Texas football gets another potent big-body OL in 3-Star Andre Cojoe

One of the many additions to the 2023 Texas football recruiting class for second-year head coach Steve Sarkisian and offensive line coach/offensive coordinator Kyle Flood arrived on June 26 in the form of the three-star Mansfield Timberview interior offensive lineman Andre Cojoe. Flood can’t seem to lose this weekend as Cojoe makes it three commits along the offensive line in the span of just a few hours.

Texas landed a commitment from Cojoe, which now makes it at least two additions to the 2023 class on June 26 that could add depth to the interior of the offensive line. Flood and the Longhorns are surely getting the protection they were looking for the elite five-star Isidore Newman quarterback Arch Manning, who committed to the 2023 class back on June 23.

Cojoe joined the Longhorns 2023 class via an announcement on his Twitter timeline late in the afternoon of June 26. He joined the avalanche of commitments in the Longhorns 2023 class on this day to round out a major official visit weekend.

This looked to be the official visit weekend of this month for Flood to really make the impact needed along the offensive line. Texas hosted a good portion of the top targets along the offensive line in the 2023 class on official visits this weekend.

Texas football adds another big-bodied OL on June 26 in 3-Star Andre Cojoe

Cojoe was included in that group. He visited Texas officially this weekend after taking officials with the TCU Horned Frogs (May 13) and Vanderbilt Commodores (June 10) in the last couple of months.

Moreover, Cojoe joins the three-star Frisco Wakeland OL Connor Stroh among the recent commits in the Longhorns 2023 class that could shore up the interior offensive line. Both Stroh and Cojoe have played significant time at offensive tackle at their respective high schools but might switch over to the interior in college.

For Cojoe, his length and overpowering strength make him a real force to be reckoned with, especially in run blocking. At 6-foot-6 and 340-pounds, Cojoe is another big-bodied offensive lineman that is a brick wall in the trenches regardless of who he’s blocking.

Cojoe has no issues latching onto opposing linemen and linebacker blocking for the run. And his length also serves him well in finding and driving down opposing pass rushers when he’s trying to hold up the pocket for his quarterback.

On film, it’s easy to see how Cojoe’s strength and length allow him to finish blocks on opposing defenders with authority. He also has a special ability to find his assignment and finish blocks through multiple levels of the defense. That will be a huge asset for Flood and the Longhorns when facing the big and powerful defensive linemen in the SEC a couple of years down the line.

But that is clearly a reason why Texas offered Cojoe in the first place.

Cojoe is no stranger to pancaking opposing defenders. That will be a part of Cojoe’s game that sticks out immediately at the collegiate level.

Yet, there are some clear areas for improvement for Cojoe before assuming major live-game reps at the Power Five level. His lack of lateral speed and overall athletic limitations will likely prevent Cojoe from challenging for reps right away in college. His athletic ceiling is also a reason why Cojoe will likely slot as an offensive guard and not a tackle for the Longhorns.

Cojoe can make up for the overall lack of speed and athleticism by working on getting lower in his point of attack at the line of scrimmage. Getting a better angle on his blocking assignments will allow Cojoe to have more mobility coming off the line of scrimmage.

All in all, I would expect Cojoe to be a depth add along the interior offensive line that could compete for a starting job two or three years into his collegiate career. His size and power make him a clear candidate to be an impactful offensive guard, especially blocking for the run.

And that will make him a valuable asset for Sark, Flood, and the Longhorns who like to scheme up an offense that drives off setting the tone in the trenches with the ground game.

This looks to be another case of Flood and the Longhorns making a solid evaluation for a lineman that can help in a spot that is currently a bit of a weakness for this team in the trenches. Texas is really stacking the depth among big-bodied interior offensive linemen in-state between the likes of Cojoe and Stroh.

Adding a commitment from Cojoe brings Texas up to four 2023 commits on June 26 alone. Going back to June 23, Texas has a whopping half-dozen commits added to the 2023 class. And half of those are offensive linemen that will be helping to block for Arch.