Notre Dame's Defense Finds Momentum Behind Joshua Burnham's Gritty Performance
Notre Dame’s defensive line has had some bad luck over the first six games of the season. The Irish lost its top two vypers to injury, while others have struggled to stay healthy.
Junior defensive end Joshua Burnham is one of those guys as he had been battling a nagging ankle injury, which caused him to miss the Purdue and Miami (OH) games before returning against Louisville to play four plays.
On Saturday, the 6-foot-4, 251-pounder was back in the lineup full time has he worked at the vyper position as the Irish need depth.
It’s a familiar spot for the Michigan native as he had played vyper during his first two years on campus, but Burnham admitted he had some catching up to do, especially coming back from an injury.
”It’s definitely a challenge switching to and from,” stated Burnham. “Thankfully, I was there before and the coaching staff was able to help and sit down after practice to get into the playbook. I have the best resources around and it’s been super helpful.”
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman highlighted Burnham’s grit and will to get back on the field as there were times during practice Burnham’s status for Stanford was in question.
“It's a gutsy performance because there are times in the week that you watch him and it's like he is practicing on one leg,” Freeman explained. “Just has to continue to get confidence in that left ankle. He is tough, man. He's tough. I remember asking him, Are you going to be able to go? He said, Coach, there's no way I'm not going to be able to play.
“He really did some good things and made a huge interception. But just take your hat off to him just because, man, some people maybe wouldn't have played with the pain that he goes through, but he's a tough individual. I'm glad we have him out there.”
Burnham admitted the last few weeks haven’t been easy trying to get healthy, but also working through the injury to be able to play.
“Coming off an ankle injury, it’s been pretty painful the whole week,” said Burnham. “I don’t really know a certain day. I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to come back, and today was the day.”
The Irish defense immediately benefitted from Burnham’s presence as he helped put the game away with by tipping an option pitch, catching it and rumbling 18 yards. Notre Dame’s offense finished off the final 17 yards two plays later to take a commanding 28-7 lead early in the third quarter.
“It just happened I was at the right place and the right time,” Burnham said. “I threw my hand up and was able to tip it and came down with it.”
Burnham finished the day with five tackles, one tackle for loss and was part of holding Stanford to just 4-of-12 on third down and, more importantly, 1-of-4 on fourth down. The fourth down stops were backbreaking for the Cardinal and Burnham knows they were crucial stops to make as it gave energy to the entire Irish team.
“The momentum can change being able to give the ball back to our offense,” stated Burnham. “It just builds confidence on both sides of the ball.”
Notre Dame will head to Georgia Tech next weekend and Burnham will look to build off a solid performance against Stanford.
“It was big,” Burnham said of returning to the field. “Definitely a big mental game just being able to get back out there. I felt comfortable, felt confident and I was able to go out and execute. I have a great group of guys around me and great coaches.”
As for his health, Burnham wasn’t giving a percentage other than he was fully healthy.
“I’m 100 percent,” laughed Burnham. “We’re good to go.”
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