53 Days Until Purdue Football: Josh Burney & Hayden Timosciek

The DII Defensive Lineman is looking to make an impact as he makes the big jump to the B1G while the junior OL will likely be a reserve player

We are just 53 days until the kickoff of the 2025 season of Purdue Football in what will be Coach Odom’s first season at the helm of the Boilermakers. This initial season has meant almost none of the players from last season will be making a return as Purdue will likely feature only one returning starter from last season. That means a lot of new faces from places many fans may not know about and that is exactly what the Boilers will get with defensive lineman John Burney.

Burney played three seasons of football at Fort Valley State where he recorded 49 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, and 8 total sacks. It was his final season as a Wildcat that Burney showed an immense leap after he lost his sophomore season to injury and then wasn’t quite recovered in his junior season. As a senior, Burney appeared in all 10 games where he totaled 21 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 6 sacks, and blocked an extra point. This will be Burney’s final season unless he is granted a waiver by the NCAA.

There is an opportunity for Burney to find playing time along a defensive line that was decimated through the portal as Odom brought 8 new additions while CJ Madden was injured for a majority of the season last year. Odom and staff will hope that the 6’4 and 300lb transfer will adjust quickly to the B1G and be a force in the middle of the defensive line that frequently gave up big chunks of yards and couldn’t stop much in the run game inside last season.

The other #53 on this roster is sophomore offensive lineman Hayden Timosciek. The junior offensive lineman has not appeared in a game during his career at Purdue but likely won’t see playing time. The interesting bit about Timosciek is that he initially joined the Boilers as a QB in 2022 but switched to offensive line. If he continues to add size and strength, the former QB who was a good athlete could be an interesting project in his final two seasons at Purdue under new leadership.

UP NEXT: #51 Mason Vicari