It is the beginning of a new era at Texas State as the Bobcats take the field for fall camp under first year head coach G.J. Kinne.
With the Bobcats adding 37 transfers over the offseason, according to 24/7 Sports, it was a productive first practice for Kinne.
“I thought it was a really good day for as many new guys that we had,” Kinne said. “There is a lot of learning to be on both sides of the ball. … The first fall [practice] we had the juices flowing and the energy level was good. The discipline was OK and the attention to detail they were trying. We have a lot of work to do.”
With the addition of so many new players and the need to turnaround a struggling program that has not won more than four games since 2014, the pressure is on Kinne to turn a sinking ship into a fully equipped aircraft carrier.
“I have to be really hard on these coaches in fall camp,” Kinne said. “There are many new faces here that have to know what the standard is. They need to know what we expect from them every single day. My biggest takeaway from day one was our coaches need to do a better job of translating that on the field.”
As many of the transfers are coming into San Marcos having missed spring practice, the pressure is on them to catch up during fall practice.
“A lot of it comes from the back end, because there is a lot of communication there,” Kinne said. “Upfront for the offensive lineman there is a lot of communication. Obviously with the quarterback as well, but I thought T.J. handled it well today despite being the new guy and having a lot on his plate. … Then with the linebackers I saw them trying to set the front while we are going fast on offense. They have probably never seen someone go that fast before, so it’s really hard for those guys to communicate upfront.”
Many eyes will be focused on the starting quarterback position as the Bobcats have had trouble filling the position since 2016.
With the additions of Malik Hornsby from Arkansas and T.J. Finley of Auburn, Kinne has been pleased with their progress despite some miscues.
“Malik had a good day,” Kinne said. “He probably had too many mistakes on day one. Just mental mistakes that shouldn’t happen since he was here in the spring. But the best part is that it’s day one for everybody. T.J. Finley had a good day. It was his first day of practice with us. Obviously he is 6’7 260 pounds who can see over the line and throw the ball really well. But he still has a lot of work to do. … Overall the quarterback room did well.”
Despite the early struggles, Kinne is most impressed with Hornsby’s playmaking ability.
“The thing with Malik is when he tucks the ball,” Kinne said. “When someone misses a block, misses an assignment upfront, or they cover our guys down the field, Malik’s ability to extend the play and continue to run to make the big play is dangerous on the defense. He just has to continue to clean it up. Everyone has too.”
Texas State’s first game is September 2 against Baylor.
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