Three Positions Texas State Needs To Fill In 2017

Texas State head coach Everett Withers has had a full season under his belt and now has had a proper recruiting period to rebuild the Bobcats’ program. So what does State need in 2017? Well let’s find out.

The Bobcats’ team was more or less in a tear-down mode going into the last few games of the 2016 season as the coaches pulled veterans and starters in favor of the very young players on the roster. With a new wave of commits and transfers Texas State is about to get even younger but hopefully will have more depth than they did last year.

All in all, the receivers and backs look okay and of course the influx of incoming talent will help them. The linebacking core is solid and I look forward to their promise. The secondary needs improvement but with players returning and injuries healed they should be better.

Offensive Line
Key Returners:
G Aaron Brewer
G Jacob Rowland

Key Losses:
OT Ryan Melton
G Felix Romero
C Giuliano Cattaneo

The line was a big concern last season and produced the worst rushing attack in the nation. As I’ve said before in my 2016 recap, the offensive line had Tyler Jones running for his life almost every game. The size of the line was always in the discussion but wasn’t really a factor. Departing seniors Ryan Melton and Felix Romero are big guys and were able to play solid ball. Despite the presence of veterans like Melton and Romero the line was never able to form a cohesive unit and it showed in its 2016 play. As the younger players were inserted later in the season they showed their greenness and though they showed solid effort they have a long way to go. Freshman Aaron Brewer showed flashes of what he can do and if he can get a little bigger he will be the next veteran to lead the Line.



Defensive Line
Key Returners:
DE Jordan Mitte
DE Ishmael Davis

Key Losses:
NT Dallas McClarty

It was a toss up between the defensive line and the secondary but the line is in much more need of improvement after getting continuously shredded last season. Defensive end Jordan Mitte was the leading tackler off the line and started every game at DE except for the season’s last two games where he took over nose tackle duties. Texas State had moments where the line had some crucial third down stops and they held their ground many times but the young and undersized talent got manhandled more often than not. There is a lot of young talent on the line and like I said earlier they are only going to get younger.



Quarterback
Key Returners:
n/a
Key Losses:
Tyler Jones
Connor White
Eddie Printz

Sheesh. Talk about jumping the ship. Senior Tyler Jones held the position for four years and sophomore Connor White was actively being groomed to take over the mantle of starter for 2017. But seemingly in fell swoop White declared he was transferring after graduation and Eddie Printz (who also saw time in 2016) decided to go pro. That leaves only junior transfer Tanner Hodges as the only active Quarterback on the roster. And I even see rumblings on Twitter that he may be transferring as well. Earlier on in the 2016 season I was thinking that White or Printz would start 2017 and as the season progressed they would insert a true freshman under center similar to the way Tyler Jones was dealt with four years ago. But who ever becomes the Bobcat’s signal caller in 2017 is going to be baptized by fire.

Conclusion
Obviously there are more than three areas in need of help but these are the three areas I feel recruiting will need to answer most urgently in the coming week. National Signing Day is February 1st and stay tuned because I’ll be breaking down all the newest Bobcat players after their official scholarship papers get faxed in and announced.