Steve Sarkisian is fine with the Texas defense being better than the offense — for now

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas Longhorns, in at least one regard, are tracking like some of the best teams that head coach Steve Sarkisian has been part of.

Six practices into training camp, 25 days before Texas and Ohio State square off in the first-ever matchup between the top two teams in a preseason poll to start a season, Sarkisian said his defense has the upper hand on the offense.

And he's perfectly OK with that.

"Our defense is playing really good right now," he said. "The best teams I've ever been on, the defense is usually ahead from that perspective, from an offensive standpoint. That's not saying the offense isn't doing some really good things ... but I think the offense can play better."

Sarkisian mentioned that Quintrevion Wisner torched the defense for a long run during Tuesday's practice, something he said was both "great to see" and that he "didn't love it." It's all about perspective with him.

"I want our defense to be so dominant that it makes it hard for our offense to do what they want to do," he said. "The key on offense is that it takes all 11 guys ... we're fighting for consistency on both sides, but I think really the consistency is paramount on the offensive side of the ball."

Part of finding consistency is having a short memory when things go wrong. Sarkisian said some of the players have to learn how to "deal with disappointment a little bit better," and improve their mental toughness in that regard. It's about players accepting that not every play will go as planned, figuring out what happened, and then correcting the mistake and moving on.

Sarkisian said the offense isn't short on effort, and he loves the intent, but occasionally, certain players tend to dwell on things too much.

"You gotta give the next play the credit it deserves," he said. "It has a life of its own. We're trying so hard that there's a level of disappointment that we're carrying some of it to the next play. Some mistakes are compounding, so we've got to improve upon that."

Sarkisian confirmed that Andre Cojoe's knee injury Monday was season-ending. Cojoe was in the mix to start at right tackle.

"I hate that for him," Sarkisian said. "He was working hard to get himself in a competitive state, but we'll get him healthy and support him like we have with a lot of other guys.

DJ Campbell returned to practice after being out for personal reasons, and Ryan Wingo will return to practice Thursday, Sarkisian said. Wingo was also absent due to personal reasons.