Homecoming: Barrick Nealy returns to San Marcos

One of the greatest quarterbacks in the history of Texas State is coming back home to San Marcos.

Texas State announced the hiring of former Bobcat quarterback and former UTEP running backs coach Barrick Nealy to the same position last week in a heavily anticipated announcement.

“It feels great,” Nealy said. “I enjoyed my time out in West Texas. It was my first collegiate job for six years. I learned and experienced a lot. It definitely grew on me, but there is no place like home. It feels great to be back in the community.”

On filling the vacant position of running backs coach, it was a no-brainer for Head Coach G.J. Kinne.

“When you have the opportunity to bring back not only a Bobcat legend but also a gifted coach and an outstanding recruiter, we had to jump at it, and we’re excited to bring Coach Nealy on board,” Kinne said in an official press release. “Barrick is well-respected in this profession and community, and his experience at the high school level and college level in San Marcos and in the state of Texas makes us even stronger. We look forward to having Coach Nealy and his family come back home and helping us reach our goal of winning championships.”

When Nealy was offer the position, it wasn't a hard decision for the former quarterback.

“He reached out to me and presented the opportunity,” Nealy said. “He saw the value in me coming back into town, and I saw the value in working under a young and fast rising head coach. Coach Kinne is a brilliant guy, so it’s an opportunity to learn from him. Our visions aligned, and I have known several guys on the staff for several years. I mean, who wouldn’t want to come back during a time like this? When he presented it to me, it was a no-brainer. I want to help them win a conference championship.”

Nealy is considered to be one of the greatest quarterbacks to play at Texas State, holding multiple records for passing yards, touchdowns and total offense.

Transferring to Texas State in 2003, Nealy became the first quarterback to pass for over 3,000 yards in his first season.

His record of 3,129 yards stood for 20 years before quarterback T.J. Finley broke it this season throwing for 3,439 yards.

“Records are made to be broke,” Nealy said. “There are some records that won’t be able to touched, but I thought it was cool for him to break the passing record. He is phenomenal.”

Nealy also led Texas State to their first conference championship in 22 years during the 2005 season winning the Southland Conference for the first time in program history.

Nealy's greatest performance came in the opening round of the FCS Playoffs passing for 400 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for 126 yards and one touchdown in the Bobcats 50-35 win over Georgia Southern.

In fact, Nealy noted the similarities between the offense he ran as a player at Texas State and the offense both Kinne and Offensive Coordinator Mack Leftwich run at Texas State.

“It’s very similar,” Nealy said. “Fast pace, a lot of run-pass-option and having athletes in the field. … I was throwing the ball down the field and that was what T.J. (Finley) is doing right now. Another cool thing is [the coaches] are really young. Tom Herman [former Bobcat offensive co-coordinator who eventually rose to being head coach at the University of Texas] was probably 26 when he was coaching me, and T.J. is experiencing the same thing with Coach Leftwich. He is just young, energetic and has a smart offensive mind.”

Following his playing career, Nealy got started as a coach in San Marcos becoming the wide receivers and quarterbacks coach at San Marcos Academy.

Nealy would also mentor several San Marcos High School players as well from current Boston Red Sox shortstop David Hamliton to former Rice defensive back Prudy Calderon.

Nealy's collegiate coaching career started at UTEP in 2018 where he became the Director of Player Development & High School Relations before transitioning into his role as running backs coach in 2020.

The running back position will not be short of talent as the Bobcats will return running back Ishmail Mahdi, who broke the FBS record for most total yards in a single season along with five All-Amercian nominations. The team is also returning 2022 leading rusher Lincoln Pare.

“Great players make great coaches,” Nealy said. “It’s not the other way around. What [Mahdi] accomplished is phenomenal, and Coach Kinne has done a great job with him. In being a great player, he is an even better person. … If I didn’t know anything outside of his talents, I would want to coach him.”

cmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc