Texas State was one of the biggest surprises in college football last season.
Entering the year, college football betting odds had the Bobcats’ win total at 4.5, with the Under juiced to -165. There wasn’t a ton of faith in head coach GJ Kinne’s squad in his first year at the helm, and there were certainly a lot of questions surrounding the offense. It was almost a whole new starting 11 on that side of the ball.
But it didn’t take long for the offense to find its groove. Led by quarterback TJ Finley — who is now with Western Kentucky — the Bobcats’ offense immediately showed its potential and scored 42 in a Week 1 win over Baylor and averaged 44 points per game through the first five weeks. Texas State went on to finish as the top offense in the toughest conference in the Group of Five. It led the Sun Belt in both scoring (36.7 PPG) and total offense (458.5 yards per game).
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Jordan McCloud Transfers To Texas State
Even though Finley is no longer guiding this offense following a QB carousel, the Bobcats will still boast a ton of firepower with new signal caller and reigning Sun Belt POY Jordan McCloud joining the Bobcats’ returning players.
Ismail Mahdi quickly became an impact player after transferring to Texas State from Houston Christian. Mahdi finished as the third-leading rusher in the league, racking up 1,331 yards and 10 touchdowns as he was voted All-Sun Belt first team as an all-purpose player. He added 275 more yards and a score through the air and also returned a kick for a TD. The junior will be back terrorizing defenses this fall.
The Bobcats also return three of their top four receivers and their No. 1 tight end. Joey Hobert was huge last year and finished third in the league in receiving yards with 81.4 per game. He also hauled in eight TDs on his way to second-team all-conference honors. Juniors Kole Wilson and Drew Donley also return. Wilson’s 66 receptions ranked second on the roster and his 747 yards were third. He also grabbed eight TDs while Donley finished with 169 yards and one TD on 11 receptions.
Konnor Fox was the only tight end with double-digit receptions on the roster after his 10-reception, 117-yard campaign.
Texas State’s Offensive Line Returning Experience
Unlike last season where the Bobcats had a whole new starting offensive line, they’ll return five linemen who started at some point during the year.
Redshirt sophomore Trenton Scott started eight games — seven at left tackle and one at right tackle — mainly filling in for Nash Jones, who started six games at left tackle but missed the other half of the season because of injury.
Dorian Strawn started at left guard in all 10 games he appeared in while Jimeto Obigbo started all 13 games with 12 coming at right tackle and one at right guard. Chayse Todd started two games at center last season.
The Bobcats also picked up some key players in the transfer portal including offensive lineman Tellek Lockette from ULM, who will likely be fighting for a starting spot. Transfer wideouts Jaden Williams and Beau Sparks should also have key roles on this offense. Williams caught 10 passes for 188 yards and one TD for Boston College while Sparks finished with 661 yards and seven scores on 73 receptions last season at Utah Tech.
Outside of Finley and wide receiver Ashtyn Hawkins, Texas State isn’t really missing any big-time contributors from 2023. They were likely to be just as good — if not better — as they were last season before the change at QB.
They’ll still surely be among the most potent offenses in the Sun Belt once again.
