G.J. Kinne spoke at the THSCA Convention over the weekend with the season just around the corner. The Bobcats enter the 2024 season with high expectations.
Daily Record photo by Gerald Castillo
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This season will see the second meeting between G.J. Kinee and Jeff Traylor. Traylor coached Kinne as a player at Gilmer High School in 2006.
Texas State Athletics submitted photo
Texas State Head Coach G.J. Kinne spoke at the Texas High School Coaches Association Convention this past weekend.
With high expectations for the Bobcats this season, including being the preseason favorite to win the Sun Belt West Division, Kinne is embracing the pressure.
“The guys are excited, and there is a lot of momentum going into the offseason,” Kinne said. “It was a great summer, and there is a lot of momentum going on with the high expectations. But that’s the fun part about the business. I’m more accustomed to that than the situation I went into last season.”
During the offseason, Kinne brought in former Clemson offensive analyst and high school coaching legend Chad Morris along with former UTEP defensive coordinator Bradley Dale Peveto onto the staff.
With the coaching staff having both young and older coaches, Kinne is wanting to bring a balance.
“Bringing in someone like Chad Morris with his experiences and wisdom then Bradley Dale Peveto and David Bailiff, we have someone on offense, defense and for myself,” Kinne said. “All three of those guys have been head coaches, so I lean on them in different areas. It was always good to have balance. It’s like a basketball team, we have small guys and you have tall guys. But that is the key, which is hiring the right people.”
Kinne talked about how each coach has been able to build a relationship with him and how they have contributed to the team in their own way.
“Coach [Peveto] is the only one I really didn’t know,” Kinne said. “But I knew he would be good due to the amount of people that reached out to me. When Colt McCoy is standing up on the table for this guy, there might be something there. The more you talk to him, he is an elite recruiter and a great person. He has a home run.
“Obviously with Chad [Morris] since my [time playing at] Tulsa where my best year was under him. He gave me my first job and worked for him in a couple spots, which has been fun.”
Though Bailiff is now known as the Special Assistant to the Head Coach, his work off the field has helped the Bobcats tremendously.
“I played against him when he was at Rice, and I was at Tulsa,” Kinne said. “We had that relationship then I got to play with him again when he was at [Texas A&M] Commerce, and I was at Incarnate Word. He has been huge especially in the NIL world with the relationships in San Marcos. Everyone knows Coach Bailiff, and everyone loves Coach Bailiff. He has been a huge part of our success.”
Kinne is also entering into unfamiliar territory with it being the first time in his coaching career he will stay at the same job for consecutive years.
“We bought a house,” Kinne said. “We rented the first year and just figured it out where we want to be. It has been different for sure. Talking to Jeff [Traylor] after year one, the honeymoon phase is over, but it has been fun.”
Despite moving around, Kinne noted the special relationship he has built with some of the former Incarnate Word football players that followed him Texas State.
“This is my third year coaching them,” Kinne said. “When Nash Jones leaves, I don’t know what to do. They know how we like to operate. Obviously, with the portal, you are going to have a bunch of new guys each year, but it is fun to have those core groups of guys and see them for multiple years.”
One of the biggest games of the year is the Week 2 showdown between archrivals Texas State and UTSA.
While the game is heated both on and off the field, the dynamic of the rivalry added another layer with the additions of both Kinne and his former high school head coach and now UTSA Head Coach Jeff Traylor.
Despite the fierceness of the game, the relationship between Kinne and Traylor remains strong with some funny moments thrown in between.
“You can tell on social media it’s not ‘a sorta’ rivalry,” Kinne said. “I didn’t even understand the dynamic. [When I asked Jeff] ‘Hey, can you help me get this job?’ then he was ‘Yeah sure’. Then calls me saying ‘Man I probably should not have done that.’
“But he is awesome. It doesn’t matter whether it is recruiting, wins, losses, our relationship [is strong]. When I had my little girl Swayze a couple of days ago, he was one of the first people that I texted.”
Kinne will speak at Sun Belt Media Days along with quarterback Jordan McCloud and running back Ismail Mahdi.
cmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc
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