TXST FOOTBALL
Nealy finds redemption in his return to Texas State following the 2005 season
This is the sixth part of a multi-part series on the 2005 Bobcat football season and its impact on Texas State University 20 years later.
Almost 20 years after the 2005 season, one game was still on Barrick Nealy’s mind when he returned to San Marcos for the 2024 season after being hired as the running backs coach.
The Northern Iowa loss.
“Quite frankly, I didn’t get it done,” Nealy said. “It was tough. I’ll be honest with you man. It is one of those moments that we don’t always talk about with the former players. It left a bitter taste in my mouth for a very long time. … It’s amazing how those tough losses really stay with you.”
The loss was a difficult one for Nealy, who helped lead the Bobcats to both a Southland Conference championship and the FCS playoffs, where the season ended in the semifinals. He helped breathe life into a program that struggled to find its footing at the FCS level.
Nealy also reset the record book for Texas State as quarterback, becoming the first to pass for over 7,000 career yards and over 50 career touchdown passes. Nealy signed with the Minnesota Vikings in 2006 before being released and signing with the Calgary Stampeders where he played for five seasons.
Nealy returned to San Marcos to start his coaching career, becoming the quarterbacks and wide receiver coach and later offensive coordinator for San Marcos Academy, where he helped train many local high school athletes.
After six seasons with San Marcos Academy, Nealy made the jump to UTEP where he became the Director of Player Development & High School Relations and later the Miners Recruit- ing Coordinator. Nealy then became the running backs coach for UTEP before G.J. Kinne made the call to bring the former star quarterback back to Texas State.
Now a part of the Texas State staff, Nealy feels the same energy he had during the 2005 season.
“We were surrounded by special coaches and special players,” Nealy said. “What I’ve seen G.J. Kinne do this past year has been unbelievable. Every now and then I feel those same emotions that I felt way back in 2005. Whether it is just in the building, watching our guys work out, being at staff meetings, they’re very similar feelings.”
Having coached under Kinne this past season, Nealy is happy about not only the direction the program is heading but also coming to terms with the Northern Iowa loss.
“G.J. is taking it to another level, and the best is yet to come,” Nealy said. “I’ve been amazed just watching him work and how he processes these things. He is a leader of men and it is definitely showing in the direction of our program going.
“It’s been an awesome time to be a part of so I’m just grateful that he allowed me to come back and be part of it to get that bittersweet taste out of my mouth.”
Under Nealy, Texas State rushed for 2,707 yards and 27 touchdowns with running back Ismail Mahdi leading the way with 991 yards on 183 carries and four touchdowns along with running back Lincoln Pare rushing for 554 yards on 95 carries and eight touchdowns.
The Bobcats finished the season with a 7-5 overall record and an invite to the First Responder Bowl, where Texas State faced off with North Texas in the first meeting between the two teams since 1994.
The Bobcats defeated the Mean Green 30-28 for Texas State’s first win over North Texas since 1991, capped off by Pare rushing for 143 yards on 21 and two touchdowns, including a 73-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter to seal the win. Pare was later named MVP.
Having led Texas State to glory in 2005 and now helping the Bobcats to success in 2024, the bowl victory was a cherished memory for Nealy.
“It was really special, especially being an alum having played here and doing great things in the past,” Nealy said. “Being able to be a small part of everything that we’re stepping into moving forward, it was really special.
Winning that football game is a huge foundational piece to not only where we are but where we want to go. We’re recruiting for the same kids [against North Texas].”
But the bowl win was the only thing that made the game special for Nealy.
A graduate of Dallas Adamson High School, the bowl game was another homecoming of sorts for Nealy with many of his family able to see him coach in his hometown.
With the added victory, Nealy was elated.
“To win that game in my hometown in Dallas was very special too,” Nealy said. “To have my family in the stands watching the football game, those same family members that travel to San Marco every single week and catch all those home games. It was special in that aspect as well.”
Similar to 2005, the bowl victory for Nealy meant one for the Bobcats.
Texas State is here.
“It was about us really just kind of setting the tone,” Nealy said. “Letting the state of Texas know we were here and we’re not going anywhere. It was really a statement game for us”
The seventh part of this series will be run in the Sunday, Sep. 7 issue of the San Marcos Daily Record.
