College Football: Bobcats ready for spring ball

Texas State head coach Dennis Franchione will watch over his third set of spring drills as leader of the team. (File Photo)

Texas State head coach Dennis Franchione worked like a mad scientist in the winter to find a way to turn his middle-of-the-pack team in the Western Athletic Conference into a Sun Belt contender.

Franchione started by putting together the Bobcats’ best recruiting class, at least on paper, in the history of the program. Depending on the website, Texas State’s 2013 crop ranked anywhere from 60th (ESPN) to 81st (Rivals.com).

While those recruits, led by Stephenville quarterback Tyler Jones and seven defensive backs, should help increase the Bobcats’ talent; what can Franchione do about his team’s tenacity? Franchione felt his team struggled to hold it together in its first FBS season, as evident by its 4-8 overall record and four games in which it didn’t score in the second half.

“Getting tougher mentally and physically is a big pressure point for us this spring,” said Franchione, who is 10-14 since his return to the sideline. “[We need to] find a way to win some of those close games and to get more competitive at the FBS level.”

Texas State opens its annual spring camp Friday morning at 6:25 a.m. It marks the first of 15 practices (12 two-a-day workouts, three scrimmages) for the Bobcats.
Franchione put his players through a grueling offseason regimen to prepare it for spring drills.

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