AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas State head coach GJ Kinne isn’t in a hurry to name a starting quarterback, but the clock is ticking before they open the season Aug. 30 against Eastern Michigan.
He said he’s “getting pretty close” to a depth chart at the position, but he’s going to wait until the team’s second scrimmage on Saturday to start making decisions. He was pleased with how they all played in the first scrimmage Aug. 9, but no one separated themselves from the pack.
“We were pretty efficient, not a ton of turnovers or anything like that,” Kinne said. “I think the biggest thing is that we’re continuing on every player, not talking about the physical part, but mentally. Did you give the team an opportunity? Are you picking the right side? They are continuing to get better as a group, but we’re not there yet.”
Brad Jackson, a redshirt freshman from San Antonio, is in the middle of the quarterback battle. He saw limited time in his first year, completing eight passes in 15 attempts for 118 yards and a score in three games, but he could potentially be most effective as a runner. He scored four times on the ground last year, rushing for 164 yards on 22 carries last season.
The Bobcats have a new offensive coordinator as Landon Keopple steps in for Mack Leftwich, who is now at Texas Tech in the same capacity. Jackson said the playbook and schemes are similar, so it hasn’t been too stressful adjusting to a new coach in that regard.
“For me, it has been a very easy transition, and I’m grateful for that,” he said. “Their approach to the game is a little bit different, Keopple is a bit more reserved and Leftwich would get on your butt, but offensively and knowing what plays to call, there’s not much of a difference.”
Jackson is competing against three transfers and a true freshman for the starting job. Keldric Luster transferred from Southern Methodist, Holden Geriner came in from Auburn and Nate Yarnell, an Austin native and Lake Travis graduate, came home from Pitt. Gavin Parkhurst, a freshman out of All Saints Episcopal in Fort Worth, is the fifth quarterback on the roster.
The backfield was changed drastically for the Bobcats without Ismail Mahdi. He led the country in all-purpose yards as a sophomore in 2023, and then ran for 991 yards with 197 kick return yards last season before transferring to Arizona before the First Responder Bowl. He was a two-time first team all-Sun Belt performer and an All-American in 2023.
Lincoln Pare and Torrance Burgess Jr. are back to carry the load. Pare rushed for 554 yards on 95 carries and and a team-high eight touchdowns last season, while Burgess had 60 carries for 367 yards with two touchdowns.
The Bobcats are headed to the Pac-12 Conference next season, coming off back-to-back 8-5 seasons with bowl victories in both. Kinne said during Sun Belt media days that while it’s fun to think about, they can’t put any focus on being in the rebuilt Pac-12 because they’ve got business to take care of in the last year of their time in the Sun Belt.