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Cowboys safety position provides a slew of starting options, intriguing depths
Cowboys safety position provides a slew of starting options, intriguing depths

USA Today

time16-07-2025

  • Sport
  • USA Today

Cowboys safety position provides a slew of starting options, intriguing depths

The Dallas Cowboys have four safeties who could all be adequate starters. Donovan Wilson has started nearly 50 games over the last three seasons and made plenty of big plays, while Malik Hooker has 38 starts in that span and is a better than average player. Backup Markquese Bell played well as an undersized linebacker in 2023, and Juanyeh Thomas is believed to be a starting-level young talent. The four aren't perfect, however. Wilson is a heat-seeking missile when playing downhill. He is effective against the run, delivering impactful hits and instilling fear like no one else on the back end. He has six interceptions, eight forced fumbles, and 13 sacks in 60 starts with a Pro Football Focus (PFF) grade of nearly 70 against the run and as a pass rusher. His issues are in coverage, where his PFF grade was 56.6. He is a significant enough liability in coverage that Dallas wouldn't want him lined up against any of the top pass catchers in the league, and that could keep him off the field altogether if any of the backups somewhat match his ability as a run defender. Hooker isn't a playmaker, but he avoids being a liability in any areas. He doesn't have a sideline-to-sideline range, but isn't often fooled on a deep ball. He also plays the run well for a free safety, and can be can be put in the box without worry of him failing to fill his gap. At this point in his career Hooker could be a better strong safety, but Dallas would need someone with the ability to be a rangy, playmaking free safety to pair with him. Bell doesn't fit the free safety role, but he could be a run defender who could significantly improve the pass defense. He started eight games as an undersized linebacker in 2023, showcasing a lot of heart and toughnessin accumulating 94 tackles, four pass breakups, two forced fumbles, and a missed tackle percentage of only 4.1%. At 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, he still played the run well, and PFF graded him 87.6 in coverage in 2023. In limited snaps last season at safety he had a 63.2 coverage grade. Thomas showed promise as a coverage safety in 2023. He played in 16 games, starting one, and had 192 defensive snaps. He had a coverage grade of 85.9 and an overall grade of 81.1, but he couldn't find his footing in Mike Zimmer's defense last season. He played 100 fewer snaps and fell off nearly 25 points in coverage and overall grades according to PFF. If Thomas can find his 2023 play again, he could replace Hooker at free safety, allowing the latter to move to Wilson's spot. Regardless of the configuration, those four are near locks for the roster unless Dallas cuts one of the starters to free up cap space. Alijah Clark has nearly 600 snaps at free safety, in the box, and in the slot in his college career, so he brings versatility to the back end. He had excellent OTA play, even playing snaps with the first team. Zion Childress has 62 games of college experience and was consistently productive in each year with the Texas State Bobcats and Kentucky Wildcats. Another versatile player, with 1,106 snaps in the slot, 966 in the box, and 859 at free safety. He will look for his place playing on special teams and by having the ability to line up in multiple positions. Mike Smith Jr. was a captain for the Eastern Kentucky Colonels, but Dallas will likely try to develop him because the transition from NCAA Division Football Championship Subdivision to the NFL is challenging for any player. You can find Mike Crum on Twitter @cdpiglet or Bluesky @

Conference Realignment - Texas State Football Joins Pac-12 Movement
Conference Realignment - Texas State Football Joins Pac-12 Movement

