James Burnip
Australian gridiron football player (born 2001)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
James Burnip (born 20 February 2001) is an Australian professional football punter for the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Mount Macedon, Victoria, Australia
Burnip at the 2025 Senior Bowl | |
| Ottawa Redblacks | |
|---|---|
| Position | Punter |
| Roster status | Active |
| CFL status | Global |
| Personal information | |
| Born | 20 February 2001 Mount Macedon, Victoria, Australia |
| Listed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) |
| Listed 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 overall pick |
| Career history | |
| |
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Awards and highlights | |
| |
| Stats at Pro Football Reference | |
Early life
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
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
| 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] He was waived by the Saints on August 25.[16]
On 30 January 2026, it was announced that Burnip had signed with the Ottawa Redblacks.[17]