Why Joshua Burnham is playing vyper after Al Washington recruited him as a linebacker elsewhere
Notre Dame defensive line coach Al Washington’s stance on sophomore Joshua Burnham has changed since he recruited the four-star linebacker to Ohio State during the 2022 cycle. The former Buckeyes linebackers coach, Washington, evaluated Burnham at that position, putting any transition to the defensive line on the back burner.
But Washington has changed his tune on Burnham since he joined the Irish in 2022 to coach the defensive line.
Burnham, the No. 8 linebacker recruit in 2022 according to the On3 Industry Ranking, has switched to vyper — Notre Dame’s version of a weakside defensive end.
Over the years, players with Burnham’s profile have also changed positions with the Irish. Jordan Botelho was a top-150 recruit as a linebacker. Junior Tuihalamaka was the No. 19 linebacker in the same class as Burnham.
Each is now a vyper and has the build to contribute this upcoming season.
“The vyper position, historically, when you look at defenses, that’s a guy who has linebacker traits,” Washington told reporters on Wednesday. “(Jordan Botelho) is a great example. He was a rover at one point. He was a linebacker at one point. Now he’s in that role. Junior, same deal. Josh Burnham, same deal.
“Ability to play off the ball and be comfortable is really important. It speaks to what you want to be able to do. We have packages where we have four down linemen. But that position has been a guy who has traits off the ball and on the ball. The more comfortable that guy is off the ball, the more he can do.”
How Burnham has transformed his body to play on the defensive line
As a true freshman, Burnham did not receive as much run as Botelho and Tuihalamaka at vyper in 2022. All three were stacked behind Isaiah Foskey, who finished last year as a consensus All-American. But unlike Botelho and Tuihalamaka, Burnham didn’t debut until the Boston College game, where he assisted on a tackle for loss.
In fairness, Burnham didn’t have the profile to face collegiate offensive linemen regularly. And he’ll be the first to admit it.
When Burnham arrived in South Bend, he estimated he weighed 215 pounds. Now, the Notre Dame roster lists him at 6-foot-3 ½, 247 pounds. He said he’s tacked on 15 of those pounds in the form of lean muscle this offseason — and about 30 pounds of muscle mass since enrolling at Notre Dame.
And 13 spring practices later, Burnham has noticed a difference.
“It definitely helps now that you can stick your foot in the ground and set the fence on the tackles,” he said. “Rather than just keep getting pushed back and back. Be able (to contribute) in the run game — having that power and still maintaining the speed.”
But competing against offensive linemen weighing over 300 pounds, especially NFL-caliber ones like Joe Alt and Blake Fisher, is still challenging.
“They both (have great) length and quickness,” Burnham said. “(They’re) some of the best tackles in college football. So just being able to go against that every day makes each of us D-linemen better along with them.”
Burnham said he’s doing extra drill work with Washington after practice to compensate for his evolving physique and inexperience. One of the biggest focuses has been handwork — another added challenge. Still, he has over four months to perfect his craft before Notre Dame kicks off the 2023 season against Navy.
When it does, Botelho and Tuihalamaka might get the first crack at vyper. But Burnham is hungry to compete this season in any way necessary, even if playing linebacker is no longer in the cards.
“I definitely want to try to help out as much as possible,” he said. “See the field for some defense, help on special teams like last year and get more reps. Be like a Swiss army knife: contribute wherever they need me.”
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