By Matt St. Charles
During Saturday’s Peach Bowl media availability, Curt Cignetti mentioned losing some of his time prepping for Oregon due to hosting transfer portal prospects for on-campus visits. Sunday, that all seemed to be worth it when the Hoosiers landed a handful of valued recruits to bolster the 2026 roster.
Among those was former Notre Dame defensive lineman Joshua Burnham. The junior, who recorded 16 tackles–10 solo and six assisted–three tackles for loss, and three sacks in 2025 in South Bend, will now join Cignetti’s group for year three of the remarkable turnaround. Irish transfers have worked well for the Hooisers, with Pat Coogan winning Rose Bowl MVP last Thursday.
Burnham even has a passer rating of 1135.6 after an 84-yard-touchdown pass on a fake punt against Stanford in Week 12.
Joshua Burnham 247 Recruiting Profile
The Michigan native notched 30 total tackles for Notre Dame in 2024, but his role appeared to take a step back this year due to an early-season injury.
With one season of eligibility remaining, Burnham will look to make an immediate impact with his experience for Cignetti and Indiana. Mikail Kamara, Stephen Daley, Kellan Wyatt, and others are slated to be out of eligibility following this season, and Burnham is one of the first steps into replacing that production.