Reports: Texas RT Andre Cojoe suffers season-ending knee injury

Brandon Baker is now the starter for the Longhorns as the team’s offensive line depth takes a hit.

The Texas Longhorns suffered their first significant injury of preseason camp with the breaking news on Monday that redshirt sophomore right tackle Andre Cojoe will miss the season after injuring his knee.

Anwar Richardson of Orangebloods confirmed the news from On Texas Football.

A 6’6, 335-pounder, Cojoe was competing with sophomore Brandon Baker for the starting right tackle job in one of the most important position battles during preseason camp for Texas.

With the Horns replacing four of five starters along the offensive line, experience is at a premium for position coach Kyle Flood, who always serves as the team’s offensive coordinator. But that experience is often in the form of development time rather than playing time with Cojoe entering his third season on the Forty Acres after playing 33 snaps between right tackle and left tackle last season.

Out of Mansfield Timberview in the 2023 recruiting class, Cojoe signed with Texas as a 16-year old, enrolling early just after his 17th birthday as a consensus three-star recruit ranked as the No. 823 player nationally and the No. 71 interior offensive lineman, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.

Cojoe chose Texas over 11 other offers and after taking official visits to TCU and Vanderbilt and drew praise from the coaching staff in recent days for reshaping his body after losing 20 pounds since his true freshman season.

With Cojoe’s season-ending injury, Flood has to develop further depth along the line with freshman tackle Nick Brooks drawing positive buzz after enrolling early and redshirt sophomore Jaydon Chatman receiving some reps at left tackle in the portions of practice open to the media last Wednesday.

Chatman received 32 snaps at left tackle in 2023 before spending his 32 snaps in 2024 at the guard positions.