Texas Longhorns DE Ethan Burke OUT vs. BYU Cougars
AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas Longhorns defensive end Ethan Burke will not play in Saturday's game against the BYU Cougars at DKR due to a knee injury he suffered in the 31-24 win over the Houston Cougars.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said Monday that Burke would be "week-to-week," joining quarterback Quinn Ewers, who will also not play against BYU.
Burke has had a strong season. The Austin native has posted three sacks and 22 total tackles in seven games this season. He got off to a hot start to the year, with sacks in back-to-back games in the wins over Rice and Alabama.
Justice Finkley will start in Burke's place, per the Texas depth chart.
Ethan Burke
© Troy Taormina, USA TODAY
Sarkisian and the team praised Burke during fall camp.
"He's a blue-collar guy," Sarkisian said. "He's got length, but at the end of the day, the guy's a mechanic. He goes to work. He rolls his sleeves up. He doesn't mind getting grimy.
"He's always going to try to find an edge somewhere, and he's got good wits about him. Ethan just being a year advanced in the system, I think he knows how to really just play the game, but he definitely has a toughness and griminess about him that we appreciate."
Texas defensive lineman Barryn Sorrell said that he and Burke have both been doubted in the past, but proven others wrong. This has allowed the pair to form a bond on the d-line.
"He knows how it feels to be counted out as well, and I feel like we share that," Sorrell said. "We both know we need to rush the passer, so just critiquing him and him asking me a lot of questions about last year and me being able to share my knowledge with him has been very beneficial for both of us."
