Andre Cojoe 'has real sense of confidence' ahead of first career start for Texas football

For a few moments after All-American left tackle Trevor Goosby went down with a knee injury in last week's win over Ole Miss , things looked dire for Texas football .

Backup Andre Cojoe entered the game and immediately gave up a strip sack to Rebel edge rusher Blake Purchase. Teammate Kam Franklin recovered the fumble by Texas quarterback Arch Manning for a defensive touchdown.

But the play oddly seemed to settle Cojoe down. The 6-foot-6, 340-pound senior from Timberview High School outside of Fort Worth held his own in pass protection the rest of the game and created plenty of push in the run game.

Better yet, Cojoe has looked even stronger after a full week of practice with the first team, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said Thursday during his weekly Zoom call with reporters.

"I feel good about (him)," Sarkisian said. "I think he should have a real sense of confidence. Was he perfect last week? No, but I think there was plenty from last week's game that he can build off of."

Andre Cojoe likely to replace Trevor Goosby

Cojoe has experience at Texas (5-2, 2-2 SEC) even though he missed all of last season with a knee injury. He appeared in four games as a sophomore in 2024 and was challenging Brandon Baker for the starting spot at right tackle prior to the 2025 season before tearing a knee ligament .

This year, Cojoe appeared in six games as a reserve before filling in for Goosby against Ole Miss. Saturday's game against Mississippi State will mark his first career start.

But even with that experience, it's hard to replicate the workload it takes to start for Texas, said his coach.

"It's human nature, right?" Sarkisian said. "I mean, we can say all day long that you've got to prepare like you're the starter. You got to prepare like you're going to be in on the second play of any series, and that's for any backup at any position.

"And then you actually get thrown in there, and then it's the physical grind of playing 50, 60, 70 snaps, but it's also the mental grind of it. I think having a week of preparation allows him to prepare for that physical and mental grind, the nuances of the plan, the communication with the guards."

Tight end Michael Masunas acknowledges the challenges of replacing someone like Goosby, who bypassed an opportunity to enter the 2026 NFL Draft after drawing first-round grades from the scouts. But Mansunas, a senior transfer from Michigan State, also understands the grueling nature of the game. Injuries create opportunities, and the game moves on regardless of who takes the field.

"It's a tough loss, but Cojoe's there working in," Masunas said Monday. "It's a sad thing to say, but next man up. That's kind of how football is nowadays. It's next guy up, and it's going to be great to see what Cojoe is able to do with the full week of practice with the ones. I think he's going to be doing great."