Texas football notes: DE Ethan Burke adds spark to defense in OT win over Kansas State
Ethan Burke missed last week’s game against BYU with an injury, and Texas might have missed a chance to get back to the Big 12 championship game without his big performance in Saturday’s 33-30 overtime win over Kansas State.
Burke, who didn’t approach a full practice last week until Wednesday, had three solo tackles and two sacks, including a crucial strip sack in the third quarter that led to a recovery by linebacker Jaylan Ford.
Overall, the edge rushers for the Longhorns had their most impactful game since a win at Alabama in the second week of the season. Burke and Barryn Sorrell combined for three sacks while providing steady pressure from the edge, complementing another stellar game inside from defensive tackles T’Vondre Sweat, Byron Murphy II and Vernon Broughton.
“Man, I felt good out there,” said Burke, a sophomore from Westlake High School. “Adrenaline is awesome, (so) I was just trying to have some fun out there.”
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said Burke’s presence was especially important as the game wore on, since Kansas State controlled the clock while outscoring the Longhorns 23-13 in the second half.
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“It was great to have him back because we needed that rotation today,” Sarkisian said. “That was a long one, especially in the second half when they started possessing the ball.
“I love Ethan because he's a blue-collar guy, man. You know, that’s how he makes his plays. What he does is through effort and through toughness, and he's got a high football IQ. I think he brings a lot to our defense from that side, but he also brings a toughness mentality that way, too.”
Burke and the other edge rushers had plenty of opportunities to ply their trade because Kansas State’s usually efficient ground game produced just 33 yards on 29 carries, which included yardage lost on those three sacks. Kansas State also converted just two of 14 third-down plays as Texas stuffed the running game.
The Wildcats entered the game averaging 208 yards on the ground and better than 50% on third-down conversions.
“They have a nice running game and come with a lot of schemes, trap, wham, inside zone,” said Murphy, who had two tackles and a quarterback pressure. “But we take a lot of pride in stopping the run, especially in those short-yardage situations.”
Texas running back Jonathon Brooks reaches 1,000-yard milestone
With 112 yards on 22 carries, sophomore running back Jonathon Brooks etched his name on a lengthy list of Longhorns who have rushed for 1,000 yards in a single season. Brooks now has 1,050 yards, the 26th 1,000-yard rushing season by a Longhorn in school history. He’s the 15th Texas player to record 1,000 yards rushing in a single season, and this is also the 11th straight collegiate season that Sarkisian has had a 1,000-yard rusher in a full season as a head coach or offensive coordinator.
“I'm proud of JB (Brooks),” center Jake Majors said. “We had a few mistakes that happened, but as an offense, we just rolled with the punches. We didn't flinch. JB had confidence; I saw it in (his) eyes.”
With three more games left in the regular season as well as a possible spot for Texas in the Big 12 title game, Brooks could power his way toward the upper echelon of singe-season rushing totals.
Ricky Williams holds the school’s single-season record with 2,124 yards during his Heisman Trophy-winning campaign in 1998, but the 1,400-yard mark has been reached only eight times.
As a team, Texas topped 200 yards rushing for just the second time this season with freshman CJ Baxter running for a career-high 90 yards, including a 54-yard touchdown.
“It's been a really good one-two punch here for the last couple of weeks,” Sarkisian said, referring to Brooks and Baxter. “Even today, Jonathan got a little banged up earlier in the game and Ced (Baxter) got a little bit more extended time. Anytime you have two rushers basically go for 100 yards each, that’s a great thing.”
More: Texas football beats Kansas State: Our staff takeaways from the Longhorns' 33-30 win in OT
OT Christian Jones misses first game since 2020
Texas iron man Christian Jones had his streak of 42 consecutive starts on the offensive line snapped after suffering an undisclosed injury. Cam Williams, a 6-foot-5, 370-pound sophomore from Duncanville, made his first start in place of Jones at right tackle. Williams had three false starts but helped pave the way for 478 yards of offense, including 307 in the first half.
In other injury news, Michael Taaffe started at safety in place of Kitan Crawford and had an interception for the third straight game. The Longhorns also played without safety Jalen Catalon, who missed his third consecutive game. Cornerback Ryan Watts went down with an injury in the second half.
Sarkisian had no information on the injuries after the game but is expected to provide an update at his regular media session Monday.
Texas honors Ricky Williams for Heisman season
During the game, UT recognized Williams for the 25th anniversary of his Heisman Trophy-winning season in 1998, when he broke the NCAA career rushing record at the time with 6,279 yards.
Texcetera
The Texas secondary struggled against Kanas State quarterback Will Howard, who threw for a career-high 327 yards and tied a career high with four touchdowns. … Ford's fumble recovery at the 5-yard line was his ninth takeaway in the past 16 games. He has two fumble recoveries, a forced fumble and an interception against Kansas State in the past two years. … Junior Adonai Mitchell recorded his second 100-yard game of the season by hauling in eight passes for 149 yards and a touchdown. He has three touchdown receptions over the past two games.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas football notebook: DE Ethan Burke adds spark with pass rush
