Bobcats gain valuable practice time during Bowl Season

Texas State continues to prepare for their first ever bowl game as the Bobcats will take on the Rice Owls in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl.

With the Bobcats playing in the First Responder Bowl, it’s been a busy month of December for Head Coach G.J. Kinne as Texas State also continues on the recruiting trail as well.

“It’s about a third on Rice, a third on recruiting and a third on player development,” Kinne said. “We finished up really well academically so that was good to see. … The older guys went ten periods today, more individual [focusing] on getting back into the swing of things, running around and getting back into shape then letting the young guys really get after it.”

One of the key parts about qualifying for a bowl game is the extra amount of practice the Bobcats are able to have, which goes hand in hand with recruiting.

“It’s big for the development of your program,” Kinne said. “You are bringing these recruits out here to bowl practice to have them watch. To do that is big for the program, and then the exposure from the game itself is really good.”

The extra bowl practices also allows more underclassmen that are not starting to receive valuable experience.

“That is always good to see,” Kinne said. “Some of these guys either redshirt, walk-ons, or guys who haven’t played a lot are getting these live reps. They are out there making tackles, throwing the ball around and catching. It’s always good to see getting a head start into spring ball.”

Some of the underclassmen have already seen playing experience in freshman wide receiver Chris Dawn Jr and freshman quarterback P.J. Hatter.

With the added practice time, the possibility of underclassmen playing in the bowl has risen significantly.

“We knew we had some good players in that group,” Kinne said. “But this is the time of year you can find one or two guys that maybe play in the bowl game or provide quality depth.”

Texas State will take on Rice in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl Dec. 26.

Kickoff is set for 4:30 p.m. at Gerald R. Ford Stadium in Dallas.

cmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc