Player leadership looks to lead Bobcats to success at fall camp

TXST FOOTBALL

Football is finally here in San Marcos as Texas State started fall camp in preparation for the 2025 season.

Head Coach G.J. Kinne was happy with the progress the team has made this week.

“The last couple days have been good,” Kinne said. “It was a really back and forth day, which I think is a good sign and we did a lot of one-on-one with the receivers, DBs, linebackers, running backs, offensive line and defensive line.

“We’re just in such an evaluation mode. You find someone new every day, so it’s been really good and it’s been fun.

Texas State is coming off another 8-5 season and their second straight victory at the First Responder Bowl but must replace several starters on both sides of the ball.

Though the Bobcats will have several new starters, Kinne believes the team is on the right track to success.

“For the most part, these guys are trying to please their coaches every day,” Kinne said. “That’s a good sign. They’re doing what we ask of them, and they’re bought in. They have really good attitudes. We might not be where we want to be yet, but I think if we continue at the pace where we’re at, we have a good chance to have a good football team; but we’ve got a long way to go.”

Among the starters coming back is senior running back Lincoln Pare. Pare missed the entire 2023 season due to a severe knee injury but returned for the 2024 season where the senior rushed for 554 yards on 95 carries and eight touchdowns. Pare was also named the First Responder Bowl MVP after rushing for 143 yards and touchdowns, including rushing for a 73-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter to seal the 30-28 win.

While he is happy with the team’s success over the past two seasons, Pare stressed the importance of player-led leadership in order for the Bobcats to make the next step and compete for conference championships.

“It comes all the way back to the players and the leaders on the team,” Pare said. “We have to be a player-led team at the end of the day, and that’s going to take us to the next level. Not being selfish, everybody eating and everybody being excited about every single player that’s getting a touchdown, rush or making a catch. So I would say to really take it to the next level, the unselfishness [needs to increase], and the leaders need to step up; then it needs to be a player-led team down the road.”

One of the leaders for the Bobcats on defense is senior defensive end Kalil Alexander. Alexander led the team in sacks and tackles for loss last season for the Bobcats and is one of the few defensive starters returning from last season.

Alexander also stressed the importance of player leadership and helping many of the younger players adjust to the system.

“We are a player-led team,” Alexander said. “We say that every day. … We have a lot of younger guys, and our younger guys are working hard right now. But they need something to look at when they need a little help. That’s where the older guys step in and lead those guys when the coaches are not around.”

Being apart of 2012 Tulsa Golden Hurricane team that captured the CUSA conference title and a win in the Liberty Bowl, defensive coordinator Dextor McCoil Sr. knows the importance of player led teams and how it separates winning programs.

“When your coach has to motivate you to do something and keep you in line of accountability, it’s only so much that person will be able to do,” McCoil said. “I always tell the [players], I don’t play anymore. … My job now is to uplift y’all and to pass on knowledge that I might learn, or might have picked up at any point in time, to be able to lead you in the direction. It’s always a player’s game. It’s always been that way, and it’s going to be that way.”