Texas Football: 4 players that shined in Friday’s spring scrimmage

Ethan Burke, EDGE

Another name that we’ve heard a ton about on the defensive side of the ball for the Longhorns this spring is the towering 6-foot-7 and 255-pound sophomore edge rusher Ethan Burke. In fact, I don’t think I’ve written more about one player on the defensive side of the ball for the Longhorns since spring break let out a few weeks ago than Burke.

It was less than two weeks ago that Burke was able to pass fellow sophomore edge rusher Justice Finkley to get the first-team practice reps at the buck position. Finkley got the first-team practice reps in the first two weeks of spring camp.

But Burke was able to take the first-team spot at the buck position, and he hasn’t really looked back in the last 10 days.

It sounds like Burke’s pass-rushing ability off the edge along with some of the positive developments in his game in the last few months (including putting on more muscle mass) led to him ascending up the depth chart at the buck spot.

One of the developments that are very positive to hear about coming out of the third spring scrimmage on Friday is the improvement in Burke’s ability to defend the run. Burke apparently held his own as a run stopper setting the edge in the scrimmage on April 7.

Considering that one of the biggest areas of improvement for Burke this spring was making strides as a run-stopper, this is a very notable development that we will keep an eye on for the next week or so leading up to the spring game on April 15.