Texas Football: 3 underclassmen with most to prove in summer workouts

Ethan Burke, EDGE

Another breakout candidate to watch for the Longhorns among the second-year players heading into the fall is sophomore edge rusher, Ethan Burke. The 6-foot-7 and 255-pound former underrated three-star recruit made his way up the depth chart during the spring, even passing up fellow sophomore edge rusher Justice Finkley for first-team reps at the buck position in camp.

The coaching staff clearly values the length and potential impact that Burke could have on the pass rush for Texas this year. Burke’s length and bend allow him to get better leverage on his path to the quarterback in the pass rush than a smaller edge rusher such as the 6-foot-2 Finkley.

But Burke still doesn’t have the muscle mass on his frame that you would want to see out of a 6-foot-7 starting edge rusher going against Power Five competition. Burke still needs to add at least 10 or 15 pounds before I’m ready to say that he’s got his body right to assume starting reps against Power Five blockers heading into the fall.

Thus, the goal is pretty simple for Burke heading into summer workouts: he needs to get stronger by adding at least 10 or 15 more pounds. More specifically, I would like to see Burke hit the weight room hard this summer to add more lower-body strength to even out his frame as he still looks to wirey at his base.

If Burke can add the necessary muscle mass to his frame this summer he should be ready to go to assume a starting spot at EDGE opposite junior Barryn Sorrell this fall. Burke has already proven himself otherwise by making some big strides as a run-stopper and by better utilizing his length to get leverage on opposing blockers in the pass rush.

A Horns247 report (paid content) from late April called out Burke and Sorrell as the two edge players that need to step up the most to take this front seven to the next level for Texas this fall.