There’s one “frustrating” thing that’s holding a Notre Dame freshman back from making a huge splash heading into the 2025 CFB season 

Notre Dame true freshman wide receiver Elijah Burress has been turning heads all offseason. He has been so impressive that he has seemingly put himself in position to be a strong part of the Fighting Irish wide receiver room in 2025. That’s a testament to the impact he’s having in his short time in South Bend, especially standing out amongst the likes of Malachi Fields, Jaden Greathouse, and Jordan Faison. 

From the media and fan perspective, people have constantly been praising Burress all offseason. That includes what he did during spring practice, during winter workouts while gaining weight, and again in fall camp. The New Jersey native has continued to gain momentum over the last few months. It appears, however, that there is something that may be holding Burress back potentially from making a massive impact.

During recent media availability, Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock spoke about Burress. That included "a lot of good", and one thing that is holding him back currently.

https://www.youtube.com/live/eJlyFvEPcBE?si=dHbFUg6uf_thrMRF

"Elijah is a freshman who is incredibly frustrating because from a skill level standpoint, he is elite," Denbrock told the media. "He understands football. He understands how to break people down in space but I can’t quite get him to learn and master the playbook quite yet. I can’t get him lined up enough as consistently as I need to for him to actually show the talent that he’s got. There’s a lot of good there. He’s going to be a really good football player for us."

The most important part of that statement from Coach Denbrock is the compliment that he handed Burress. The 6-0, 184-pound pass catcher having a good overall feel as a football player isn't overly surprising. He is the son of former NFL and New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress, so he has been around the game of football his entire life. His father managed to haul in 553 receptions for 8,499 yards and 64 touchdowns during his 11-year career with the Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers, and New York Jets.

While the younger Burress has a very promising future, hearing that the offensive coordinator can't quite trust him to line up correctly, that might bring down the offseason hype a little bit. That could limit some, at least to start the 2025 college football season. Burress's impact might be felt more down the stretch of the year, or even going into the 2026 season. Context is important when creating expectations.

Burress ended up rated as a four-star player by multiple of the major recruiting platforms. That includes on 247 Sports, where he was rated as the No. 240 overall player, No. 28 wide receiver, and No. 5 player in the state of New Jersey for the 2025 recruiting class. He put together an outstanding senior season for DePaul Catholic, hauling in 37 receptions for 960 yards and 15 touchdowns, a per-catch average of 25.9 yards.