Texas State finished 4-8 in 2021, marking the seventh consecutive losing season for the Bobcats. The 2022 season is important for a Texas State program searching for a bowl invite in a new-look Sun Belt. The Bobcats haven’t won more than four games since 2014. Head coach Jake Spavital took over prior to the 2019 season and has yet to win more than four games.

1. Is Layne Hatcher the guy? 

Texas State will start a new quarterback in 2022 with Brady McBride entering the transfer portal last week. McBride, who started more than half of the Bobcats’ games over the last two seasons, was inconsistent and oft injured in 2021. Spavital brought in transfers Dillon Markiewicz (Syracuse) and Hatcher (Arkansas State) to compete with sophomores Ty Evans and Tanner Prewit.

Hatcher, a junior, feels like the favorite to win the starting position because of his experience inside the Sun Belt Conference. He threw for more than 7,000 yards in 32 games played at Arkansas State. No other quarterback on the roster comes close to that type of experience. The 6-0, 210-pound Hatcher possess a similar body build to the departing McBride. 

Hatcher started multiple games in each of the past three seasons at Arkansas State. The free Covid year means he still has two years of eligibility remaining. Texas State needs him to be the quarterback who only threw two interceptions on 194 attempts in 2020 rather than the one who threw 13 interceptions on 341 attempts in 2021. Hatcher’s best year was as a freshman in 2019 when he threw for 2,946 yards, 27 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions while completing 65.8 percent of his 310 passing attempts. 

There’s no denying the importance of the quarterback position in modern football, especially for a play-calling head coach like Spavital. Hatcher’s ability to make an impact as a transfer in 2022 might decide the fate of his new head coach. 

2. How good can this offense be?  

The running back position is in good hands for Texas State with Jahmyl Jeter and Calvin Hill returning. Hill led the Bobcats with 714 yards on 128 attempts. He averaged a team-high 5.6 yards a carry and was the only running back on the roster to post a run over 30 yards. Jeter is the closer. He scored a team-high eight touchdowns. Jeter finished the year second on the team with 384 yards on 91 carries. 

The wide receiver position also returns its top two producers from 2021 in Javen Banks and Marcell Barbee. Barbee led the team with 40 catches. He and Banks tied for the team lead with five touchdowns. Banks led the Bobcats with 548 yards receiving, averaging 15.22 yards per catch with a long of 75. The slot receiver position returns Ashtyn Hawkins and Drue Jackson. Hawkins was third on the team with 30 catches. 

The offensive line might be the strength offensively. Canadian Kyle Hergel is the tone-setter on the interior of the offensive line. Dalton Cooper, still only a sophomore because of the free year of eligibility in 2020, is an all-conference talent at left tackle. Texas State averaged 4.0 yards a carry and rushed for 17 touchdowns in 2021. The unit allowed 25 sacks. 

3. Can the defense find a pass rush? 

The Bobcats weren’t good defensively in 2021. The unit allowed 33 points per game and 4.4 yards per rushing attempt. Opponents passed for 246.83 yards per game, throwing for 27 touchdowns against the secondary in only 12 contests. The secondary allowed a staggering 7.59 yards per attempt. It’d be easy to point to the secondary, and the back end isn’t without fault, but the main culprit for the lack of defensive success was the lack of pressure created by the front seven. The easiest way to help your secondary is by giving them less time to cover. That happens by getting to the quarterback. 

Texas State only registered 19 sacks in 12 games. The entire defense only supplied 58 tackles for loss. No player on the team recorded more than four sacks, and only one picked up more than three. The Bobcats know finding a pass rush is priority no. 1 for the defense. Issiah Nixon, who led the team with four sacks in 2021, is back at outside linebacker. Defender Jordan Revels, who was second on the team with three sacks last year, was moved to outside linebacker in the spring to unlock his ability to rush the passer. Those two need to combine for 15 sacks in 2022.