Former NFL quarterback GJ Kinne is expected to become the next head coach of Texas State, a Texas State team source confirmed to The Athletic. Dave Campbell’s Texas Football first reported the news. Here’s what you need to know:
- Kinne is currently coaching the Incarnate Word Cardinals.
- The 34-year-old is 10-1 in his debut season at the FCS school. UIW is in the FCS playoffs and will take on Furman in the second round.
- Texas State finished 4-8 in the Sun Belt conference in 2022.
Backstory
Texas State fired coach Jake Spavital following the 2022 season after four seasons with the Bobcats. Spavital went 13-35 with no bowl game appearances.
Kinne played for Tulsa during his college career. He was the Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year in 2010 and a second-team All-C-USA in 2011. Kinne went undrafted in 2012 before signing with the New York Jets as a free agent. His professional career ended in 2016 with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Canadian Football League.
Kinne began his coaching career with SMU as a graduate assistant. In 2020, he became Hawaii’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Kinne joined UCF’s staff in 2021 as a co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, before becoming the head coach at Incarnate Word.
What the move means for Texas State
Kinne is the latest coach Texas State hopes can elevate the program at the FBS level. The Bobcats moved up from the FCS in 2012 but have only had two non-losing seasons, in 2013 and 2014 under Dennis Franchione. Kinne will be Texas State’s fourth head coach since the program moved to the NCAA’s highest subdivision and the Bobcats still have yet to play in a bowl.
The arrival of Kinne could help Texas State rebuild inroads in Texas high school recruiting. Spavital went heavy on transfers, signing only five high school recruits out of 57 signees in the last two recruiting cycles (41 were transfers and 11 were junior college recruits). Kinne is a former Texas high school quarterback and son of a former Texas high school coach. He also played his senior high school season at Gilmer (Texas) High under UTSA coach Jeff Traylor and coached with Traylor at SMU and Arkansas. In a fertile recruiting ground where high school football is still king, Kinne is well known and respected and that should help the Bobcats on the trail.
Texas State still has work to do on the facilities front, which is one reason Spavital went heavy on the transfer route. The Bobcats trek to nearby San Marcos High to use an indoor practice facility because Texas State doesn’t have one, but the school has raised money for an upcoming south end zone renovation, that includes a new weight room, training room, locker room expansion . – Khan Jr.
What Kinne brings
The former NFL and CFL quarterback has overseen the most productive offense in the FCS this season. Incarnate Word averages 52.9 points per game this season, which ranks No. 1 nationally. Kinne brought in transfer quarterback Lindsey Scott, who is a finalist for the Walter Payton Award, the national offensive player of the year in the FCS.
Before UIW, Kinne worked with Gus Malzahn at UCF as the Knights co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He has an extensive background under successful offensive coaches, working with Chip Kelly, Ryan Day and Chad Morris and playing for Morris and Mike Norvell at Tulsa. – Khan Jr.
Required reading
(Photo: John Rivera/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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