Texas State football begins 2024-25 season with first practice of training camp

SAN MARCOS, Texas – A brand new season has begun in San Marcos, and the Texas State football program is ready to make another leap of success in the upcoming season.

Last season was bookended by huge wins over Baylor in week one, the Bobcats’ first bowl game appearance in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl, and a 45-21 victory over Rice University.

Coming into this season, the sky is the limit for the program that lost players to the transfer portal and then signed some key pieces during the offseason.

Starting with the quarterback position, former starting quarterback T.J. Finley reportedly intended to return to San Marcos for another season. Bobcats fans were delighted by the news after he put up huge numbers last season: 3,439 passing yards, 24 touchdowns, and only eight interceptions.

Then, in early January, former University of Arizona quarterback Jayden de Laura announced that he was transferring to Texas State, which prompted Finley to transfer to Western Kentucky University. An investigation into Jayden de Laura’s criminal past turned up a report from The University Star -- Texas State’s student newspaper -- which found that de Laura’s signing with the Bobcats came one day after an alleged civil sexual assault case he was involved in six years ago was officially settled.

Backlash from the Texas State student body followed Jayden de Laura’s withdrawal from the university. That created a massive hole in the program, which Head Coach G.J. Kinne needed to fill fast. A few weeks later, the defending Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year, Jordan McCloud, announced his transfer from James Madison University to Texas State.

The addition of an experienced quarterback with conference player of the year honors has spirits high for the Bobcats. McCloud’s averaging showing in the Texas State spring game made the anticipation for his debut this fall that much more interesting. Will he fit well with his new offense? Do they have the timing down between the quarterback and his receivers? These are all questions that will be answered on Aug. 31, when the Bobcats host Lamar University to open the regular season.

On the defensive side of the ball, transfer portal additions make the lineup and formation for certain players a question mark as to where they will fit in. Former Houston linebacker and Judson High School alum Treylin Payne will play his first season with the Bobcats along with former University of Florida and University of Houston linebacker Mannie Nunnery.

During Coach Kinne’s press conference after the first practice, he expressed his satisfaction with the first practice of the season.

“Probably the best first day that I’ve had as a head coach, probably because it’s consecutive years in the same place,” said Kinne. “Same for the coaches, the coaches kinda know what I’m thinking the players for the most part kinda know how we do things, so I thought today was a really good day. We were healthy it wasn’t sloppy, we were slopping around and on the ground.”