Notre Dame Commit Josh Burnham Is A 'Special Talent'

Notre Dame landed a big pledge from star linebacker Josh Burnham on Wednesday, and the Fighting Irish commit has a bright future ahead of him

Author:
Eric Rutter
Publish date:
Mar 19, 2021 6:00 AM EDT

On Wednesday, Notre Dame reached up into Michigan to land a big 2022 commitment in Traverse City (Mich.) Central linebacker Josh Burnham. Though the star linebacker grew up a fan of the Wolverines, the 6-4, 215-pound tackling machine picked the Fighting Irish, simultaneously pushing Notre Dame's class to the No. 2 position in the country according to 247Sports.

Last season, Burnham started at quarterback and linebacker for the Trojans, and he was dominant. Despite the hardships of Covid-19 and limited offseason team activity, Burnham accounted for a 64% completion rate, 1,347 passing yards, 17 touchdowns to only four interceptions while also picking up over 1,000 rushing yards and 19 scores on the ground according to his coach. On the defensive side, the Notre Dame commit racked up 76 tackles, five tackles for loss, two sacks, one interception and one defensive touchdown.

From that stat line alone, it is abundantly apparent that Burnham was a key piece to Traverse City Central's 9-2 record, but numbers simply do not tell the entire story. As Burnham's high school head coach Eric Schugars relayed, the future Golden Domer is the consummate teammate both on and off the field.

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“He enjoys his teammates and being around them,” Schugars told Irish Breakdown. “He's a humble kid. When he walks the halls, it's not as a Division 1 qualified recruit. He's humble, he displays humility and he's a high character kid. Our students in our building, our players like him. They don't just like him, they love him. He's just a likable kid.”

Throughout the recruiting process, Burnham had a multitude of offers from quality programs to choose from. Outside of Notre Dame, schools such as Alabama, Ohio State, Iowa, Michigan State and Ohio State all extended scholarships, and the in-state Wolverines were in heavy pursuit from the jump. Despite that interest, Burnham really connected with the culture and the environment down in South Bend, which made his college decision crystal clear.

“That's why he fell in love [with Notre Dame],” Schugars said. “When he went and visited and saw what the program was about and the culture. We try to build young men here through the game of football. That's what we do as coaches and what our program is all about, so he kind of saw that at Notre Dame too as the next step in going through his process as a young man and a football player. He exemplifies the characteristics we want out of our football players in our program. He's a humble, high work ethic kid who is a great student athlete.

"The fact of the matter is he cares about his teammates," continued Schugars. "That's something that you can't just manufacture. It's something that our culture hopefully supports and builds, but then he's got to take that as a leader and embody the culture and values we like out of our program and spill that over. Others gravitate towards him because he does express that love for his team. When he saw [Notre Dame] in person, that's what he loved. He loved the environment, the nature and the culture of giving and serving and being there for your teammates.”

For as much as playing football at Notre Dame appealed to Burnham, his elite potential appealed to the Fighting Irish just as much. Burnham is a versatile defender that is difficult to gameplan against, and his enthusiasm for the sport really jump off the page according to his coach.

“He is a phenomenal player,” Schugars explained. “One, the physicality he brings. As a linebacker, you have to be a physical player, but when he runs to the ball he puts his pad level down. He thrives off the physical part of the football game. That's one area that I think sets him apart. Once he gets going, he just loves to be physical.

"He played quarterback for the first time in a game this year," continued Schugars. "Last year, he didn't have to play [quarterback] as a running back. The fact that he took that on with not having seven-on-seven... it wasn't a normal Summer where we got to do a lot of stuff like going to camps and going against a lost of teams. We couldn't do that because of Covid.

"Showcasing his talents offensively was in our first game. We knew what we had in a running threat and things like that, but the way he executed the first game throwing the football and showing his dynamic talent, it was lights out watching him play that first game. He took the top off the defense a couple times with some of the throws down the sideline. We knew we had something special, but he really showcased it then. That's to his credit and to our coaching staff's credit in getting him ready because we didn't have anything to go against except ourselves. The Friday night lights turned on and boom, he went. That's a credit to him, his film study and his natural ability. He really enjoys playing the game.”

The type of tenacity for the sport is not an element that can be taught, but it is a quality that Burnham exudes. As he continues to develop and grow into his body, the ND commit will only improve on the field, and he is hard at work to take his game to the next level for his senior season.

“I really think for him, we always joke around that as a high school kid you have to eat more to grow, and to think he's 6-4 and 215 [pounds], he's always wanted to gain weight and be stronger,” Schugars commented. “We always tease that he can eat so much and still not gain weight, so that's one area physically he's working on. You mature at different stages. He just grew another inch, and he's actually putting on some weight and he works hard in the weight room.”

The work that Burnham is putting in during the football offseason while also starring on his school's basketball squad will likely pay dividends this Fall, and it bodes well for his career as a member of the Fighting Irish. To put it lightly, Notre Dame picked up a commitment on Wednesday from a player that is a special talent on the field and an infectious, team-oriented individual off of it.