Football Preview: Texas State
Last season, Texas State won its first outright NCAA Division I conference championship with an 8-5 overall record and 5-2 mark in the Southland Conference. Texas State also appeared in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs for the second time in four years, and set a school record by winning five road games. The Bobcats also won their first non-conference road game since the 2001 season. Texas State ended the season ranked 22nd in the final Sports Network poll and 23rd in the final FCS Coaches poll.
Brad Wright enters his third season as head coach at his alma mater with a squad that returns 43 lettermen and 14 starters. Eight of the returning starters are on offense and are headlined by senior record-setting quarterback Bradley George and junior All-Southland running back Karrington Bush.
George returns as a three-year starter for the Bobcats. Last year, he was ranked sixth nationally in passing efficiency rating after completing 181-of-301 passes for 2,660 yards and 26 touchdowns. He enters his senior year having thrown for 6,757 yards and 55 touchdowns in his career, which ranks second in both categories at Texas State.
Bush ran for 1,065 yards and 11 touchdowns on just 136 carries last year. His 7.8 yards per carry ranked second nationally and he joins Chris Evans of Samford as the only two FCS sophomore runners nationally to rush for more than 1,000 yards in each of the last two years. Bush also ranked sixth nationally and led the Southland in all-purpose yards with an average of 179.23 yards per game. Bush also caught 22 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns and returned 42 kickoffs for 1,055 yards and one score.
Sophomores Mishak Rivas and Daren Dillard, who combined for 65 receptions for 1,058 yards and eight touchdowns, will be called upon to fill the void left by first-team all-conference selection Cameron Luke. A pair of three-year lettermen and two-year starters, Alex Luna and Calvin Gore, joins All-Southland guard D.J. Hall on the offensive line, which ranked 19th nationally in fewest quarterback sacks allowed.
While the Bobcats have to replace three starters on their defensive line, they do have some veteran players returning to play those positions. The lone returning starter is senior end Travis Houston, who led the team in sacks (seven) and ranked third among conference leaders with 15 tackles for losses. Sophomore Adley Eshraghipour, senior Garrett Hood and junior Leon Woodley emerged as the three other starters in the spring and will be called on to step into a more prominent role.
The most solid position on Texas State's team this season could be at linebacker where starters Marcus Clark and Joe Bell return at rover and middle linebacker, respectively. Clark recorded 85 tackles last season and ranked second among team leaders after leading the Bobcats in tackles two years ago with 71 stops. Bell also had 69 tackles and intercepted two passes while starting 12 games at middle linebacker.
The Bobcats also should be improved in the secondary with the return of part-time starting cornerbacks Drenard Williams and Will Thompson, along with the emergence of Kenneth Hampton at free safety. Last season Williams started eight games for the Bobcats and broke up nine passes, while Thompson started seven games and played in 11 contests. He had 30 tackles, including five stops for losses last season. Hampton moved over to free safety early last season and continues to get better at the position. He finished last year with 42 tackles and intercepted three passes to rank second among team leaders.