Heading into the 2022 season, the Texas State offensive linemen unit has a blend of experience and eagerness that offensive line coach
Brian Hamilton will have the luxury of combining throughout the preseason and early stages of the new campaign.
Check out below for a preview of the Bobcat offensive linemen for the 2022 season.
Who's Returning
The presence of a Canadian on the Texas State offensive line remains in 2022.
Kyle Hergel, a 6-foot-2, 305-pound guard from Toronto, Ontario, enters this season having been selected as a preseason All-Sun Belt Second Team honoree by both the leagues' coaches and media. PFF also appointed him to its preseason All-Sun Belt First Team, while Phil Steele and
Athlon Sports have both etched his name among their preseason All-Sun Belt teams, too. The preseason accolades are due to Hergel being among the top-rated offensive lineman by the PFF last year and proving it snap after snap as he started all 12 games at right guard.
Dalton Cooper may be listed as
just a sophomore, but the Prague, Okla., native is set to begin his fourth season with the Bobcats. Cooper has earned at least one postseason accolade in every season in which he has appeared in more than one game, including being selected a freshman All-American by
The Athletic after surrendering only one sack on 503 pass plays at left tackle as a freshman in 2020. Last year, he was named All-Sun Belt Third Team by coaches and media as well as PFF All-Sun Belt First Team after he was the top-rated left tackle in the conference by the publication.
Russell Baker is shopping in the same shoe store as Cooper through this point in his Texas State career. Since transferring to San Marcos from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College prior to the 2022 season, the Owasso, Okla., native has picked up All-Sun Belt honors from the conference and PFF. Baker, who stands 6-foot-4, 315-pound, was the only offensive lineman in the Sun Belt to play 90 or more snaps at three different positions — right tackle (358), center (117) and left guard (90)— last season.
Who's Departed
The departures of
Eddie Rivas,
Charles Fletcher,
Liam Dobson and
Tate Heitmeier are losses in experience and depth. Dobson, the 6-foot-3, 330-pound Canadian, started all 12 games at guard in his lone season as a Bobcat in 2021 en route to being selected as an All-Sun Belt Honorable Mention honoree by Pro Football Focus (PFF). Heitmeier (30) and Rivas (20) combined to appear in 50 games during their time in San Marcos. Fletcher, who had transferred to Texas State from NC State prior to the start of the 2021 season, had held down and cemented a starting assignment before an injury midway through the campaign brought his season to an early end.
Who's New
A combo of transfers from the FCS and Division II level will boost the Texas State offensive line from a newcomer standpoint.
Evan Lovell, a transfer from Rhode Island, is a 6-foot-3, 325-pound guard who has appeared in 28 career games, including the last 25 at left guard. The Thomaston, Conn., native was named All-CAA Third Team in 2021 after being part of an offensive line unit that helped the Rams average 133.6 rushing yards per game. Two years earlier, Lovell, as a redshirt freshman, helped Rhode Island become one of just two teams in the CAA to pass for 3,500 and rush for 1,000 yards in the same season.
West, from San Antonio, spent the last four seasons at Texas A&M-Commerce, where he played in 29 career games. In his time there, Texas A&M-Commerce was one of the top offenses in the Lone Star Conference. For the Bobcats, he is expected to fill the right tackle position.
The Texas State coaching staff will look to find another diamond from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M in
Jackson Schultze, who joins
Russell Baker as former Golden Norsemen on the offensive line. Schultze is a 6-foot-7, 300-pounder from Broken Arrow, Okla., by way of Broken Arrow High School.
The Bobcat offensive line also features other transfers in
Ian Hover (Campbell) and
Larson Workman (Kansas). They join high school signee,
David Hensley.
What to Watch For
The quartet of
Eddie Rivas,
Charles Fletcher,
Liam Dobson and
Tate Heitmeier departing the program leaves shoes to be filled. But newcomers
Richard West and Lovell along with experienced returners in
Kylar Cooks,
Alex Costilla,
Silas Robinson and
Jaydan Smith will help fill in those gaps.
Meanwhile,
Dalton Cooper,
Russell Baker and
Kyle Hergel were some of the top-rated offensive linemen in the Sun Belt by the PFF last season. Head coach
Jake Spavital has said, on multiple occasions throughout the preseason, the offensive line unit — a 17-member position group — has provided the coaching staff with opportunities to shift pieces around during practices to help create an early depth chart full of versatility.
Other 2022 Position Previews
Running Backs
Wide Receivers
Preseason Camp Information
Texas State started official fall camp practices on August 3 and will participate in 20 days of practices before the first game week in late August. Videos of the weekly press conferences can be found
here.
Ticket Information
Season tickets and single-game tickets are on sale now for the 2022 Texas State football season. Season tickets for all six home games start as low as $80 while single-game tickets start at $20. Fans can purchase their tickets today at
TXST.com/tickets.
Gallery: (8-12-2022) 2022 FB Position Preview: Offensive Line
