James Burnip
| No. 46 – New Orleans Saints | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Punter |
| Personal information | |
| Height: | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) |
| Weight: | 235 lb (107 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Victoria (Melbourne) |
| College: | Alabama (2021–2024) |
| NFL draft: | 2025: undrafted |
| CFL draft: | 2025G: 2nd round, 14th pick |
| Career history | |
| |
| Roster status: | Active |
James Burnip is an Australian professional American football punter for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Early life
[edit]
Burnip grew up playing Australian rules football and attended Victoria University. He learned to punt by training with ProKick Australia and initially committed to play for the Ole Miss Rebels.[1] However, Burnip later flipped his commitment to play for the Alabama Crimson Tide.[2]
College career
[edit]
Burnip made his collegiate debut in the 2021 season opener versus Miami.[3] As a freshman in 2021 he punted 48 times[citation needed] with average of 39.1, where 23 resulted in fair catches and 15 landed inside the 20 yard line.[4][5] In 2022, Burnip punted 44 times with an average of 42.3 yards per punt, with seven landing inside the 20[citation needed] and a long of 58 yards.[6] In week 2 of the 2023 season, he was named the Ray Guy Punter of the Week in a matchup versus Texas.[7] In the 2024 Rose Bowl, Burnip had seven punts for 352 yards with a 50.3 average and caused two punts to be muffed in a loss to Michigan.[8] In 2023, he punted 59 times with an average of 47.6 yards,[9] earning second-team all-SEC honors.[10]
Burnip accepted an invite to play in the 2025 Senior Bowl.[11]
Professional career
[edit]| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 6+3⁄8 in (1.99 m) |
235 lb (107 kg) |
31+7⁄8 in (0.81 m) |
8+5⁄8 in (0.22 m) | |||||||||
| All values from NFL Combine[12][13] | ||||||||||||
After going undrafted in the 2025 NFL draft, Burnip signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent.[14] Burnip was also subsequently drafted by the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League in the 2nd round (14th overall) of the 2025 CFL global draft.[15]
References
[edit]- ^ Hall, Erik (9 January 2022). "James Burnip: 3 things to know about the Alabama Crimson Tide football punter". The Tuscaloosa News. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ Fletcher, James (14 June 2021). "Alabama football offers extra year of eligibility, flips Australian punter James Burnip". The Tuscaloosa News. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ Stanton, Edwin. "Alabama Football Enjoying An International Appeal". Alabama Crimson Tide on SI. SI.com. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ Kelly, Nick (17 August 2023). "What James Burnip, Alabama football's Australian punter, thought of Outback Steakhouse". The Tuscaloosa News. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ Miller, Will. "Alabama P James Burnip More Comfortable, Consistent Entering Third Season". Alabama Crimson Tide on SI. SI.com. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ Smith, Stephen (15 July 2023). "Alabama punter James Burnip perfecting his craft for this season". Touchdown Alabama. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ Nuttall, Daniel (2 January 2024). "'He should be MVP': Aussie's heroics not enough as cursed college football giant survives". Fox Sports. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ Alvarez, Nick (2 January 2024). "Alabama punter James Burnip stars in Rose Bowl defeat to Michigan". AL.com. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ "James Burnip 2023 Game Logs". Sports Reference. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ Alvarez, Nick (8 December 2023). "8 Alabama football players named to Coaches All-SEC team". AL.com. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
- ^ Stephenson, Creg (November 13, 2024). "Punter James Burnip becomes first Alabama player to accept 2025 Senior Bowl invitation". AL.com. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
- ^ "James Burnip Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved April 12, 2025.
- ^ "James Burnip College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved April 12, 2025.
- ^ "New Orleans Saints agree to terms with 11 undrafted free agents". neworleanssaints.com. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
- ^ "2025 Global draft tracker". Canadian Football League. Retrieved March 29, 2025.