San Marcos — In last night's SMDR Live Chat, I got a ton of great questions, but here are three that I think are most-pertinent to Texas State football fans.
Q: With Texas State recruiting on of the Top 32 quarterbacks in the nation (Tyler Arndt), does this create a quarterback controversy? Who will be the starter next season?
A: You don't bring in one of the top quarterbacks in the nation to redshirt him or put him at third string. Texas State doesn't have that luxury like Florida, Texas or any other big-time FBS team. While he will only be a freshman, I fully expect Arndt to push for the starting job when he joins the Bobcats in the summer. Tim Hawkins has been with the program for three years now, but it's hard to believe he is ready to lead this team. Hawkins might be better suited running the zone read out of the shotgun like he did last season — but with an expanded role in 2010.
Q: Who will be the breakout star of this year's recruiting class?
A: I'd say three players have the shot at being this year's version of Mishak Rivas in 2008 — Jarrad Stewart, DeChe Milburn and Tyler Arndt (in that order). Stewart will start at safety, so he's going to immediately bring stability to a secondary improved each game in 2009. Milburn is being heralded by the Texas State coaching staff as a "bigger and stronger version of Cameron Luke." If Milburn isn't the top or second-leading receiver in 2010, I'd be very surprised. Arndt is the wild card here. I like his chances of starting in 2010, but it all comes down to whether he can handle it mentally.
Q: Where does this signing class rank among those in the Southland Conference?
A: You'd be hard-pressed to find a better recruiting class, pound-for-pound than what Texas State just landed. The Bobcats only had 13 scholarships to use (12 on signing day after Stewart transferred) and didn't misfire once. Texas State landed three 3-star recruits and two 2-star standouts (once Austin Kirpes joins the team). If you look around the conference, other teams had a lot more scholarships to use, as Northwestern State added 35 players and Texas-San Antonio landed its first signing class in school history. Southeastern Louisiana did well for itself (three 3-stars and four 2-stars) as did the Roadrunners (three 3-stars and five 2-stars).
A: You don't bring in one of the top quarterbacks in the nation to redshirt him or put him at third string. Texas State doesn't have that luxury like Florida, Texas or any other big-time FBS team. While he will only be a freshman, I fully expect Arndt to push for the starting job when he joins the Bobcats in the summer. Tim Hawkins has been with the program for three years now, but it's hard to believe he is ready to lead this team. Hawkins might be better suited running the zone read out of the shotgun like he did last season — but with an expanded role in 2010.
Q: Who will be the breakout star of this year's recruiting class?
A: I'd say three players have the shot at being this year's version of Mishak Rivas in 2008 — Jarrad Stewart, DeChe Milburn and Tyler Arndt (in that order). Stewart will start at safety, so he's going to immediately bring stability to a secondary improved each game in 2009. Milburn is being heralded by the Texas State coaching staff as a "bigger and stronger version of Cameron Luke." If Milburn isn't the top or second-leading receiver in 2010, I'd be very surprised. Arndt is the wild card here. I like his chances of starting in 2010, but it all comes down to whether he can handle it mentally.
Q: Where does this signing class rank among those in the Southland Conference?
A: You'd be hard-pressed to find a better recruiting class, pound-for-pound than what Texas State just landed. The Bobcats only had 13 scholarships to use (12 on signing day after Stewart transferred) and didn't misfire once. Texas State landed three 3-star recruits and two 2-star standouts (once Austin Kirpes joins the team). If you look around the conference, other teams had a lot more scholarships to use, as Northwestern State added 35 players and Texas-San Antonio landed its first signing class in school history. Southeastern Louisiana did well for itself (three 3-stars and four 2-stars) as did the Roadrunners (three 3-stars and five 2-stars).
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