DYNASTY YEAR 2; TEXAS STATE 2014 OUTLOOK - OBinKC's Dynasty

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DYNASTY YEAR 2; TEXAS STATE 2014 OUTLOOK

Posted on July 18, 2017 at 12:14 PM.

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It's time for the annual Bobcat Preview show. We will be looking at how we see the team as of now and what they can do in the 2014 season.

To start things off, Texas State has a national ranking of 53. This has indeed upset some of Bobcat nation as our team ended the 2013 season ranked #21. But we must temper expectations, as nobody could have predicted the wild ride last season. The Bobcats are a known commodity now, and you better believe defenses have spent plenty of time making adjustments and game planning to shut down this high powered attack.

Quarterback and preseason All-Conference pick Jordan Moore has returned as the starting signal caller for the Bobcats. Head coach Dennis Franchione says he has gotten even better on his throws and predicts a repeat performance of 2013. The coaching staff had been toying with the idea of having Moore compete with freshman Ryan Quinn due to Quinn's outstanding talents, but decided it was in their best interest to redshirt him and utilize his years of eligibility. Moore's backup will be redshirt freshman Tyler Jones, who has the quickness to be a dual threat, but is a dropoff from Moore in terms of passing ability.

Next we have the halfback, Terrance Franks, who looks even faster than he did last year and hopes to make an even bigger impact on this offense. He was also named to the preseason All-Conference team. Backing him up will again be Tim Gay, who looked more than capable to taking the load if Franks goes down. At fullback is freshman Roger Holmes who has the ability to break open some big holes for whoever is behind him. So the running game continues to look solid.

And now for what might be the most exciting part of this team, let's look at the receiving corps. Due to the graduations of 2nd team All-American Isaiah Battle and slot receiver Andy Erickson, the only player left from the original "Trio" is Brandon Smith. He held a top five spot in receiving yards in the nation for a few weeks last season, so I look for him to be a dangerous number one threat. The number two receiver will be Brice Gunter, who saw some decent playing time last season and looks good to step into the starting role. At the slot will be Demun Mercer, a speedy type who may be a little shaky on his pass catching abilities. This is really the only question mark I have on the new "Trio". At tight end, All-American Bradley Miller returns a bit faster and wiser, and looks to break records of his own this year.

While the offensive line picked up some good transfers, they won't be eligible to play until the 2015 season. So this is the only part of the offense that will be taking a step down this year. Freshman left tackle Tim Wright will need to step into the role immediately, and the rest of the line is suspect at best. Let's hope they can protect Moore enough to keep this team on the right track again this year.

On the defensive side of the ball, look for middle linebacker and defensive captain David Mayo to keep this defense relevant. He will be leading a squad that will miss Damien McMiller and D.J. Yendrey, but welcomes back cornerback Xavier Daniels and safety Trey Garrett, two players that should make big plays this season in the absence of the graduating second team All-Americans.