New Coaches in Texas State Football

By Koby Jackson

Sports Reporter

A new season has arrived in the City of San Marcos as the Texas State football 2023 season is just around the corner, and there are some fresh faces around the program after a struggling four and eight record last season.

In 2022, former Texas State head coach Jake Spavital led the team to a losing record of 4-8 and was not eligible enough to make a bowl game. The departure of Spavital left the doors wide open for the head coach position.

During this off-season, the Bobcats decided to hire former UIW head coach GJ Kinne as the new head coach for Texas State football this upcoming season. A new head coach also brings more heavy artillery to the coaching staff, as six of the assistant coaches were coached under Kinne.

There are major differences between last year’s team and this year’s team, as this year the Bobcats have an offensive coordinator compared to last year when they did not have one.

Along with GJ Kinne being hired as Texas State head coach, he has also brought along some familiar faces with him. The first person he brought along was the new offensive coordinator for the Bobcats, Mack Leftwich. He was the offensive coordinator for the UIW Cardinals this past season, led that team to the FCS national championship and was the leading offense in the FCS.

Another big piece that Kinne brought to the Texas State Bobcats is their new defensive coordinator, Jonathan Patke. Patke in 2022 led the Incarnate Word Cardinals to the total best defense in scoring, had the defense placed in the top 10 in sacks and takeaways and created a defense that was first in the country in tackles for loss.

There’s so much anticipation for this upcoming season, and it starts with the first game of the season against the Baylor Bears. In the past two years, the Bears have exhibited the Bobcats, and hopefully, GJ Kinne is looking to bring this team to victory lane and possibly a very highly leveled season.