2020 NC RB Gets First Look At Notre Dame

Elijah Burris‍ wasn’t just learning about Notre Dame during his visit to South Bend this past weekend. The 2020 North Carolina running back was also learning about his family’s history, specifically his cousin, former Irish star Jeff Burris.

“It was shocking because I didn’t know my cousin was an All-American and all of those things,” Burris said.

“I saw the trophy cases and everything, the locker rooms, the running back office, the wide receiver office. I liked the weight room. The campus was great. I liked it. I liked everything there.”

The sophomore from Mountain Island Charter School enjoyed the entire trip, including the Irish’s 35-14 victory over North Carolina State.

“It was a great time,” he said. “I thought they played good. They were running the ball good. The defense was playing good.”

Burris was impressed with Josh Adams’ performance.

“He’s very strong and he’s got great vision,” he said of Notre Dame’s star running back.

But he also learned Notre Dame is about much more than football.

“They’re very focused on the grades and everything and the networking and everything,” said Burris, who hopes to be an electrical engineer.

Burris’ father, Maurice Burris, made sure to stress that.

“It’s the top of the food chain in my mind academically,” he said.

“I told my son, ‘A place like this right here is not just about football. They’re so big on networking. You graduate from this school, Son, you’ll be set for life.’”

Mr. Burris admitted he was a little choked up as he toured the campus for the first time.

“I showed Elijah his cousin Jeff’s picture on the All-American wall,” he said. “There’s a lot of history at that school.

“I broke away from the group when they were showing us around and did my own thing. I was going live on Facebook. I was on my own. Eventually, I caught back up with them. They were upstairs eating and I was shooting videos. I was enjoying myself. I had a good time.”