Hornsby seeks opportunity with Bobcats

As one of the most talked about recruits in recent history, quarterback Malik Hornsby is stating his case to be the starting quarterback come this fall.

After spending three years at Arkansas, Hornsby made the decision to transfer and come back to his home state of Texas.

“It was a great opportunity to come back home,” said Hornsby, a graduate of Fort Bend Marshall High School in Houston. “There is nothing no better than Texas football. I have the opportunity to become the leader of the team that I’m very happy with.”

Despite having multiple offers to play at some bigger programs, most notably at Nebraska, the chance to play at quarterback not only in Texas but also under new head coach GJ Kinne was too tantalizing to pass up.

“I had other opportunities to play football somewhere else,” Hornsby said. “But I believe in Coach GJ and Coach Leftwich for giving me the opportunity to showcase my talent as a quarterback compared to a wide receiver. I’m going to take that and run with it.”

It is no secret that both Kinne’s and Leftwich’s work with quarterbacks has produced some eye popping results down the road at UIW.

From the 2022 season with Lindsey Scott Jr. who threw for over 4,600 passing yards and 60 touchdown passes to the 2021 season of Cameron Ward who threw for 4,600 passing yards with 47 touchdown passes, Hornsby said he hopes to replicate that success here in San Marcos.

“Coach GJ, Coach Leftwich, and Lindsey put up some great numbers,” Hornsby said. “Hopefully that is what we are doing here. They threw for over 4,000 yards and 60 touchdown passes. I hope to capitalize on that.”

A major aspect Hornsby has enjoyed from Kinne is the coach’s ability to teach the little things.

“It’s great learning from him because not every quarterback in the nation gets to learn from somebody who has played in the NFL,” Hornsby said. “He has been teaching me a lot for the next level. Progression wise, feet wise, it really a lot of the minor things that you don’t get to see behind the scenes.”

Though everyone knows how fast the former Fort Bend Marshall quarterback, Kinne said he has been impressed by Hornsby’s progression.

“Malik is obviously a super talented guy,” Kinne said. “Everyone talks about his legs and how fast he is but what has been awesome to see is him going through his progressions and being accurate with the ball. This last week for him was a chance to see why he is the real guy. That has been fun to see. He is going to the right place with the ball, taking care of the ball, and when the play breaks down, he rips off a 30 to 40 yard run. That can kill a defense.”

For Kinne, the ability to have a mobile quarterback adds an extra element to the offense that can give a defensive unit nightmares.

“We want to hurt them with our arms but kill them with our legs,” Kinne said. “Those 3rd and 7 plays where the defense covers everyone up but you take off and gain the first down is demoralizing for a defense. You have to account for the extra guy in the box at all times. When you have a guy that can run back there, those defensive coordinators stay up all night.”

It is an element linebacker Brian Holloway has noticed that has been keeping the Bobcat defense on their toes during spring practice.

“They definitely challenge us and make us better,” Holloway said. “Malik can scramble which is an aspect we are not used to. It definitely changes things because now you have to be ready for the QB scramble. So it challenges us but at the end of the day it makes us better.”

Though the start of spring practice was not easy, Hornsby has been able to find a groove.

“When practice first started, it took some time for me to learn it,” Hornsby said. “But at the moment, I’m very caught up with the offense. I’m learning where the ball needs to be placed at, getting the timing down with the receivers, making sure the protection is right, so it’s going great and I can’t complain.”

One major contrast Hornsby has found here at Texas State is taking on more of a leadership role within the team.

“The biggest difference is being the guy,” Hornsby said. “That holds a lot of weight. Being at Arkansas, I wasn’t the guy, so there was not a whole lot of pressure. Being here, there is a lot more pressure now that I have 144 teammates looking up to me day to day. I can’t slack because I’m the leader. At the end of the day, I have to lead and not slack because everyone feeds off my energy.”

Though Hornsby is in the thick of it for the starting job this fall, the entire Bobcat team has one objective in mind.

“We all want to win,” Hornsby said. “We all have the same goal at the end of the day. None of the players or the coaches want to take days off. We hold everyone accountable and everyone does their job.”

cmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc