Notre Dame Football: What does Joshua Burnham bring to South Bend?

Notre Dame football continues to stockpile talent within their 2022 recruiting class, this time adding linebacker Joshua Burnham.

Notre Dame football has landed one of its top linebacker targets in 2022, Michigan linebacker Joshua Burnham. The Irish staff, especially defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman, made it known that Burnham was going to be treated like a 5-star prospect the minute he was announced as the new defensive coordinator.

The previous staff had offered Burnham back in June of last year so obviously, Freeman wanted him to know that he was just as wanted, if not more, by him and the current staff at Notre Dame. It was going to come down to Notre Dame, Wisconsin, and Michigan which was his final 3.

The opportunity and combination Notre Dame offers on the field and off was just too big to pass up for Burnham. He didn’t want to wait any longer to pull the trigger for the Irish and he made it public on St. Patrick’s Day.

It should be stated again that Freeman absolutely was a huge part of pulling Burnham to the good guys and Notre Dame officially landing one of their prized recruits on defense. Burnham holds 13 offers from the likes of Alabama, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Michigan, and many others.

What will Burnham bring to the Notre Dame football program?

The 6’4 215-pound linebacker is going to bring major athleticism. Burnham plays both sides of the ball, quarterback on offense, and obviously a wreaking machine at linebacker on defense. He has great size and combines that we quickness and speed.

He could be another great linebacker for the Irish, especially once he adds some weight to his frame and strength coach Matt Balis gets ahold of him, which I expect will happen. The potential is scary, in a very good way.

What people tend to look at for defensive guys is always athletic ability and size first but because Burnham plays both sides of the ball, his IQ is what’s really impressive and what takes his game up a notch than most linebackers in this recruiting cycle. The ability to recognize plays and read pre-snap keys is huge.

Then just add his athleticism last but surely not least and this kid could be special in blue and gold. Burnham patrolling the middle of the defense for years to come is extremely exciting and something I can’t wait to watch. With Burnham making his commitment official the Irish now have 11 pledges, five defensively, and six on the offensive side of the ball.

With those 11 commits the Irish now sit as the No. 2 class in the country on 247Sports behind Ohio State.

Burnham joins Irish commit, Nolan Ziegler, in the linebacker room, where I’d expect at least four commits when the class is all said and done. I could see Marcus Freeman and the staff pushing for five though depending on who exactly remains on the outside looking in.

The linebacker talent Notre Dame is in contention for is just outstanding. It’ll be very hard to turn away some guys but we will see how that unfolds. As for now, Burnham is most definitely the head guy leading this group and someone I could see being a massive addition to Notre Dame for years to come.