SAN MARCOS – The Texas State football program lost sight of the Texas High School Football Coaches Association Offices during the tenure of former head coach Jake Spavital. A crime, really, considering the wealth of talent inside the borders and because the THSCA offices are merely 6.7 miles from Bobcat Stadium. 

Repairing that relationship was the topic of conversation during the introductory press conference of new head coach G.J. Kinne – a lifelong Texan with bona fides so deeply Texan that he starred at quarterback for current UTSA coach Jeff Traylor back at Gilmer High School. Kinne, 34, was on the cover a Dave Campbell’s Football Magazine. 

“I’m a Texas guy through and through,” Kinne said in his introductory press conference on Wednesday afternoon in San Marcos. “I’m the son of a Texas high school football coach. I grew up on the sidelines. In the field house. In the back of the bus after games.” 

The Bobcats all but abandoned prep recruiting by the end of Spavital’s four-year run. They only signed two Texas high school prospects in the 2022 cycle. That was one more than the program signed in 2021. Spavital pointed to the low recruiting budget and prevalence of the transfer portal as reasons for the strategy. And he had a point. Take Zion Childress, who played quarterback at New Caney before signing with Texas State and becoming an all-conference safety. The problem? He transferred to Kentucky after that transformation. 

But scared money can’t make money and Kinne’s press conference was a statement of intent by the Bobcats. President Kelly Damphousse mentioned expedited plans to expand the weight room and build an indoor facility. Director of Athletics Don Coryell echoed those sentiments and said that Texas State will hopefully break ground on a project in April that will renovate the south end zone complex, including a new weight room, training rooms, and team meeting rooms. 

“We’ve got a beautiful football stadium that I would put up against anybody in the Sun Belt,” Coryell said. “Something that we terribly and desperately need is to work on the (team complex), which is where I student-athletes spend most of their time and it is a place that we use for recruiting.” 

Spavital was 13-35 in four seasons at Texas State. The team never won more than five games during that span and has yet to reach a bowl game as an FBS program. The problems, put simply, were threefold – budget, recruiting, offense. The duo of Damphousse and Coryell assured the viewing public that the budget, including facilities, was only improving. As was the recruiting budget and assistant money pool. Kinne made it a point to state that he’s ready and willing to build a roster of Texas high school football players.

On paper, that leaves the offense. And that’s where Kinne shouldn’t have a problem fulfilling his end of the bargain. His Incarnate Word squad is 11-1 and three rounds deep into the FCS playoffs because of an offense that averages over 50 points a game. His quarterback, Lindsey Scott, is the odds-on favorite to win the Walter Payton Award, which is the Heisman Trophy for FCS football. 

With more investment comes higher expectations. The Sun Belt is a conference with a growing reputation and the Bobcats are the only Texas team in the bunch. A bowl game remains the baseline goal on a yearly basis, but Texas State is still trying to crack into the postseason. Kinne checked all the boxes. He has head coaching experience, albeit one season. He can recruit and possesses a rolodex of THSCA contacts. And his teams put up points, even as the offensive coordinator Hawaii and UCF. 

“I always knew if the right guy got this job, you better watch out,” Kinne said. “I wanted to be at Texas State. I chose to be here. Staying in Texas was important to me.”