2018 Texas State Offense Preview

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The last time offensive coordinator Zak Kuhr and quarterbacks coach Brett Elliott were on the same coaching staff, James Madison produced one of the most explosive offenses in the FCS back in 2015.

Head coach Everett Withers is hoping to recapture that magic by bringing Elliott back into the mix after he spent a year as the quarterbacks coach at Mississippi State.

“We bounce off each other so well,” Kuhr said of his relationship with Elliott. “We have the same mindset. Not even so much schematically, just kind of how we teach things. It’s an unbelievable mesh in the staff room, it’s like he never left, or I ever left.”

The timing couldn’t have been more appropriate as Texas State must make a decision behind center that could cement the quarterback spot for the next three to four seasons.

Sophomore Willie Jones III and redshirt freshman Jaylen Gipson are vying for the position; both were originally recruited by Elliott in 2016.

While Jones saw actual game time last year (281 yards passing) and showed some glimpses of brilliance while Gipson sat, Kuhr says the competition is real. Where Gipson certainly possesses the tools one wants in a leader, Jones may have that plus more upside athletically.

“The cool thing I like is that they have a pretty good friendship,” Kuhr said. “They’re not stepping on each other to get the better rep or if one asks a question, the other answers it … This is a full unit game and we can’t just think about ourselves.”

While Kuhr helped Texas State’s offense get the wheels moving last year by utilizing a variety of players and adding nearly 100 more total yards per game than the previous season, the Bobcats’ points per game output (17) still resembled that of an average NBA starting shooting guard as opposed to an effective offense. But that’s the goal this season. 

Texas State knows who the playmakers are from a talented group of sophomores and juniors, which couldn’t be said two seasons ago. Sophomores like Jeremiah Haydel and Caleb Twyford on the outside caught on toward the end of last season while the all the running backs led by Robert Brown and Anthony D. Taylor are back.

2018 will also be the first time in a while that the majority of Texas State’s offensive line returns with junior Aaron Brewer being the obvious focal point. 

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