The Texas State football program’s annual spring game was held on April 12 inside UFCU Stadium, with what appeared to be an almost entirely new squad on the field.
Spring games not only informs coaches and fans the progress of the offseason but gives them a chance to see what players work on the field. This is especially important for Texas State, which has several key players not returning for this season.
“We had so many new faces, we wanted [to] baby step these guys a little bit and bring them on slowly,” Texas State head coach G.J. Kinne said. “We couldn’t even go redzone, we don’t have one goal line play, these guys don’t know one goal line play [or] one redzone play. It’s base football, it’s been evaluating mode, it’s been competing, we want these guys to know what they’re doing out there.”
The spring game gave Texas State’s quarterbacks a chance to showcase their skills, as there hasn’t been any official announcement on who will earn the starting role.
Three new quarterbacks arrived in San Marcos during the offseason to compete for the starting quarterback job at Texas State.
The three quarterbacks did have a chance to play in the spring showcase where they all had opportunity to display their skills. Brad Jackson the only returned Bobcat from last season did get on the field first to showcase his abilities. Holden Geriner, Gevani McCoy and Nate Yarnell did get playing time but nothing is set in stone with who will be the starter.
With the most experience and stats recorded, McCoy came to San Marcos after transferring from Oregon State. He finished the season with 1,300 passing yards on 123 completions. McCoy started his college career in Idaho, throwing for over 5,000 yards in three seasons.
A memorable game from McCoy’s last season with the Beavers came against San Diego State, where he finished with 181 passing yards on 16 completions, passing for a touchdown with zero interceptions. McCoy has experience going against ranked opponents, where his team took on then-No. 9 Oregon and No. 11 Boise State and lost both games.
“This offense is very explosive and that’s very exciting for a QB,” McCoy said. “So just [I have] to learn from my mistakes and keep going forward.”
Yarnell, who has played his entire college career at Pittsburgh, is the second most experienced collegiate quarterback on the team. Yarnell, a six-foot-six and 215-pound quarterback, also has experience against ranked opponents. Playing well in both games against ranked teams, Yarnell has something the other quarterbacks do not have: height.
Against Clemson on November 16, 2024, Yarnell completed 34 passes on 54 attempts, racking up 350 passing yards with one touchdown and one INT in a four-point loss.
“I’ve been in four offenses in college, I’ve been in pro style, I’ve played in spread and this is the offense I wanted to be in, this is why I’m here,” Yarnell said in a spring practice press conference. “I know coach Keopple can call these plays and get it done, coach Kinne has built a fantastic culture and we’re going to score points and that’s why I came here.”
Geriner is a six-foot-three-inch quarterback who formerly played for the Auburn Tigers. He has only completed nine passing attempts in his collegiate career, making him the most inexperienced transfer.
The only returning quarterback from last season is Jackson. He showed flashes on the ground with his running abilities last season, where he gave the team an extra boost on offense. In his first year with the team, Jackson rushed for 164 yards on 22 carries, where he scored four touchdowns and averaged 7.5 yards per carry. Jackson is the only quarterback in the QB room with experience in an offense led by Kinne.
“I know what we’re trying to do here at Texas State, you know, eight [wins], five [losses], and winning the first two responders bowl two years in a row is great,” Jackson said. “For us our expectation is we want to win a Sun Belt Championship and have a shot to go to the College Football Playoffs.”
With a new offensive coordinator and three different quarterbacks on the depth chart, it’s going to take some time before fans find out this team’s true identity. The team is at the stage now to evaluate the spring game, look over the film and dissect the rights and wrongs from there.
One intriguing aspect for the season is how well the running back and safety rooms looked, according to Kinne. This is important to note after the departures of former star running back Ismail Mahdi and safety Tory Spears this offseason.
Although there are no full answers on who gets the starting jobs for many positions, it’s safe to take away that this team understands what they lost in the offseason and the adjustments that must be made in order to have another successful season like the past two.
“Hopefully we don’t lose any surprises and are able to keep the core guys together because I do think we got a special team with a real special group,” Kinne said. “I think they’re coming together at the right time. I’m really excited about this team, but as always, we’re always going to evaluate the situation, watch the film, have personal meetings and kind of see what it looks like.”
