SAN MARCOS, Texas – New Texas State head football coach
G.J. Kinne announced nine signees on the first day of the early signing period of 2023 National Signing Window, including four freshmen from Texas high schools and five transfers from four-year schools and the junior college level.
Among the nine signees on Wednesday, eight are originally from Texas while the other,
Deven Wright, is out of Mississippi and transferring in from Boise State.
"Really excited about the class we signed today," said Kinne. "Nine total: four Texas high school kids, four previously played Texas high school football that we got to come back to the state, and then one transfer (from Mississippi). We talked about the foundation of this team would be Texas high school football programs, and we're going to recruit Texas like our hair is on fire."
Four signees were linemen, including offensive linemen
Nash Jones (Incarnate Word) and
Bami Badusi (Mansfield Timberview High School) along with defensive linemen
Cedric Roberts (Oklahoma) and Wright. Jones was an FCS All-American while at UIW and Roberts appeared in one game for the Sooners after a successful career at Hendrickson High School in Pflugerville, Texas. Badusi is a three-star high school recruit, according to 247 Sports.
The Bobcats added to the running back room with junior college product
Donerio Davenport and HCU transfer
Ismail Mahdi. Davenport was named an NJCAA first team All-American on Tuesday after he rushed for 1,203 yards and 18 touchdowns on 198 attempts this season at Kilgore College. Mahdi, meanwhile, was a Jerry Rice Award finalist this year (top FCS freshman) and led HCU in rushing with 568 yards on 112 carries. He also averaged 112.6 all-purpose yards per game.
A pair of Mesquite Horn High School products,
Amarion Atwood and Chris Dawn, Jr., were added at the defensive back and wide receiver position, respectively. Atwood was an all-district selection this past season after totaling 30 tackles and a pair of interceptions. Dawn was the 2022 District 10-6A Utility Player of the Year and first team all-district as a return specialist as he scored 10 touchdowns: eight receiving, one kickoff and one punt.
Tight end
Jake Simpson rounded out the initial early period signee list as he will join the Bobcats from Frisco Independence High School. The 2022 5A-2 All-District First Team selection had 34 catches for 549 yards and eight touchdowns this year and averaged 16.1 yards per catch.
2023 Texas State Football Signing Class – Day 1 of Early Signing Period
Amarion Atwood
Cornerback
Horn High School | Mesquite, TX
6-0, 170
Three-year letterwinner at Horn High School (TX) … 2022 District 10-6A First Team at cornerback … 74 career tackles (56 solo) and 5 interceptions in 25 career games … Team went 8-3 and 5-1 in its district in 2022 … 30 tackles (21 solo), 2 interceptions and 8 passes defended in 10 games in 2022 … Returned an interception for a touchdown in September 2022 against Tyler … 32 tackles (26 solo), 3 interceptions, 2 passes defended and 2 fumble recoveries in 7 games in 2021 … 12 tackles (9 solo) in 2020 … Three-star recruit on 247 Sports.
Bami Badusi
Offensive Lineman
Mansfield Timberview HS | Mansfield, TX
6-6, 300
Three-star recruit according to 247 Sports … 109th Offensive Tackle in the country and 215th overall prospect in the state of Texas, also by 247 Sports.
Donerio Davenport
Running Back
Mansfield HS/Kilgore College | Mansfield, TX
6-1, 205
Rising junior transfer from Kilgore College … 2022 NJCAA All-America First Team … Southwest Junior College Football Conference (SWJCFC) Offensive Player of the Year in 2022 … All-SWJCFC First Team … Rushed for 1,203 yards and 18 touchdowns on 198 attempts … Also had 14 receptions for 153 yards and a touchdown … Averaged 100.3 rushing yards per game … 6.1 yards per carry … 1,361 all-purpose yards (113.4 yards/game) … 5 100-yard rushing games … 6 multi-TD games … Season-high 156 rushing yards in the season opener against Tyler on Sept. 3 … 117 rushing yards on 14 carries and 4 touchdowns against Southern University-Shreveport on Oct. 15 … Helped the Rangers win the SWJCFC Championship this season … Kilgore College beat No. 1 seed Trinity Valley and No. 2 seed New Mexico Military Institute in the conference playoffs before falling to Butler in the Tips-CHAMPS Heart of Texas Bowl … Davenport had 151 rushing yards on 22 carries in the game against Butler … Two-year letterwinner at Mansfield High … 1,603 career rushing yards on 279 carries (5.7 yards per carry) and 21 touchdowns … Ran for 877 yards on 150 carries as a senior in 2020 … Also added 12 touchdowns that season … Totaled 671 rushing yards on 120 carries with 9 touchdowns as a junior in 2019.
Chris Dawn, Jr.
Wide Receiver
Horn High School | Mesquite, TX
5-7, 155
Three-year letterwinner out of Horn High School (TX) … 2022 District 10-6A Utility Player of the Year … 10-6A First Team All-District as a return specialist in 2022 … 2,663 career all-purpose yards in 3 seasons (27 games) … 1,606 receiving yards, 142 rushing yards, 844 kick return yards and 71 punt return yards in his career … 3 career return touchdowns: 2 kickoff, 1 punt … 18 total career touchdowns (15 receiving) … As a senior in 2022, totaled 53 receptions and 706 receiving yards with 8 touchdown receptions in 11 games … Was 6th in 10-6A in receiving yards … 525 total return yards on 17 returns (15 kickoff, 2 punt) … Returned a kickoff and punt for a touchdown, helping him total 10 touchdowns in 2022 … Led all of 10-6A in return yards and kickoff return yards … Also had 88 rushing yards on 13 carries as a senior … In 2021 as a junior, had 22 receptions, 377 yards and 4 touchdowns … In 2020 as a sophomore, had 27 receptions, 523 yards and 3 touchdowns … Averaged 15.7 yards per catch in his career, including a personal-best 19.4 in 2020 … Helped Horn HS go 8-3 and 5-1 in its district in 2022, which was a six-win improvement from 2021 … Rated as the 7th-highest rated recruited in Texas State history according to 247 Sports … Three-star on 247 Sports … Ran the 100-meter dash in 10.70 seconds.
