Aggression key for Bobcat Defense under defensive coordinator Patke

When Head Coach G.J. Kinne filled out his coaching staff during the 2022 University of Incarnate Word football season, the current head coach of Texas State wanted to find a defensive coordinator that could complement his high powered offense.

“I wanted somebody when I got the job at UIW that has been in the system,” Kinne said. “I obviously know about the offensive since me and Mack [Leftwich] could handle. … I need someone [that] when things go wrong, he knows what is going on. He has been in the same system and wasn’t putting something together at the last minute. He had a plan and knows exactly what he is doing.”

Kinne ended up finding his coach in the form of now Texas State defensive coordinator Jonathan Patke who previously spent the last six years with the Miami Hurricanes coaching both inside and outside linebackers as well as serving as the special teams coordinator.

“Incarnate Word was where I got started,” Patke said. “I got my masters there, got my first graduate assistant job there, then took the journey into college football. I went from Louisiana Tech, to Mississippi State, and then landed in Miami (FL) for six years. … When Coach Kinne called, I knew about UIW since I kept up with them and knew the coaches there. I knew they had a really good team and I wanted to start calling defense. I thought it was a great opportunity to work for Coach Kinne and the staff he was putting together.”

It turned out to be the perfect fit for Kinne as Patke handling one of the most aggressive defenses in the nation leading the country in tackles for loss, ninth in total sacks, and tied for tenth in most turnovers forced.

“He is a very high energy guy,” Kinne said. “These kids are going to play very hard for him. He is a great coach, a great person, and the players love him. That’s half the battle on defense is getting those guys to play hard for him and believe what we are coaching.”

One of the reasons for the success on defense that both Kinne and Patke want to recreate at Texas State is the cohesion of both the offense and the defense.

“We are very aggressive on offense,” Kinne said. “Just like the offense, I want an aggressive style on defense. When I was putting together offensive and defensive coordinators, if we are going to score then let’s go, blitz, and try and get the ball back. He has done a great job of that. We lead the country in TFL last year and we were in the top ten in sacks. Hopefully that trend continues. It’s a yin and yang relationship where we feed off each other.”

For the Patke, the Bobcats will run different varieties of defense but will be mainly focused on the nickel defense made famous by TCU head coach Gary Patterson.

“We are going to be multiple but we base out of a 4-2-5 defense,” Patke said. “There are some similarities to what they ran last year and some differences. The biggest thing right now is the terminology change and maybe a slight change in coverages. There is only so much you can run. ... We are a little bit different schematically than they were here in the past. Our mentality is to be more aggressive, be multiple in what we do.”

One of the reasons for the 4-2-5 defense is that it complements the offense by being very aggressive and giving the ball back to the offense.

“They (offensive staff) talk about how they want to push the tempo and score points,” Patke said. “We want to do the same on defense. We want to be aggressive, create tackles for loss, sacks, turnovers, and that is what we are going to preach to them. The high powered offense that we had last year if we could give them the ball a couple more times in the game, it gives us more chances to win.”

With the defense learning about the new scheme, Patke also is focused on his players being in shape due to the quickness of not only the defense but the offense as well.

“But we have to be in great condition because we are going to play a lot of snaps,” Patke said. “Back in the day you would only play 12 series in a game but now it’s 15-16 series a game. You are looking at points per possession and try to drive that number down as much as you can. If you can get them behind the line of scrimmage with a TFL or a sack, that puts us in a winning position.”

One of the key defensive players for the Bobcats this year is senior linebacker Brian Holloway.

The main difference for Holloway, having played in a 4-2-5 defense when he was at SMU under Sonny Dykes, is that the linebacker postion is focused on the rushing attack before going into pass.

“It’s a one gap defense for everybody,” Holloway said. “You are basically responsible for one gap. It’s really about playing the run game, then moving into pass drop when the offense starts passing.”

Having played at multiple schools, Kilgore, SMU, and then Texas State, along with multiple coaches, the new staff has been an easy transition for him.”

“It’s never super easy with a new coaching change,” Holloway said. “It’s been pretty smooth so far. I’ve been through multiple coaching changes so far in my college career and so far this one has been the easiest.”

For Halloway, Patke’s ability to connect with the players has been a major difference for him compared to last year.

“Coach Patke is a really good teacher,” Holloway said. “You can tell he really cares about players and that is something the players really respond to. If a coach isn’t 100% bought in, you can see it. He definitely loves his job, loves being here, loves coaching us and we really like him.”

“They show up everyday and show they want to be here,” Holloway continued. “They bring the energy, the way they talk to us, the personal relationships they build, it really feels like they want to be here and they are excited to be here. … That is what it is going to take to build a winning team here.”

cmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc