Texas Football: 3 young pass rushers standing out late in spring practice

Ethan Burke, EDGE

The biggest riser this spring among underclassmen edge rushers is clearly the second-year Austin, TX, native Burke. The lengthy 6-foot-7 and 255-pound Burke has made a lot of noise in the last couple of weeks of spring practice along with the last two scrimmages.

All you need to know is that Burke surpassed Finkley getting the first-team reps at the buck position in last weekend’s closed scrimmage. And from what we’ve heard coming out of practice early this week, Burke has still maintained his spot getting the bulk of the first-team reps at the buck spot ahead of Finkley.

Burke must continue to prove that he can hang with the ones as a formidable pass rusher that can also hold his own setting the edge in run defense. He’s got some good pressure off the edge and hasn’t looked that outmatched in run defense compared to Finkley.

Texas needs an impact pass rusher more than it does someone that can consistently set the edge in run defense, so Burke’s length provides a ton of value this year.

Furthermore, while this isn’t a direct comparison, I think there is a little bit that Burke can learn from in terms of the path that junior edge rusher Barryn Sorrell took as one of the most improved Texas defenders last year.

Sorrell added some size in camp last year so that he would be able to hold his gaps better in run defense. That added muscle mass on Sorrell’s frame also helped him be a more productive pass rusher off the edge.

Burke needs to put on more weight during summer workouts to solidify himself as a competitive force off the edge. At the moment, he can be pushed off the line of scrimmage pretty easily by some of Texas’ more adept offensive tackles (i.e. Jones and Banks). If he can get a bit bigger and continue to learn how to utilize his insane length to his advantage in the pass rush and run defense, he will be ready to move on a starting at EDGE this fall.