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NEW ATLANTA: 2025 Georgia State Spring Game

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Mold Breaker: The Rise of GJ Kinne & Texas State Football

June 16, 2025|CFB Nation +, Sun Belt, Top Stories

SAN MARCOS, Texas — The air feels different in San Marcos.

Not just because of the dry heat rising off the Hays County hills, but because of the tempo. The pulse of Texas State football no longer beats to the slow rhythm of rebuilding. Under head coach G.J. Kinne, it races—furious, unpredictable, and brash. If most Group of Five programs rebuild brick by brick, Kinne wields a blowtorch, daring gravity to catch him.

And through two years, it hasn’t.

Kinne, now entering his third season as the head coach of Texas State, is not simply building a program. He’s daring the entire Sun Belt to rethink what’s possible. His Bobcats opened the 2023 season by knocking off Baylor in Waco, set 20 program records, and finished 8-5—the best FBS season in school history. Then came 2024, another bowl, more offensive fireworks, and a narrow loss to College Football Playoff-bound Arizona State that turned heads nationally.

But 2025? It’s something else entirely.


Reload or Regress?

The SP+ projections are lukewarm—ranking Texas State 93rd in the nation with a projected 6.1 wins (4.1 in Sun Belt play). That’s not disrespect—it’s recognition of turnover. The Bobcats lost their starting quarterback (Jordan McCloud, now at Arizona), their do-it-all tailback (Ismail Mahdi, off to the NFL), their top three receivers, three offensive line starters, their offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich, and 14 of 18 defenders who logged at least 250 snaps.

In total: 36 new transfers, including three quarterbacks and 19 defenders. Kinne’s approach, born out of necessity and nurtured by the portal, has now become a full-blown philosophy.

“We don’t recruit stars—we recruit hunger,” Kinne said. “If you’ve got a chip on your shoulder and 4.4 speed, San Marcos is your laboratory.”

It’s not lip service. Former Auburn blue-chipper Holden Geriner is locked in a three-way battle with Pitt’s Nate Yarnell and SMU’s Keldric Luster for the starting quarterback job. The wide receiver room now includes Mavin Anderson (Cal), Tre Harris (Ole Miss), and Caleb Douglas (Florida). On defense, Kinne and DC Dexter McCoil brought in impact transfers from Wofford, Prairie View A&M, and Arkansas.

This isn’t just roster churn. It’s a calculated bet on chemistry under pressure.


The Gospel According to G.J.

Kinne’s rise is anything but ordinary.

He grew up in East Texas football sanctuaries, played for Jeff Traylor at Gilmer, watched his father coach at Allen and Baylor, and spent time in NFL camps under Chip Kelly and Doug Pederson. His resume includes stints under Gus Malzahn, Mike Norvell, and Kliff Kingsbury. By 2022, he’d turned Incarnate Word into the most electric offense in America, leading the FCS in scoring and grooming Walter Payton Award winner Lindsey Scott Jr.

That momentum carried straight to Texas State, where in Year One, he shattered expectations. The Bobcats didn’t just win—they exploded. Behind 3,439 passing yards from TJ Finley and 2,169 all-purpose yards from Mahdi, the Bobcats scored 40+ points six times, finished 14th nationally in scoring, and ranked top-30 in total, rushing, and passing offense.

For a program that had never been to a bowl game? It was a fever dream.

“Take Back Texas” wasn’t a slogan—it was a call to arms.


SP+ Says Mid. Kinne Says Go.

Bill Connelly’s 2025 SP+ preview rightly points to the volatility. The offense has to replace nearly every skill position contributor. The defense—despite finishing first in tackles for loss and eighth in sacks in 2023—is almost entirely new again. Continuity is a dream Kinne hasn’t been able to afford.

But he has something better: conviction.

He retained defensive coordinator Dexter McCoil, who will lean on returners like pass rusher Kalil Alexander (6.5 sacks) and defensive back Trez Moore. He promoted Landon Keopple—an original disciple of his veer-and-shoot scheme—to offensive coordinator, preserving tempo and trust.

If the defense holds, if one of the QBs hits, if the new receivers mesh—Texas State could overperform SP+ projections again.

The schedule offers little grace. Trips to Arkansas (Sept. 13), Troy (Nov. 29), and a rivalry showdown with App State (Oct. 18) will test the new-look Bobcats early and often. But don’t expect Kinne to flinch.

This is, after all, the same man who called a fake punt from his own 20-yard line against South Alabama.


Building a Legacy—Or a Legend?

At just 36 years old, Kinne is already one of the sport’s most intriguing minds. He’s part mad scientist, part motivational oracle, and part gambler. His programs don’t whisper their way into bowl eligibility—they storm through the door with fireworks and fourth-down attempts.

Now, he faces his ultimate test: sustaining chaos as a long-term model.

If Texas State soars in 2025, Kinne will be a rising star in the national coaching carousel. If it implodes, critics will call his system unsustainable—a house of portal-built cards.

He’s aware of the stakes.

“We’ll score 50,” Kinne said with a grin. “Let them adjust to us.”


Bottom line: Kinne isn’t building Texas State to fit a mold. He’s burning the old one. In a sport where everyone’s searching for an edge, he’s redefining what it means to rebuild. Whether Texas State crashes or climbs, the Bobcats are the most fascinating experiment in college football—and G.J. Kinne is its fearless architect.


This article was written by De’Shawn Minor(Moon) of CFB Nation while covering Texas State Football, the Sun Belt conference & the 2025 College Football season

Moon

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