Report: Texas offensive lineman Andre Cojoe out for season due to knee injury

Texas‘ battle for the starting right tackle spot appears to be thinning out due to injury. According to a report from On Texas Football, offensive lineman Andre Cojoe is out for the season with a knee injury.

The report did not provide any additional information, but news on Cojoe has been scant in recent days despite the importance of the position battle he was involved in. Cojoe was competing with sophomore Brandon Baker for the job.

Andre Cojoe himself is a redshirt sophomore. He did not see action during his true freshman season in 2023. He then played in four games for the Longhorns last fall.

The battle for the right tackle spot was expected to be an intense one between Cojoe and Baker. Baker had taken some first-team reps in limited work that the media was privy to last week.

“Baker, he’s a real technician — he’s really patient and he’s a really smooth player. I just continue to tell him, just keep working hard every day, just keep going into little things, because little things, really, they change you as a player,” junior left tackle Trevor Goosby said on Thursday, according to Burnt Orange Nation.

Andre Cojoe, on the other hand, has been a more developmental prospect. He was originally rated as a three-star prospect by the Rivals Industry Rankings. He checked in as the No. 732 prospect in the country in the 2023 recruiting class.

Head coach Steve Sarkisian had been pushing both Baker and Cojoe to play a little more physically up front. He chimed in during camp.

“For both those guys, what we’re pushing them to do is get out of their shell, get out of their comfort zone, play a little more nasty, if you want to be honest,” Sarkisian said.

Now Texas will likely move on without Andre Cojoe in the battle. That should solidify the lineup ahead of the massive Week 1 showdown with Ohio State.