Football | 9/2/2017 1:37:00 PM

Football is back! 
 
That's a three letter phrase Bobcat fans have been waiting to hear since the night of December 3^rd, 2016 when Texas State closed out Year 1 of the Coach Everett Withers era.  The first season wasn't pretty at times as the 'Cats finished with just two wins, but a lot has transpired in the days, weeks and months since then, all in an effort to put the program on the right path.  Here's a cliff notes version of what Coach Withers and the Bobcats have been up to since the end of last season:
 

• Signed 25 players to their 2017 signing class, a group rated as the best signing class in the Sun Belt Conference

 

• Vast improvements made to the football team's headquarters at the South End Zone Complex

 

• Held both a productive session of spring football and training camp leading up to Saturday's season opener

 

• Unveiled a new gold uniform, an addition to the team's maroon, white and black uniforms

 

• Announced the team captains for the 2017 season, a list that includes three key players from last year's team and a potential breakout player for the coming season

 
Prior to the season opener last year, there was a lot of the unknown within the program was but even with that uncertainty, the Bobcats still won their season opener, a memorable triple overtime win at Ohio.   Fast forward 12 months later, and with the developments listed above, we have a pretty clear idea of where the program is: a young and exciting one that's building a foundation to a bright future. 
 
The 2017 team features 30 players who are either true freshmen, redshirt freshmen or sophomores, but it's talented youth that has Coach Withers and his staff excited and anxious to see what they're made of.  We'll get to see what these youngsters can do for the first time at 6 PM on Saturday against Houston Baptist.  Here's five things you should know about the game.
 
1) The quarterbacks will be new for both teams
For the first time since 2013, I can honestly say I don't know who will start for Texas State in the team's opener.  In the 2014 – 2016 seasons, the answer was easy: Tyler Jones.  But Jones closed out his career last season and the Bobcats didn't have any experienced QBs on the roster heading into the off-season.  That left a major question mark at football's most critical position, so the Bobcats signed four quarterbacks to its 2017 class: Willie Jones III, Jaylen Gipson, Jaylin Nelson and Kishawn Kelly.  Texas State also brought in Mississippi State grad transfer, Damian Williams.
 
We saw Williams in the spring but obviously didn't see the freshmen until training camp.  However, once camp opened, Williams wasn't able to practice with the team until he was cleared academically, so we didn't see true competition for the starting job until the last couple of weeks of camp.  Through the first three weeks, it appeared that Jones III had separated himself from his fellow recent high school graduates, but once Williams arrived, he brought four years of FBS experience with him, leading to competition between the two to be Texas State's opening day starter. 
Coach Withers hasn't announced who that will be, so we'll find out sometime shortly after 6 PM on Saturday.
 
As for HBU, the Huskies are having to replace the talented Tony Dawson at quarterback, and like the Bobcats, have four freshmen on the roster and a sophomore to fill that void.  Following HBU's camp, it appears that true freshmen Bailey Zappe has won the job.  Zappe hails from Victoria East High School where he took over for current Bobcat baseball star Jonathan Ortega at quarterback once J.O. graduated.  Zappe was a three-year letterman at Victoria East, amassing nearly 9,500 yards of total offense and earned 2^nd Team All-State (5A) honors in 2016 as he led the Titans to the Region Finals. 
 
2) Both the Bobcats and Huskies have stars at linebacker
 
You know all about Bryan London II by now: the second leading tackler in the country last year, a preseason 1^st team All-Sun Belt selection, and a team captain for the Bobcats.  London was Texas State's best player last season and could very well be again this season.  His fellow inside linebacker, Gabe Loyd, had an impressive debut Bobcat season in his own right in 2016 while on the outside, Easy Anyama and Frankie Griffin have proven to be playmakers, it's just a matter of whether or not they can stay healthy and make those plays consistently.
 
When looking at Houston Baptist's defense, your eyes immediately take you to Garrett Dolan, who's one of 12 players on the Huskies' roster that's getting ready for his 5^th season with the program (more on that later).  Dolan was the second leading tackler in the FCS last year with 135, just six fewer than London while playing in only 11 games.  For his efforts, Dolan was a Buck Buchanan Award finalist in 2016, an honor that goes to the top defensive player in the FCS, and he was also named as an All-American.  Like London, Dolan is also paired with a very good teammate at linebacker, Cody Moncure, another 5-year player who's piled up 266 career tackles of his own.
 
There's no question, the best position group, offense or defense, for both teams is at linebacker.
 
3) This is just the 5^th year for HBU's football program, and just its 4^th as an FCS team
 
Last year, the Bobcats' lone FCS opponent was Incarnate Word, a member of the Southland Conference that was still relatively new to football (the Cardinals first fielded a team in 2009).
 
This year, the Bobcats' lone FCS opponent, Houston Baptist, is also a member of the Southland Conference and didn't field its first team until 2013. 
 
In that inaugural season, the Huskies played just seven games and were unclassified, a similar situation to South Alabama's when the Jaguars played two unclassified seasons in 2009 and 2010 (those unclassified seasons don't count against a player's eligibility, hence HBU's handful of 5-year players). 
 
When building a football program from nothing, growing pains are expected and HBU wasn't an exception.  In the team's first two years as an FCS program, the Huskies compiled a record of 4-18, going just 1-15 in Southland Conference play, suffering several lopsided losses along the way.  However, last year you could see things start to come together for HBU as the Huskies finished 4-7 in 2016, going 3-5 in the Southland and earning a 7^th place finish.  With 29 seniors on this year's team, HBU is looking to take another step forward this season.
 
4) Never assume the favorites will win
 
FCS teams beat FBS teams every season, and the first such upset of 2017 came just two days ago when Tennessee State spoiled Georgia State's home opener with a 17-10 win over the Panthers.  The Bobcats have been fortunate to avoid this fate since joining the FBS ranks in 2012, posting a 5-0 record against their FCS opponents with an average margin of victory of 32.8 points.  The lone competitive game Texas State played against an FCS team was in that inaugural FBS season of 2012 against Stephen F. Austin, a 41-37 victory. 
 
HBU didn't play against an FBS team until last year, playing two such games, both decided defeats, a 50-3 loss at Western Kentucky, and a 42-10 loss at UTEP. 
 
Depending on your view, the Southland Conference has either had success or struggled vs FBS opponents in recent years.  Since 2013, the SLC has posted five wins over their higher level of competition, but has also lost 43 games during that stretch, including a 1-22 mark the last two seasons.  However, that one win came last season over a team from the Sun Belt, a stunning 28-23 upset by Central Arkansas over eventual co-Sun Belt champion, Arkansas State.
 
5) Texas State has a habit of opening seasons in style
 
In addition to playing well against FCS teams since moving up classifications in 2012, the Bobcats have also played some of their best football in season openers.  Dating back to the 'Cats first ever FBS game, an historic 30-13 win over Houston, Texas State is 4-1 in season openers since 2012 with the team's lone loss coming at #5 Florida State in 2015.  Beyond that defeat in Tallahassee, the Bobcats have that aforementioned stunner of a win at Houston, a come-from-behind win at Southern Miss, a 65-0 rout of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, and last year's thriller at Ohio.
 
In home openers, the Bobcats have been just as impressive over a longer period of time, with a record of 18-2 over the last two decades. 
 
Here's to adding wins in those two columns again come 9 pm on Saturday night.
 
Eat 'Em Up!
- Brant  Freeman