Junior Tuihalamaka, Joshua Burnham giving Notre Dame football vyper options
Notre Dame football needs more than just one player to replace the production of Isaiah Foskey. The program’s all-time sack leader (26.5) recorded more sacks last season, 11, than any of Notre Dame’s current defensive line have totaled in their careers.
Senior Jordan Botelho, whose 6.5 career sacks came in the last two seasons, will be tasked will replacing Foskey in the starting lineup at vyper end. But his primary backups, sophomores Junior Tuihalamaka and Joshua Burnham, will almost certainly play roles in helping the Irish rush the passer.
“Love ‘em,” said Notre Dame defensive line coach Al Washington. “Killers.
“Burnham, No. 1 is he’s tough and dependable. He’s got all the athleticism but he’s incredibly tough. He may be out-weighed in matchups but he’ll come in and mix it up. He’s fundamentally developed. It’s a lot, it’s not like you can just come in and play D-Line. There’s a lot of detail that goes into it. He’s really worked it. He’s very talented.
“And Junior Tuihalamaka, golly, those guys — I am thrilled with where they are and where they’re headed.”
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Both Tuihalamaka and Burnham came to Notre Dame as four-star linebacker recruits, but they each started transitioning to defensive end at various points in their freshman seasons. Burnham started some vyper work as an early enrolled freshman in the spring of last year. Tuihalamaka didn’t start his transition until last fall, but it led to some playing opportunities late in the season.
The opportunity to play quickly outweighed Tuihalamaka’s desire to remain at linebacker in defensive coordinator Al Golden’s scheme.
“It was kind of hard at first,” he said. “For me at the time, I just wanted to get on the field. Whatever gets me on the field. Even special teams.
“Golden saw I was able to do good reps at linebacker and the only way to get me on the field was to get me to vyper. I definitely see the vision he had moving me there. I’m definitely not disappointed.”
The 6-foot-2, 254-pound Tuihalamaka is up 14 pounds from last year’s roster and has settled into his new spot nicely after recording six tackles in his debut season. Tuihalamaka also played special teams in all 13 games.
“I feel like it’s the right place,” Tuihalamaka said of vyper. “I’m glad they had me move to this position. I feel very comfortable at it. I feel like I can go 100% in any situation. Full send, full speed without overthinking anything.”
Burnham, who combined for a tackle for a loss on his lone snap last season, made an even bigger physical transformation in gaining 25 pounds. The 6-4, 248-pound Burnham has a height advantage on Botelho (6-3) and Tuihalamaka.
“My thing is I just have to get that explosive get-off,” Burnham said. “I have the long arms, the reach and everything like that. So just using all that to my advantage.”
Tuihalamaka looks less like a defensive end and still more like a linebacker. But he sees those linebacker traits as ones he can use to his advantage.
“Being very mobile,” Tuihalamaka said of how he can make up for not having prototypical size. “Being able to be smoother than usual D-ends and being able to use that against tackles who are a little slower or maybe stiff. Use the speed or any type of versatile thing.”
Tuihalamaka also has the advantage of knowledge on his side. Washington called him “highly intelligent” and “one of the fastest processers I’ve been around.” His experience at linebacker allows him to see the field in a different way than most defensive ends.
But Tuihalamaka needs to learn how to use his hands better in combating offensive linemen.
“My thing is sometimes I’m a little too fast,” he said. “I attack the tackle too fast. I need to use my hands a little quicker. Using my hands more.”
Both Burnham and Tuihalamaka have started to feel comfortable at vyper end. The communication between them and Botelho can help the group thrive. None of them are likely to end up being a second-round NFL Draft pick next year like Foskey was this year, but together they can try to match his impact.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” Burnham said of making the transition alongside Tuihalamaka. “We love to watch each other succeed and we definitely push each other every single day. When it comes to offseason work, we’re working out together, we’re running, we’re right next to each other competing, pushing each other. That’s obviously going to help us both overall.”
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