Class Impact: Notre Dame Lands Defensive End Christopher Burgess

Notre Dame continues to be smoking hot on the recruiting trail in the 2025 class, this time landing Chicago (Ill.) Simeon standout defensive end Christopher Burgess Jr. The Irish beat out Alabama, Ohio State and Michigan to land the big time edge defender.

Let's take a look at how Burgess impacts the 2025 class and how his game fits into the Notre Dame defense.

NOTRE DAME CLASS IMPACT

Burgess is the 12th player to commit to Notre Dame in the 2025 class. He is the seventh defensive player to commit in the class and the fourth pure defensive lineman. The 6-4, 240-pound end is the third defender from the state of Illinois to join the class, with Burgess joining Dominik Hulak and Joseph Reiff.

Notre Dame landed four defensive linemen in the 2024 class and four in the 2023 class. Although Notre Dame has done well with numbers in the last two classes, the roster is going to lose a lot of players after 2023 and 2024, so the 2025 class will be one where there is a focus on depth and impact talent up front.

Landing Burgess allows Notre Dame to meet its numbers need in the class and adds a powerful end to the class. Notre Dame will now focus on landing one more Vyper in the class, with Indiana native Damien Shanklin being the top target there. Burgess also adds impact talent to the class, which is even more important than numbers in the 2025 cycle.

Notre Dame has needed to improve its recruiting in the Chicago area as well, and landing Burgess certainly takes a big step towards achieving that goal. If Notre Dame can also add Shanklin to the class to go with Burgess it would mean the Irish class landed two of the very best Northern defensive linemen, which is also an important achievement. Burgess, of course, is a tremendous step in getting this done.

NOTRE DAME FIT - ANALYSIS

Burgess projects as a defensive end in the Notre Dame defense, which is the field/power end position. That position requires length, power and athleticism in order to handle all the duties at a high level. Landing Burgess gives Notre Dame a player that has all the God-given tools to become a standout at the position. With his big frame there is also an opportunity for him to grow into a role that allows him to move inside at times, but Burgess has everything this defense needs to be a power edge player early on. 

The first thing that stands out about Burgess is his impressive frame. He's listed at 6-4 and 240 pounds, but he has room to add a lot of really good weight. Burgess has outstanding natural power, but even there he has plenty of room to get stronger from both a weight room and functional standpoint. The Simeon star also has tremendous length, which makes him extremely hard to block when his technique is right. His combination of length and power allows him to be quite effective as an edge setter already.

Athletically there is a lot to like about Burgess. He shows good short-area quickness, and when he keeps his pads low I like the burst he shows off the edge. As a junior he played inside a lot more, which kept him from flashing his edge speed as much as we saw as a sophomore, but even this season you could see it. He shows good closing speed in the backfield, both on up-the-middle snaps and when working off the edge.

Right now the issue with Burgess is that his game is still quite raw. That is part of what keeps him from being ranked even higher, but also something that can boost excitement about his potential. Right now Burgess gets by on natural talent, but as he continues to get coached up - something he'll get at Notre Dame - his game could explode. Burgess is still relatively new to football, so it's understandable that his game is so raw. The Simeon standout needs to learn to play with better pad level, use his hands more effectively and work through contact better. Expanding his pass rush moves is also a must, as is continuing to improve his technique when taking on run blocks on the edge. All the tools are there and everything he needs to improve upon is correctable and coachable.

It's not that different from what we saw from 2024 signee Bryce Young, who was also more about tools than technique as a sophomore and junior, but as he became a more sound player Young quickly emerged as one of the best ends in the country, and Burgess could be on a very similar path.