HOUSTON — G.J. Kinne is always at home around high school coaches in Texas. The son of a high school coach and Texas high school legend in his own right, Kinne brings a grassroots vibe to Texas State. At the THSCA coaching convention bringing together more than 16,000 Texas high school coaches across the state, Kinne looked extremely comfortable making the rounds on the convention floor during the day and spending time with coaches in the hotel lobby at night.
It’s not an act. It’s just what Kinne knows. After a strong high school career turned into a productive college campaign, Kinne spent time in the NFL before returning to coaching. Combine Kinne’s people skills and competitive energy, and it’s easy to see why Kinne was able to elevate the Bobcats in recruiting after arriving in San Marcos, Texas. He’s 23-16 in his time with the Bobcats and led the program to three straight bowl game wins. With Texas State moving to the Pac-12 this year, Kinne continues to eye new standards in recruiting.
A huge part of their success has been recruiting the state of Texas. When Kinne was hired, he adopted the mantra “Take Back Texas” following an uninspiring run under Jake Spavital where the program abandoned high school recruiting and assembled the majority of their roster from the transfer portal. The hard work is paying off, and Kinne’s knowledge of the state played a big role, he said.
“I think a large part of it is the connections and the networking,” Kinne said. “I played Texas high school football, and I know the value in it. I think learning over the years and watching, whether it’s other people or me — if you try to go straight through the portal, it’s not going to work. Recruiting Texas high schools is a huge thing for us.
“I think knowing the coaches the way I do and knowing the state of Texas the way I do, knowing the hot spots — for me, I wouldn’t say it’s easy, but it’s easy to navigate that. When we’re building calendars and building who we are going to go after, I think that part is easy.
“I think building a coaching staff that’s familiar with it too is big. I think we’ve done an elite job of navigating that and being on the right kids.”
Under Kinne, the Bobcats have signed nine of the top 10 recruits in program history and 17 of the top 20.
The 2026 cycle saw Texas State land four-star athlete La’Keyleon Graves. At the time, Graves was the highest-rated recruit in program history.
Top247 running back Daylon Gordon, who committed to the Bobcats this summer, surpassed him for the 2027 cycle.
Graves is already making waves on campus and should see quite a bit of playing time for the Bobcats this fall.
For Kinne, good recruiting matters when a staff can develop.
“Keys is doing an unbelievable job,” Kinne said. “He came in pretty raw. I think part of it was because he was playing receiver, safety and nickel and all of those positions. We were able, for the most part, to focus on him at receiver. He looks different than a lot of the guys we have.
