Texas State Head Coach G.J. Kinne takes the podium stadium at Sun Belt Media Days in New Orleans. The Bobcats are the favorite to win the Sun Belt West Division Title after receiving nine first place votes from the preseason polls.
Photo submitted by Texas State Athletics
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Jordan McCloud and Ismail Mahdi represent Texas State at Media Days in New Orleans.
Photo submitted by Texas State Athletics
Head Coach G.J. Kinne, quarterback Jordan McCloud and running back Ismail Mahdi represented Texas State at the 2024 Sun Belt Media Days.
Before starting his opening statement, Kinne acknowledged his wife who gave birth to the couple’s third child late last week.
“I wanted to give my wife Summer a shoutout,” Kinne said. “We had our third child and our first little girl. We induced early to make sure we were going to be here today. I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t her. That is a real coach’s wife decision right there.”
Both McCloud and Mahdi are back as the leading returners in both passing and rushing yards in the Sun Belt Conference.
McCloud, who transferred from James Madison, has already made a major impact for the team during the offseason.
“He is someone that, from the time he has got here, has been a real leader,” Kinne said. “He picked up the system fast. He represents both Texas State and the Sun Belt really well on a national stage.”
Even though this is McCloud’s first season at Texas State and has yet to take a game snap for the Bobcats, Kinne felt the quarterback deserved to represent the Bobcats at media days.
“Since he was the reigning Sun Belt Player of the Year, I’m not going to punish the kid, because he deserves to be here,” Kinne said. “Ever since he has been here, he has been an extremely hard worker. He has built and earned the respect of his teammates and coaches. I’m excited for what he did in the spring, the growth he put in during the summer and I’m excited to see him next week on what he can do in fall camp.”
A factor in McCloud’s success in being one of the team leaders is the senior’s ability to develop a relationship with his teammates.
“It’s about building those relationships in the spring like coach said on and off the field,” Mc-Cloud said. “At the end of the day, every team each year is going to have new players and retain players. It’s just about building those relationships. When you have those relationships on and off the field, you fight harder for the man next to you while relying and trusting your teammate next to you.”
Running back Ishmail Madhi was another player Kinne felt deserved to represent Texas State at media days.
“Everyone sees the stats and the numbers,” Kinne said. “But the type of person and leader he is for our program is huge. He is someone to be honest that could have jumped in the portal and gone anywhere in the country. We had those talks and he decided to come back, play for Texas State and be the face of the program.”
Madhi is one of eight offensive starters returning on last year’s team along with eight defensive starters.
Kinne noted that being able to retain the majority of the starters from both sides of the ball was a major victory.
“People talk about the guys we got in the portal and who got in early,” Kinne said. “But the guys we were able to retain on the roster was a big win for us. It started the day after the bowl game after beating Rice. I was calling players the next morning, calling donors to raise as much money as possible because we have such talented players. So we are really excited to retain those guys.”
On returning to Texas State, Mahdi mentioned the relationships he built between him and the coaching staff.
“I built a good relationship with Coach Leftwich and Coach Kinne,” Mahdi said. “Just understanding the scheme that it fits me really well. Coming back for Year two, I knew it was going to be even better. I want to go to the league and Coach Kinne has good resources. Everything worked well for me.”
Along with retaining the majority of the coaching staff, the Bobcats are the preseason favorite to win the Sun Belt West Division after earning nine out of the 14 first place votes from the preseason polls.
With high expectations this season to perhaps win the program’s first conference championship since 2008, Kinne is looking forward to the season.
“I’m excited where we are at,” Kinne said. “We obviously have a lot of momentum going into Year Two. We are picked first in the West which is a huge honor and a great sign of respect. We were picked fifth a year ago. So the preseason rankings don’t mean much, but it matters to us.
“I pride myself on being a winner. Looking at the track record as a player and coach, I’ve been a part of winning teams and cultures. I credit that to the coaches who have coached me and molded me as a person. I don’t like being picked fifth, I like being picked first.”
A major key for Kinne to reach those high expectations is fixing the inconsistency problems that plagued the team last year.
“Last year was a year one,” Kinne said. “Obviously we exceeded expectations of the outside world, but there were some inconsistencies in our game last year. We have addressed some of those in the portal and in recruiting but also through our coaching staff by keeping it intact.
“Being in the Sun Belt last year, you look around the league and you talk about the Troy’s and the James Madison’s. The guys that dominated last year had a good defensive line. That was one of the area’s we felt like we needed to address, and we got better.”
Texas State reports to Fall Camp July 30 with the first practice starting July 31.
The Bobcats open up the season at home against the Lamar Cardinals Saturday Aug. 31 at 7:30 p.m.
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