Forbes

time01-07-2025

  • Sport
  • Forbes

Conference Realignment - Texas State Football Joins Pac-12 Movement

DALLAS, TX - January 03: Texas State Bobcats coach GJ Kinne lifts the trophy while celebrating with ... More running back Torrance Burgess Jr. (22) after winning the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl between the North Texas Mean Green and Texas State Bobcats on Friday, January 03, 2025 at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas,TX. (Photo by Austin McAfee/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) A few FBS programs made their conference realignment transitions official on July 1 with more college football movement coming, especially in the Pac-12. Heading into the 2025 season, Delaware and Missouri State are making the jump from FCS to FBS where they'll compete in Conference USA. This brings the 2025 FBS membership to 136 teams. Additionally, UMass is abandoning its independent status for the MAC where it resided from 2012-15. This latest round of conference realignment does not bring nearly as much buzz as the previous summer that saw Texas join the SEC as the highlight of major Power 4 movement. The rebuild of the Pac-12 is the focal point of this next edition of realignment as it puts the finishing touches on its membership. Pac-12 Realignment The Pac-12 has been a significant realignment loser after 10 teams exited the conference before the 2024 college football season. It watched Arizona, Arizona State, Cal, Colorado, Oregon, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Utah and Washington leave for other conferences. The Pac-12 will continue to consist of Oregon State and Washington State through this upcoming season, but the conference made another move to reach the eight-team minimum to qualify as an FBS conference in 2026. Texas State officially announced it's leaving the Sun Belt for the Pac-12, which will be the sixth program to join the conference before the 2026 college football season. The Bobcats will be in the Sun Belt for the final year this fall before joining Washington State, Oregon State, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State in the next edition of the Pac-12. Gonzaga is a ninth member but does not have a football program. It seems like the Pac-12 is set with its 2026 eight-team football conference for now, but realignment news can move quickly. Conference Realignment Tracker In case you're not keeping score so here's a quick look at the FBS movement that's coming over the next two seasons: This has not been made official, but On3's Brett McMurphy reported Louisiana Tech is expected to leave Conference USA for the Sun Belt. This would bring the Bulldogs to the same conference as Louisiana and Louisiana-Monroe.

Texas State Preview 2025: GJ Kinne's Bobcats About to Keep Winning
Texas State Preview 2025: GJ Kinne's Bobcats About to Keep Winning

