Texas Football: 3 biggest winners for the Horns from spring camp

Texas football and head coach Steve Sarkisian wrapped up spring camp this offseason last weekend with the conclusion of the annual Orange-White spring football game at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Texas wrapped up spring camp on April 15, which means a long lull before fall camp gets underway in August.

In the meantime, though, there are plenty of notes and nuggets to discuss coming out of spring ball. Sark and the Longhorns made some necessary strides on both sides of the ball this spring, especially with some of the underclassmen rising to the occasion in the last couple of months.

Texas got to show off some of the improved talent and depth within the program during spring ball, which was highlighted by big-name early enrollees such as quarterback Arch Manning and running back CJ Baxter Jr.

If Texas can continue to build on this momentum it started to build in spring ball in terms of making some of the necessary strides and improving position groups on both sides of the ball heading into the fall, this will be a special team in 2023.

Texas football players that were the biggest winners this spring

Here’s a look at three of the biggest winners of spring ball for the Longhorns this offseason.

Ethan Burke, EDGE

One of the players for the Longhorns that made a significant jump up the two-deep depth chart on the defensive side of the ball this spring was sophomore edge rusher Ethan Burke. The towering 6-foot-7 and 255-pound buck earned the first-team reps in practice this spring ahead of fellow sophomore edge rusher Justice Finkley, who started out camp with the first-teamers.

Pete Kwiatkowski and the Longhorns are clearly valuing the ability to get after the quarterback heading into the fall more than they are being able to set the edge in run defense. That will play to Burke’s benefit given his length and improved ability to use his hands and lofty wingspan to win battles at the point of attack in the pass rush.

As spring ball progressed, Burke showed off better hand use and a slightly improved arsenal of pass rush moves. He proved to be a more effective pass rusher than he was as a true freshman last season, and he’s starting to make strides as a run defense off the edge too.

Burke also had a strong showing once he settled in during the spring game last weekend. He did have a couple of missed reads, namely on the long run by sophomore running back Jaydon Blue in the first quarter of the Orange-White Game. But Burke finished on a high note, tallying five tackles, one sack, and a couple of quarterback pressures.

All in all, the very fact that Burke was able to round out spring ball as part of the first-team defense says all you need to know in terms of why he was included on this list of the biggest winners for the Longhorns this spring.