Nash Jones
Offensive Lineman
Nacogdoches HS/Incarnate Word | Nacogdoches, TX
6-5, 310
Rising junior transfer from Incarnate Word … 2022 All-Southland Second Team … 2021 HERO FCS All-American … 2021 All-Southland Third Team … 33 career games played … Helped UIW win back-to-back Southland Conference championships and reach the FCS Playoff semifinals in 2022 … Was the starting left tackle on this year's UIW team that led the nation in scoring and was No. 2 in total offense … Played high school football at Nacogdoches High … Helped guide the team to its first playoff berth in 20+ years … First team all-district as a senior and second team all-district as a junior.
Ismail Mahdi
Running Back
Plano East HS (TX)/Houston Christian | Murphy, TX
5-9, 180
Rising sophomore transfer from HCU … Jerry Rice Award finalist in 2022 (top FCS freshman) … Led HCU in rushing in 2022, running for 568 yards on 112 carries … 8th in the Southland in rushing yards … His total rushing yards were the most by an HCU player since 2019 … Averaged 5.1 yards per carry … 71.0 rushing yards per game … Also scored 2 touchdowns … 32 receptions, 333 yards and 3 touchdowns … Third on the team in receiving … Finished his freshman season with 901 all-purpose yards and 5 touchdowns … 112.6 all-purpose yards per game … Two-year letterwinner at Plano East … Rushed for 1,332 yards on 178 carries as a senior in 2021 … Scored 14 rushing touchdowns and 2 receiving touchdowns … Ran for 1,054 yards on 151 attempts as a junior in 2020 … 11 rushing touchdowns and 4 receiving in 2020 … Averaged 208.9 all-purpose yards in his junior year (188.3 as a senior) … Averaged 7.3 yards per carry in his high school career … 8 100-yard games in high school … Also had 861 career receiving yards in high school and 3,575 all-purpose yards (318 kick return, 10 punt return) … Born in Kenya and is the fourth oldest of eight children.
Cedric Roberts
Defensive Lineman
Hendrickson HS (TX)/Oklahoma | Pflugerville, TX
6-3, 275
Incoming redshirt freshman transfer from Oklahoma … Played in one game at Oklahoma, in the Oct. 15 contest against Kansas … Consensus three-star recruit coming out of Hendrickson High School … Arrived at Oklahoma as the No. 35 defensive lineman by Rivals, No. 55 by ESPN, No. 82 by On3 and No. 95 by 247 Sports … 2020 District 11-5A Honorable Mention while at Hendrickson High School in Pflugerville.
Jake Simpson
Tight End
Frisco Independence HS | Frisco, TX
6-3, 180
Two-year letterwinner out of Independence High School (TX) … 2022 5A-2 All-District First Team as tight end … 53 receptions, 927 yards and 12 touchdowns in 18 career games … In 2022 as a senior, had 34 catches for 549 yards and 8 touchdowns … Averaged 16.1 yards per catch … 8th in 5A-2 District in receiving yards and 2nd in receiving touchdowns … In 2021 as a junior, had 19 catches for 378 yards and 4 touchdowns … Averaged 19.9 yards per catch … Was a punter in his junior year in 2021, averaging 36.7 yards per punt (16 punts, 587 yards).
Deven Wright
Outside Linebacker
Desoto Central HS (MS)/Mississippi Gulf Coast CC/Boise State | Southaven, MS
6-5, 230
An edge linebacker transfer with 2 years of eligibility left … Played in 9 games for Boise State in 2022, totaling 5 tackles (2 solo), a sack and 2 quarterback hurries … 163 snaps, including 112 on defense and 51 on special teams … 29 snaps, a quarterback hurry and a tackle in the regular season finale against Utah State on Nov. 26 … Had a sack at Nevada on Nov. 12 … Played in 25 snaps against BYU on Nov. 5 and had a quarterback hurry … Season-high 3 tackles at UTEP on Sept. 23 … Played 2 years at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (2020-21) … All-MAACCC South First Team defensive lineman in 2021 … As a sophomore in 2021, he had 34 tackles, 7.5 sacks, 10.0 TFLs and a forced fumble in 9 games … In 2020 as a freshman, he played in 6 games and had 10 tackles with one sack … Helped Mississippi Gulf Coast win two MACCC South titles … Named to the 2021 Vice President's List (3.30-3.99 GPA) … Teammates with current Texas State players linebacker
CJ Williams and cornerback
Alonzo Edwards, Jr. at Mississippi Gulf Coast … Four-year letterwinner at DeSoto Central High School in Southaven, Miss. … 70 career tackles and 12.0 career sacks in high school … Broke out his senior year in 2019, totaling 51 tackles and 11.0 sacks in 11 games.
