The Texas football program is currently gearing up for the upcoming 2025 college football season, where they will look to break through and win a national championship after two straight playoff appearances. The Longhorns will be led by quarterback Arch Manning, nephew of former NFL stars Peyton and Eli Manning, who saw limited playing time for Texas last year.
A big part of ensuring success for Manning this season will be giving him time to read defenses in the pocket, but unfortunately, the Longhorns got a rough injury update regarding one of Manning's key protectors on the offensive line on Monday.
“Texas O-lineman Andre Cojoe suffered what’s feared to be a torn ACL,” reported Eric Nahlin of On3 Sports, per Inside Texas.
Cojoe was in a competition with Brandon Baker for the starting right tackle position for Texas this year.
Nahlin reported that with Cojoe now likely to miss this season, “true freshman Nick Brooks becomes even more important to the Longhorns’ efforts. He steps in as Texas’ likely third offensive tackle behind left tackle Trevor Goosby and right tackle Brandon Baker.”
Meanwhile, Arch Manning flashed some speed and improvisational ability during his brief stints under center last year that had some Texas fans clamoring for him to replace Quinn Ewers as the team's starting quarterback.
However, he'll still want as much time as possible to make things happen in the pocket, and that task now becomes tougher with Cojoe's reported ACL injury.
Last year, Texas lost to the eventual champion Ohio State Buckeyes in the playoff after dispatching the Clemson Tigers in round one. The year before, Texas was sent home by the Washington Huskies in the playoff, before it had expanded to its new 12-team format.
In any case, the Longhorns will open up their season this year with a rematch against Ohio State on August 30.