Kinne, Bobcats Set to Take Stage at Sun Belt Media Day on Tuesday

SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State head football coach GJ Kinne will take the stage for the annual Sun Belt Football Media Day for the first time on Tuesday as the Bobcats and the rest of the conference's West Division will open the two-day event in New Orleans.
Kinne, along with redshirt senior Tory Spears and junior Nash Jones, will represent Texas State and take part in a full day of television and radio interviews, a press conference, and studio shoots.
Watch on ESPN+
Texas State fans and the rest of the Sun Belt Conference can hear from the Bobcats during their press conference at 1:30 pm CT on ESPN+. The Bobcats will also be on the studio show around 10:30 am following Sun Belt commissioner Keith Gill's State of the Sun Belt address and Troy's stint at the press conference main stage.
The Sun Belt will have a full day of coverage on ESPN+, with each team's press conference being aired throughout the day alongside in-studio interviews.
About the Texas State Media Day Representatives
Tory Spears
S | Redshirt Senior
One of the top returners on the defensive side of the ball for the Bobcats, Spears enters his final season in a Texas State uniform coming off a 2022 season in which he was named All-Sun Belt Honorable Mention and had a career-high in tackles. The starting safety played in 10 games last season, including nine starts, and finished with 77 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, an interception, three pass breakups, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He was named the Sun Belt's Defensive Player of the Week in early October after returning an interception for a 94-yard touchdown in the Bobcats' win over App State. Spears, who has earned preseason all-conference honors from Athlon Sports and Phil Steele, has 163 career tackles in 27 games as a Bobcat.
Nash Jones
OL | Junior
One of five offensive linemen who transferred to Texas State from UIW, Jones enters his first year as a Bobcat in 2023. The projected starting left tackle has already garnered preseason all-conference honors from Athlon Sports and Phil Steele. The Nacogdoches, Texas native helped UIW win a conference title and reach the semifinals of the FCS Playoffs in 2022 after starting all 14 games at left tackle and surrendering only one sack on 527 pass plays. Over the course of his career, he has been named all-conference three times and was labeled as an All-American by Bluebloods in 2023 and Sophomore All-American by HERO Sports in 2022.
GJ Kinne
Head Coach | First Season
Named the Texas State head football coach on December 2, 2022, Kinne has taken over the program after leading the nation's highest scoring offense in 2022 as the head coach of UIW. The former collegiate quarterback and NFL player lifted the Cardinals to a Southland Conference championship and the FCS Playoff semifinals in his lone year at the helm. Since taking over Texas State, Kinne and his coaching staff have put together the highest-ranked class of newcomers, according to 247Sports, in program history. The second-youngest coach in FBS this season, Kinne is the 21st head coach in the school's history.
The Season Ahead
The Bobcats, under first-year head coach GJ Kinne, will feature a roster of 50+ newcomers alongside several key returning starters in 2023.
The schedule features back-to-back weeks on the road against Baylor and UTSA before a home slate that opens up against Jackson State on Sept. 16 and Nevada on Sept. 23. Conference home games include defending Sun Belt champion Troy, South Alabama, ULM and Georgia Southern.
Fall camp starts on August 2.
Sun Belt Media Days on ESPN+
Schedule – Tuesday, July 25
Time Press Conference In-Studio Interviews
10 am Keith Gill, Sun Belt Commissioner
10:30 am Troy Texas State
11 am Arkansas State South Alabama
11:30 am ULM Louisiana
12 pm Southern Miss
1:30 pm Texas State Troy
2 pm South Alabama Arkansas State
2:30 pm Louisiana ULM
3 pm Southern Miss
Tuesday, 9:30 am-12 pm – Watch On ESPN+
Tuesday, 1:30-4 pm – Watch On ESPN+