All-American edge rusher who played at Guilford College in 2025, will join Livingstone’s defense this coming season.
Livingstone, which plays in the CIAA (D2), announced the transfer news during National Signing Day activities last week.
Burton earned third-team All-America honors from D3Football.com after a monster campaign with the Quakers. He proved one of the most disruptive pass rushers in the nation, recording 12 sacks and 26.5 tackles-for-loss – all in just nine games.
Burton finished with 81 total tackles. He had 3.5 sacks against both Greensboro College and Gallaudet. He recorded 4.5 TFLs in both of those contests.
Burton is from Pikeville and played high school football at C.B. Aycock.
He’ll be part of the defensive rebuild at Livingstone, which saw multiple players transfer to Division I programs this portal cycle after the Blue Bears posted a 5-5 record in 2025. Among the players exiting Salisbury include:
- EDGE Kenyon Garner: CIAA Defensive Player of the Year and D2 All-American transferred to Florida Atlantic (FBS)
- DB Dallas Johnson: To South Alabama (FBS)
- DL David Jones: To Mississippi Valley State (FCS)
- DL Jordan-Lebron Downey: To New Mexico State (FBS)
Livingstone coach Sean Gilbert plucked Garner from Okeechobee, FL and he developed into one of the most feared defensive ends in the state (he was our NC Football News’ D2 Defensive Player of the Year).
Gilbert’s current Livingstone defensive recruiting class leans heavily on players from the Sunshine State. Here are the defensive additions – transfers and high school signees – announced by the Blue Bears last week (including stats/information where available):
- LB Jamie Freeney: Played at Miami’s Killian High in Florida, posting 79 tackles, 27.5 tackles-for-loss and 7 sacks, per MaxPreps.
- DT Exzavier Burns: 340-pounder with 3.4 GPA recorded 72 tackles, 19 TFLs, 14 sacks for SFA Academy in Florida.
- DE Brandon Jeudi: Another Miami product who recorded 68 tackles and 8.0 TFLs for True North Classical Academy, which won 10 games in 2025
- DT Maurice McArthur Jr: Amassed 101 tackles, 30 TFLs, 4 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries for SFA Academy
- LB Javier Moss: Two-way player earned 82 tackles and made 23 tackles-for-loss with ABF Academy in Hialeah, FL.
- LB Louisdens Paul: Played at Miami Springs and Miami Central high schools during his prep career
- DB Bryce Nutall: All-conference performer for Minnesota West, a Division III junior college program
- DB Malachi Ruffin: Former Sanderson High and Louisburg College standout
- DB London Blash: Picked off two passes and recorded 33 tackles for Baldwin High in Milledgeville, GA
- DT Bernard Oliva: Former Killian high standout played for ABF Academy in Florida in 2025, drawing D1 and D2 offers
- DT Raelon Ray: 6-3, 330-pound “trench monster” hails from Luella High in Locust Grove, GA
- DB Tristan Smith
Livingstone boasted the top passing defense in the CIAA last season and ranked fourth in total defense. The Blue Bears forced 15 fumbles and recovered 12 – tops in the league in both categories. They recorded 31 sacks, third-best among CIAA teams behind Fayetteville State and Virginia Union.
While Livingstone didn’t always come away with a win in 2025 (3-4 CIAA), the Bears were a pesky foe to move the ball against. With Gilbert reloading his defense for 2026, the same could be true again this season and Livingstone could again challenge for an upper-division league finish.
2026 Blue Bear Signing Class pic.twitter.com/EUHY3uWbPN
— Livingstone College Football (@Livingstone_Fb) February 5, 2026