Miami Herald

time14-05-2025

  • Sport
  • Miami Herald

Texas State Preview 2025: GJ Kinne's Bobcats About to Keep Winning

No offense to Texas State University, but it's a minor miracle that GJ Kinne remains in San 36-year-old is making significantly less than a top college quarterback - under a million a year - and all he's accomplished is a 12-2 record with Incarnate Word, finishing No. 3 in the FCS in 2022, before coming to Texas State and elevating the program several Bobcats have only been in the FBS since 2012, achieving three winning seasons over 13 years. Kinne is responsible for two of those seasons with 16 wins at a place that managed just 16 victories in the six years before his arrival. The defense improved dramatically last season, the offense remained roughly the same, and … there was a shocking lack of the Bobcats have to beat all of the teams they're supposed year, they lost to a Georgia State squad that went 3-9 and to an Old Dominion squad that didn't go bowling. Win those types of games, and a Sun Belt title will be in time to get greedy and ask for a little bit more in Year Three under Kinne. Texas State Bobcats Preview 2025: Offense X CFN, Fiu | CFN Facebook | Bluesky Fiu, CFN Texas State Bobcats Preview 2025: Offense - There's been no problem fining quarterbacks in the portal who want to lead the attack. This year, the Bobcats have three options ready to give it a McCoy (Oregon State) has the most upside if he can cut down on the picks, Nate Yarnell saw plenty of work last year at Pitt, and Holden Geriner is an interesting option from Dawn is a dangerous threat on the outside - he caught six touchdown throws as part of the rotation - and transfers Mavin Anderson (Cal) and Tyrin Smith (UTEP and then Cincinnati) have the experience to fit in immediately. - Losing all-around running back star Ismail Mahdi to Arizona hurts. Lincoln Pare is back after finishing second on the team with 554 yards and with a team-high eight scores, and Torrance Burgess added over six yards per carry on his chances.- The offensive front might be making some big changes, but it's more than solid. It's also relatively homegrown around the tackle Dorion Strawn and 327-pound guard Tellek Lockette. Texas State Bobcats Preview 2025: Defense - The defense was good, but when it missed, it missed big. Few teams in college football were better at coming up with tackles for loss, the pass rush was great, and the run defense was terrific at times. But when the run D was bad, it was a struggle going 1-4 when allowing 170 yards or more.- Top pass rusher Kalil Alexander is back along with fellow end Jo'Lauson Landry. These two are great on the outside, and the tackles will be okay if Syracuse transfer Michael Nwokoacha can hold up right away. The back seven is loaded up with transfers around safety Ryan Nolan, the team's second-leading tackler. The cornerbacks are a bit green, but Khamari Terrell (Oregon) will linebacking corps is all about the transfers, starting with TCU's Terrence Cooks - be shocked if he's not one of the team's leading tacklers. Texas State Bobcats Key to the Season Score a whole lot of defense was and should be better, but Texas State will still need the offense to keep its foot on the gas. In two seasons under GJ Kinne, the Bobcats are 15-2 when they score more than 31 points and 1-8 when they don't. Expect every game to be a shootout again. Texas State Bobcats Key Player Gevani McCoy, QB McCloud was terrific last season hitting 70% of his passes with 30 touchdown throws. He was a good runner and scored seven times, but he wasn't as dangerous on the ground as McCoy will McCoy isn't a sure thing to grab the gig, but he can move - he ran for 328 yards and five scores in his limited time with the Beavers last year - and showed flashes with the passing game. Texas State Bobcats Top Transfer, Biggest Transfer Loss Top Transfer In: Tyrin Smith, WR fifth-year senior had a fantastic 2022 at UTEP - 71 catches for 1,039 yards and five scores - but he missed most of the following year and most of last year at Cincinnati. The veteran has a shot to be a No. 1 target if he can stay Transfer Out: Joshua Eaton, CB starting as a three-year reserve at Oklahoma, Eaton turned into a strong playmaking corner for Texas State over the last two seasons. He has yet to pick off a pass, but he made 49 tackles with 13 broken-up passes for the Bobcats. Now he'll be part of the Michigan State secondary. Texas State Bobcats Key Game at Arkansas State, Oct. 4James Madison will be a problem, and going to Louisiana will be dangerous, but starting out the Sun Belt season on the road against the Red Wolves will be the big test case. Pull this off, and the Bobcats will be players in the conference chase. Lose, even early on, and it'll be an uphill battle in the strong West division.- 2025 Texas State Bobcats Schedule Breakdown Texas State Bobcats Top 10 Players 1. Kalil Alexander, EDGE Sr.2. Ryan Nolan, S Jr.3. Lincoln Pare, RB Sr.4. Chris Dawn, WR Jr.5. Gevani McCoy, QB Sr.6. Jo'Lauson Landry, EDGE Soph.7. Nate Yarnell, QB Sr.8. Tyrin Smith, WR Sr.9. Dorion Strawn, OT Sr.10. Kamren Washington, DT Jr. Texas State Bobcats 2024 Fun Stats - 1st Quarter Scoring: Texas State 161, Opponents 62- Sacks: Texas State 36 for 281 yards, Opponents 19 for 99 yards- Passing Touchdowns: Texas State 31, Opponents 13 Texas State Bobcats 2025 Season Prediction, Win Total, What Will Happen The team will be just fine with all the new parts and changes across the starting 22, but the schedule will be far, far more of a trip to Arizona State is bad enough, but having to go to UTSA, Arkansas State, and Louisiana will be challenging. But just like the last two seasons, the Bobcats will crank up enough offense to win most shootouts, but there will be just enough duds - watch out for the trip to Southern Miss - to keep this from being a Sun Belt title The Texas State Bobcats Win Total At … 7.5Likely Wins: Eastern Michigan, Nicholls50/50 Games: at Arkansas State, James Madison, at Louisiana, at Marshall, South Alabama, at Southern Miss, Troy, ULM, at UTSALikely Losses: at Arizona State © 2025 The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.

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