SOUTH BEND — Notre Dame football’s 2026 opener against Wisconsin at Lambeau Field won’t be the first such visit to Green Bay for Elijah Burress.
Now a redshirt freshman wide receiver for the Irish, Burress smiled recently at the mention of his father Plaxico’s epic performance in the NFC Championship game a little over 18 years ago.
Playing in subzero temperatures with a wind chill of minus-23 degrees, Plaxico Burress caught 11 passes for 151 yards to spur the New York Giants to a 23-20 overtime upset of the Packers.
“I was there,” the younger Burress said after a spring practice session. “I’m not sure if my mom was outside or in the box. I just had been born around that time. I was a good baby. I was able to travel.”
One of the greatest games of his father’s 11-season NFL career is burned into his memory, thanks to the internet.
“Honestly, I watch that tape a lot,” Burress said. “I used to watch it before every single game of high school. That game really gets me hyped up.”
Opponents of DePaul Catholic in Wayne, N.J., experienced the downside of that hype video every time the NFL legacy took the field.
“There’s a video on YouTube: ‘Plaxico Burress vs. Al Harris,’ and he’s going crazy that game,” Burress said of his father. “He always talks about it. Being able to go there (to Lambeau), that’s going to mean a lot to me. I definitely have to finish what he started over there for sure.”
Why cold weather is never an excuse for Elijah Burress
Just over 1 year old at the time of that NFC title game, Elijah Burress would join his famous father on the field two weeks later in Arizona at the Super Bowl, where Plaxico Burress caught Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass with 35 seconds left.
That proved the difference in a 17-14 upset of the previously unbeaten New England Patriots.
In a famous photo, the Giants’ star receiver uses those same red gloves to hold up his young son amid the postgame celebration. Wearing jeans, a backward Giants ballcap and a mini version of his father’s No. 17 jersey, the future Irish signee stretches his out his arms like he’s waiting to make a catch of his own.
Plenty more of those should come for him at Notre Dame after a three-catch, 21-yard redshirt season. All three of those grabs came at Stanford in the season finale.
Week 3 this fall will bring Michigan State, where his father starred in college, to Notre Dame Stadium. That experience should provide personal incentive as well for a talented player with game-breaking genes.
“He talks to me a lot about that (2008) game,” Burress said. “I learned a lot from it. That’s why every time it’s cold outside, I’ll never have an excuse. I’ll never act like I’m cold because I know what he went through.”
A three-sport star in high school who also played basketball and won state sprint championships in multiple events, Elijah Burress totaled 62 receptions for 1,394 yards and 20 touchdowns over his final two prep seasons.
Now wearing his father’s No. 17 for the Irish, he doesn’t run from his famous last name.
“I just try to be like him,” Burress said. “I try to be always focused and always be tough and always have big games when my team needs me the most.”
Admittedly overwhelmed by the playbook and its various pre-snap checks in Year 1, Burress has spent extra time with his position coach, Mike Brown, in an effort to narrow the knowledge gap.
“You try to slow the game down,” Brown said. “You have to sit down and sometimes take time one on one and watch things with him and explain. He’s going to be harder on himself than anybody else, which is what you love about him, but there needs to be a balance.”
During training camp last summer, Brown highlighted the prospect’s playmaking talent, work ethic and competitive nature. He called Burress “a special young man” with an obvious hunger and a bright future.
Despite Burress getting on the field for just 52 offensive snaps last fall, Brown still sees those same attributes.
“He’s really talented,” Brown said. “As long as he continues to remain open to learn, he’ll be just fine.”
Family ties back home on the court and on the ballot
Tiffany Glenn Burress, Elijah’s mother, was a star sprinter in the 100 meters at Penn State.
A former Olympic-level athlete turned workers’ compensation attorney, she is running for U.S. Congress in New Jersey’s 9th district.
With the primary set for June 2, Burress is running as a Republican for a seat held by a first-term Democratic incumbent, U.S. Rep. Nellie Pou.
“She’s very busy,” Elijah Burress said of his mother, a first-time candidate. “I realized she was real busy when I went home. She was always running around doing something. I was like, dang. It took up her time. It’s making her a lot more busy.”
The two still talk almost every day, he said, but not about politics.
“It’s cool, I guess,” Burress said. “She’s doing her thing. She’s doing whatever she needs to. I don’t really look into it that too much. I don’t really know too much about that. I’m not really a very political person.”
He just hopes for the best for his mother.
“I trust her,” he said. “Everything she does she’s going to put her all into it, so I believe in her.”
The youngest athlete in the family, budding basketball star Giovanna Burress, is a DePaul Catholic sophomore who counts Notre Dame among her many scholarship offers.
“I can’t wait to see what she does,” her brother said. “She’s very talented. As a young person, as a sophomore being that good, she’s probably going to have every offer in the country coming up soon.”
In between summer workouts, Elijah Burress said he hopes to attend some of his sister’s national showcase tournaments. As Giovanna navigates the recruiting process, it should help immensely to have a family of current and former college athletes as guides.
“She’s young, so she has a lot of time,” Burress said. “I’m excited to see what she does. I know she’s going to be real good.”
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame football opener in Green Bay means more to Elijah Burress
Reporting by Mike Berardino, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
