WATCH: Rivals100 WR Caleb Burton's early morning workout

AUSTIN, Texas - On Thursday morning, BuckeyeGrove had our first opportunity to speak with Rivals100 wide receiver Caleb Burton. In case you missed our one-on-one interview with him, click HERE to read what Burton had to say about Ohio State's recruiting efforts in Texas, who he's pursuing, and much more.

Before that conversation transpired, however, we got to see Burton on the field running routes and catching passes.

Based on what we saw yesterday, it is safe to say Burton should likely climb back up in the rankings and potentially wind up as a top-three player at his position. The 6-foot, 162-pounder showed off excellent route running skills, displayed reliable hands, and had a quick burst and cuts on his routes.

Click the video above to see our video compilation of Burton's workout, and read our assessment of his skill set down below.

I truthfully did not know what to expect from Burton on Thursday.

For one, he is only a few weeks removed from being fully cleared for football activities after missing almost all of his junior season with a knee injury. Also, he's only had a few opportunities to get to work with new quarterback Bo Edmunson, so they're still working on their chemistry.

None of this impacted Burton, however, as he demonstrated why he was a big get for the Buckeyes back in November.

Burton is what I would like to call an efficient route runner as he does not waste any time on unnecessary movements or head fakes. He trusts that with his quick feet and how fast he gets in and out of his cuts, he will be able to get past the opposing defensive back with ease.

With long legs and speed to match, Burton bursts out of his stance, chops his feet at the top of his route, and beaks toward the middle of the field or the sideline quick and in a hurry. We'll get to his deep threat ability in a minute, but Burton can absolutely be a possession receiver capable of moving the sticks with short five-to-10-yard routes.

Although this should not come as a shocker since we're talking about the sixth-ranked wideout in the nation, Burton has very reliable hands. He was catching passes for roughly 30 minutes in mist that led to the football being slippery, but I only counted one dropped pass from him during this time.

Projecting way into the future, it will be interesting to watch him and Quinn Ewers team up together at the next level. Ewers throws a tight spiral and Burton is an automatic reception any time a pass is in his catch radius, so they should make for a lethal pair.

There were no defensive backs covering him during yesterday's workout, but Burton did a great job at tracking deep passes and hauling them in with no problem. He wasn't running at game speed yesterday and has yet to run a 40-yard dash, but Burton's father, Charles, told me that his son can fly.

Charles said that a couple of track and speed coaches have watched Burton, and they believe he is running around a 4.3 or 4.4 40 time when he's on the field.

Overall, I came away impressed with the balance Burton displayed, the discipline he has to his craft, the speed he showed coming off of a knee injury, and how he reeled in all but one of the catchable footballs thrown in his direction.

One last thing worth noting is that Burton's work ethic should be applauded. On top of rehabbing and getting back to full football activities in less than six months, Burton was out at the field at 7:00 a.m. on Thursday.

He definitely has all the tangibles and intangibles you hope to have in a No. 1 wide receiver.

Stay tuned to BuckeyeGrove.