Texas State Bobcats

2023 Finish: 8-5
Off. PPG: 36.7
Def. PPG: 32.6
Key Losses: RB Donerio Davenport, QB TJ Finley, LB Dan Foster Jr., WR Ashtyn Hawkins, LB Brian Holloway, DB Shawn Holton, P Seamus O’Kelly and EDGE Jordan Revels
New Faces: 33 signees, 21 transfers
Top Additions: DE Tunmise Adeleye (Michigan State), RB Deion Hankins (UTEP), OL Tellek Lockette (ULM), QB Jordan McCloud (James Madison) and DE Steven Parker (UIW)

Offensive Overview

The least surprising thing about Texas State’s first year under GJ Kinne was the offense putting up numbers behind he and offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich’s tutelage. The more eyebrow-raising aspect was how effective they were on the ground in addition to the explosive passing game. The Bobcats were 15th in the nation in rushes per game (40.7 attempts) and 42nd in the nation in rushing yards per game (170 yards per game) led by Ismail Mahdi, who was one of the breakout players in the nation with 2,169 all-purpose yards (1st in FBS).

Even despite losing last year's starting quarterback TJ Finley and players like Ashtyn Hawkins out wide, Texas State brought in the reigning Sun Belt Player of the Year in Jordan McCloud to take the reins at quarterback. At one point this off-season, Texas State had no quarterbacks with starting experience and now, McCloud's addition puts Kinne's team in pole position to win the Sun Belt. His addition plus the depth of the backfield and a promising receiving room headlined by “Joe Dirt” Joey Hobert means the Bobcats could reach another level on offense. The only other major question will be the suitability of the offensive line after some shuffling this past off-season.

Projected Starters 

Breakout Candidates

OL Issiah Walker – Right tackle has the chance to be the most competitive position along the offensive line ahead of spring. Newcomer Issiah Walker, from Butler College, could push Jimeto Obigbo but even if Obigbo maintains his starting spot, don’t be surprised to see Walker featured this season.

WR Chris Dawn – Drew Donley is the leading name in that No. 3 wide receiver spot as the position shifted around following Ashtyn Hawkins’ departure, but Chris Dawn earned early playing time (9 catches for 86 yards) last year as a true freshman. If the sophomore continues to turn heads, we will see the Mesquite Horn product more this spring and into the season.

WR Beau Sparks – Joey Hobert worked out so why not trust the Utah Tech-to-Texas State pipeline again? Texas State’s receiving talent outside of Hobert and Wilson is still a bit of a mystery, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility that the El Paso native, who was an FCS All-American as a freshman last season, will get a chance to shine through as a rotation piece.

Key Unit

Running back – This answer could easily be quarterback with the addition of Jordan McCloud, but I’m going to zig where everyone would think to zag. I don’t know if people realize how deep this running back room is even after losing three talented players to the portal. Mahdi leads the way, but Texas State returns Lincoln Pare, the team’s leading rusher from 2022 who tore his ACL ahead of last season, and adds UTEP’s leading rushers in Deion Hankins (157 carries f0r 812 yards) and Torrance Burgess Jr. (124 carries for 620 yards) following their most productive college seasons. All four of those players could fight for ample playing time just about anywhere in the state.

Biggest Question Mark

Offensive Line – If there was one consistent blemish last season for the offense, it was pass protection. Nash Jones missed a good chunk after getting hurt against UTSA and that left tackle spot not having its wall played a massive part. The other was TJ Finley’s lack of mobility inside the pocket. Does Nash’s return alongside McCloud’s enhanced pocket presence fix that up? If so, this could be a potentially Top 40 offense in the country. If not, you’re looking at more games where this side of the ball stalls out for consistent periods of time like we saw vs Southern Miss last season or against Troy.

Defensive Overview

Now let’s get to the fun side of the ball, or at least the side with the most questions from the top on down. Of course, the biggest piece of off-season news was the departure of coordinator Jonathan Patke to Duke and the promotion of defensive backs coach Dexter McCoil Sr., Kinne's former Tulsa teammate, to co-defensive coordinator.

With the tempo in which Texas State plays on offense, it’s tough to ask any defense to be a stout unit for a full game at that number of reps. So the Bobcats adopted Patke’s Book of Manny Diaz philosophy of generating chaos via exotic blitzes to generate sacks and turnovers. What changes, if any, can we expect under the guidance of the new co-defensive coordinator tandem of McCoil Sr. and Bradley Dale Peveto, brought in from UTEP? Last season Texas State generated 1.7 takeaways per game (30th) including 11 interceptions and 19 forced fumbles. Add in 40 sacks and you have a defense that lived up to its frenetic philosophies. It's tough to imagine the unit deviating from that philosophy especially since McCoil's college tenure was entirely under Patke's guidance.

Then again it’s still a unit that gave up 20 consecutive points to Southern Miss in which it became a one-score game late after Texas State held a 42-16 lead. Then there’s the game against Arkansas State again where they surrendered 77 points, so maybe there's more to change than what the surface level shows. Kinne paired McCoil with the veteran Peveto for some mentorship but the 32-year-old's promotion shows trust in his early coaching development.

Projected Starters 

Breakout Candidates

DE Steven Parker – The South Oak Cliff product has 14 sacks to his name from his two seasons at Incarnate Word so don't underestimate his resume. Michigan State transfer Tunmise Adeleye is the presumed starter and was suspended earlier in the off-season, but is still with the team. He'll likely pair with Parker to provide ample pass-rush to a defense in need of sack production outside of Ben Bell.

S Bobby Crosby – Tory Spears’ college career has been hampered by injury so depth at safety is a must. Spears and Culp are two of the leaders on defense, but Crosby received ample playing time last season in a banged up secondary. That playing time will make him pivotal to a unit that should take a step forward with most of the big playmakers back, if they can stay healthy.

DT Dominique Ratcliff – Ratcliff earned rotation minutes behind Tavian Coleman at the one-tech nose tackle spot. After 17 tackles to his name in 2023, expect Ratcliff to earn a bigger role as one of the veterans amongst a defensive line working some new faces into the two-deep.

Key Unit

Secondary – Nearly ever starter from last season is back including Spears as the needed veteran presence. Last year’s corners and safeties rooms were hampered by injuries to Spears, Eaton and Culp at various points. If healthy, Texas State has playmakers backed up by intriguing transfers to make the backend of the defense secure.

Biggest Question Mark

Linebacker – We’re about to see how much Brian Holloway and Dan Foster Jr. did for this defense after starting all 13 games and Holloway nabbing four interceptions and being named Second-Team All Sun Belt. Texas State brought in starting-caliber options via the portal but is it enough for them to carry the same workload as last year’s unit who seemingly played every defensive snap possible.