G.J. Kinne was officially introduced as the 21^st head football coach of Texas State Wednesday afternoon by President Kelly Damphousse and Athletic Director Don Coryell in front of a gathering of Bobcat alumni, boosters and other VIPs. 
During the introductory press conference, Kinne spoke of his philosophy as a player’s coach and assured everyone that the Bobcats will work hard and light up the scoreboard. 
During the 2022 season, Kinne engineered the nation’s highest-scoring offense in both the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), an impressive feat that led to the 34-year-old being coveted by several college football programs including his alma mater, the University of Tulsa. 
However, Kinne knew the place he wanted to be Texas State. 
“Some different opportunities came up right after the [2022] season,” Kinne said. “A lot of them offered a lot of great things, but I wanted to be at Texas State. I chose to be at Texas State. I’m from Texas, and that was important to me. I always knew if the right guy got this job, you better watch out. This place is unbelievable, you got 40,000 students. You got a river flowing through campus. We’re the only Texas school in the Sun Belt. I’m so fortunate to be here.” 
Kinne’s first season as a head coach was a historic one as, under his leadership, Incarnate Word achieved an 11-1 record and led the NCAA in scoring at 53 points per game. Quarterback Lindsey Scott Jr. also set the record for the most combined touchdowns in a season at 62.
Kinne plans to bring the same explosive high-octane offense he implemented at Incarnate Word to Texas State. 
“We’ll play an exciting brand of football,” Kinne said. “Offensively, we’re going to be a tempo team, a play-action team, and we’re going to light up the scoreboard. Our team will play with energy; we’ll have swagger to us, and we’re going to preach discipline every day.” 
Kinne vowed to hire a great coaching staff that knows the state of Texas well and will be able to recruit it at a high level and spoke of his strategy toward recruiting.
“I’m going to hire a great staff, a staff that knows Texas,” Kinne said. “One that can recruit the coaches and the players in the great state of Texas… we are going to recruit Texas high school football. We are going to recruit the [transfer] portal as well, but the foundation of our program is going to be Texas high school football.” 
Kinne’s deep ties to the state of Texas were extremely important and pivotal in the decision to hire him, according to Coryell. 
“He’s well respected, connected to a lot of guys in the state,” Coryell said. “He has deep roots with some of the top names in this state. He was also an outstanding high school quarterback here in the state of Texas by any measure.” 
While it has been speculated that Kinne will bring some members of his current coaching staff at Incarnate Word with him to Texas State as of right now, no official hires have been made, leaving him to recruit alone with early signing day only two weeks away. 
“I’m a one-man show right now,” Kinne said. “Believe me, I can get it done. I’m a great recruiter and I’m excited to sell the brand of Texas State.”
Damphousse said during the press conference that the assistant coaches will have incentives built into their contracts, allowing more money to be available in the assistant pool and ensuring Kinne is able to hire the best coaching staff possible.
Damphousse also spoke of the university’s plans regarding its football facilities, something which has plagued the program’s recruiting efforts in the past. 
“One thing I told all the coaching candidates that we talked to was our interest in investing more heavily in the football program,” Damphousse said. “Athletics in general, but football in particular. We already have a project in mind for expanding our weight room facilities. We have a long-term plan for building an indoor facility, but with conversations over the last week, we have accelerated that timeline for that indoor facility a lot quicker.” 
Texas State’s commitment to improving its facilities to be able to compete with other programs in college football’s ongoing arms race is something that was very important to him when making the decision to accept the job offer. 
“You’ve got to have great facilities,” Kinne said. “Not only for your current student-athletes but for recruiting as well. That was one of the big draws to this place, the commitment to the football program.” 
Kinne has one message for the fans and supporters of the Texas State football program. 
“We need everyone,” Kinne said. “We need Bobcat nation to step up like they never stepped up before. Our student-athletes deserve it. I believe in this place; I believe in this leadership. I can’t wait to get to work. Eat ’em up.”