Texas didn’t get the kind of news it wanted in fall camp this week, but the Longhorns may have a little breathing room at the one spot you least want uncertainty: left tackle.
Trevor Goosby went down with a bone bruise, and while he is expected back in 2-3 weeks, the timing still matters. That puts him on track to return by Week 1 against Texas State or, at the latest, Week 2 against Ohio State. With Arch Manning’s blindside protection suddenly in question before that matchup with the Buckeyes, the concern is obvious.
Still, one observer came away from practice last week encouraged by what he saw across the line.
Aaron Taylor - CBS Sports analyst, Super Bowl XXXI champion and founder of the Joe Moore Award - was on the Forty Acres and got a close look at Texas’ offensive front before the injury. Speaking with Texas Longhorns On SI while promoting Johnsonville Sausage’s partnership with the award, Taylor said Goosby stood out and the group as a whole looked sharp.
"I know Trevor's a tough kid. I was at practice Thursday of last week, and he looked phenomenal," Taylor said.
"The offensive line was doing a really nice job both in the run and the pass game, and he certainly was the leader of that pack. That's a devastating injury, and we know what happened a season ago with injuries.
It was really hard to find the right units and get the production that it needed. They got running backs in the backfield, Sark solved it, and then boom, left tackle No. 1 goes down."
Taylor also pointed to something Texas has been chasing: usable depth.
"Based on what I saw at practice, Texas finally has some depth. They got some talent.
Now it's young, and some of it's inexperienced, and that's what you kind of worry about. But you do have a week to get yourself ready and shake out those kinks.
That buys you some time to get Trevor back, because he's gonna need to be at full strength against a loaded Buckeyes squad."
If Goosby is sidelined at all, Texas has a few names it can turn to. Andre Cojoe has been stepping up in practice after missing the entire 2025 season with an ACL tear suffered last August.
Cojoe redshirted in 2023 and is now in his fourth year with the program. He’s expected to be back next year and could work his way into the starting mix, though he has mostly been working at right tackle this offseason, with five-star freshman Ismael Camara also on the way.
Jordan Coleman is another possibility. He’s the least experienced of the group, with just one game on his résumé, a blowout against Sam Houston State. Coleman has been getting left tackle reps this offseason, and that’s his most natural spot, though he has also played guard.
Goosby is not expected to miss much time, if any. But if he does, Texas will be leaning on replacement options that still have plenty to prove.
Taylor’s read on the line was that the upside is there. So far, the injury hasn’t changed that.
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