Will Matthews and Ethan Burke: Leadership, Family, and Raising the Standard on Texas’ Defensive Line

Will Matthews sits down with Ethan Burke to talk about what it means to play in front of family, the atmosphere inside DKR, and the responsibility that comes with setting the standard for the defense. He opens up about the importance of effort and physicality, keeping younger players locked in for all four quarters, and how the unit can take the next step by turning solid execution into big plays. With two more home games before SEC play, he shares the rally cry for the defensive line, the focus on dominating upcoming opponents, and how small details—hands, feet, eyes—make the difference between filling a gap and making a game-changing stop.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
You've been here for a couple of years. How has
it been playing in front of home where family can
come and people can really see.

Speaker 2 (00:07):
Yeah, it's just such a blessing. Right, My family's right
down the street. They can all come. Friends are always
coming to the game, so it's great to see them
after and know that they're out there supporting me with
the other one hundred thousand fans. And the environment is
it's hard to be and it's just really a blast.

Speaker 1 (00:24):
As you continue to move into your leadership role on
the defensive line and also walking into DKR for the
first time this year, talk about the atmosphere DKR and
as well.

Speaker 2 (00:36):
As your leadership role inside of that atmosphere. Yeah, I
think just loud and rowdy, and for me, just trying
to make sure that we're focused for all four quarters,
for all sixty minutes of the game. You know, it's
a long game and you can lose focus sometimes, myself included.
So just making sure the young guys are always locked
in and that we're playing fast and that when we

(00:56):
are beating a team pretty bad, that the twos threes
Wars whoever are in there and living up to the standard.

Speaker 1 (01:03):
That standard continually your teammates have been talking about that,
talk about the standard, especially as it relates to your
your in room and your guys in there.

Speaker 2 (01:12):
Yeah, I think for us, just being physical and effort
is just the two things that start with me, and
we've got to do better at that, honestly. But I
think our effort has been really good and our physicality
has been solid. And it's such a long season. We
got so much more time to grow, and I think
by the end of the year, good teams improved and

(01:33):
I think will be up there with the best.

Speaker 1 (01:37):
As you got two more games at home and looking
into SEC play, what should we expect over these next
couple of weeks and what does making a step forward,
especially on the defensive line look like.

Speaker 2 (01:50):
For us? We need to get closer. Not no one's
gonna be perfect, but we need to get closer to it.
Right with our execution, you know, the little thing's eyes, hands, feet,
whatever it is, and we just have to get better
at those things. And we need to dominate the next
next two opponents is what we need to do.

Speaker 1 (02:11):
Dominating the next two opponents, getting ready, taking steps forward,
also being in front of family really special time. Tell
us about the what is the rally cry on the
defensive line at the moment you said being more physical,
But what else, what are you guys saying behind the scenes.

Speaker 2 (02:29):
I think, you know, just using our hands better. I
think for me specifically and the edge room and most
of the d line is just we're striking, We're doing
our job. But how can we take another step and
make the play, you know, not just fill our gap
but actually make plays, get off blocks and just be

(02:49):
more violent and play play a little less robotic.