A new season and a new quarterback give Texas State cause for hope, confidence
SAN MARCOS — Texas State hasn't won a season opener since 2017, but with 19 returning starters and 29 new transfers that include new starting quarterback Layne Hatcher, there's confidence that streak may end this Saturday at Nevada.
After three seasons of primarily recruiting through the transfer portal, the Bobcats feature a roster with 49 players that have played at least 10 games at the FBS, FCS or Division II levels. With that kind of depth to go with 10 returning starters on offense, Bobcats coach Jake Spavital expects more “variety” in his offense.
More: Former Arkansas State quarterback Layne Hatcher wins Texas State's starting job
“Over the past few years, it’s been kind of like, ‘what are these guys deficient at and what are they capable of doing efficiently?’” Spavital said. “I think these guys have had a great offseason and worked on a lot of the things that we addressed so we can be a lot more multiple this year.
“The COVID eligibility freeze of 2020 allowed us to have a lot more depth and a lot more variety of different body types. Our recruiting, our roster management has gone a little bit differently. … We’ve got short-yardage backs. We’ve got guys who are built for space and speed. We’ve got big body types for catch radius targets. We’ve got a good variety of everything.”
Six of the 29 transfers are defensive linemen from FBS programs — Texas' Myron Warren, Texas Tech's Nelson Mbanasor, Memphis' Kajuan Robinson, Levi and Ben Bell from Louisiana Tech and Louisiana's Dominique Ratcliff. With three other returning starters, Spavital expects a heavy rotation on the defensive front.
“You’re going to see all these bodies play,” Spavital said. “We feel a lot better than what we’ve ever been in terms of the depth that we’ve got up front. So you’ll see Nelson Mbanasor, the Bell brothers and Myron Warren. You’ve got Nico (Ezidore) and (Jordan) Revels, Issiah Nixon — I’m probably missing some— Samuel Obiang. There’s a lot of bodies and I’m expecting all of them to play. … we have to stay as fresh as possible and we’ve got to make sure that we’re putting the right guys out there and getting evaluations on everyone we’ve got. What they can and can’t handle games.”
Spavital said there will be plenty of rotations across the board outside of one crucial position: quarterback. Hatcher was announced as the starter last week. Spavital has praised Hatcher since his arrival from Arkansas State in January, but more so since the quarterback competition ended.
“He knows it all,” Spavital said. “He knows everything that I know. That’s what I think of him and the leadership and work ethic that he has. … When it comes to the offense, I could put anything on him. He’s going to study it, he’s going to rep it, he’s going to make sure that those kids are in the right spot. I feel very comfortable with Layne right now.”
Spavital had just one player ruled out due to injury: Evan Lovell is expected to miss the first few games with a foot injury. Alex Costilla will start at left guard in his place.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: New season and quarterback give Texas State pause for hope, confidence
