Best Case/Worst Case in 2017: Texas State Bobcats

All of our Best Case/Worst Case scenarios:Texas / Texas A&M / Texas Tech / TCU / Baylor / Houston / UTSA / SMU / UTEP / Rice / North Texas / Texas State Will this season be a dream or a nightmare for your favorite FBS program in the state of Texas? In this series, we take a look at the best and worst case scenarios for all 12 teams. Texas State 2016 record: 2-10Best Case Everett Withers’ comments in the spring said a lot about what he thought about the roster he inherited when he was hired to replace Dennis Franchione last year. The Bobcats went through a lot of roster turnover upon his arrival, leaving the team with an extremely young team. The Bobcats are young again this season, but Withers seems to at least be more comfortable with the players at his disposal this year. There won’t be a lot of experience on the field, but the Bobcats should have a core of young players that will be given the opportunity to grow right away. Withers signed the top recruiting class in the Sun Belt Conference according to 247Sports, so the future is bright in San Marcos. Unfortunately for the Bobcats though, Mississippi State transfer quarterback Damian Williams was suspended before fall camp even got started. It was a big blow for the team, as Williams brought a lot of talent to the table and would have given Withers a year to develop four true freshmen at the position. Now, the Bobcats may be forced to go with one of those freshmen sooner than expected if Williams doesn't get back to first-team reps in time. Jaylen Gipson, Williams Jones III, Kishawn Kelley and Jaylin Nelson will be relied upon to lead the offense into the season. Best-case scenario, one of those players is able to step up and play well enough for the Bobcats’ offense not to regress in year two under Withers. The entire program is young, but relying on a true freshman quarterback with Williams gone only intensifies that problem. Sophomore Thurman Morbley will build on a promising start to his career and fills the role as a go-to target in the passing game, while the offensive line shows at least mild improvement from a year ago to assist running back Anthony Taylor on the ground. Linebackers Bryan London II and Gabe Loyd continue to play lights out in the middle of the defense, and the supporting cast begins to take some pressure off the duo as the season goes along. The Bobcats are able to secure a win over Houston Baptist in the opener, but see some growing pains while playing a lot of freshmen throughout the lineup. As the younger players start to get a feel for the speed of the game, the Bobcats record a big home win over Louisiana-Monroe. A win in two of the next three games moves the Bobcats just two wins away from bowl eligibility, generating some excitement in San Marcos. Texas State is able to catch some breaks down the stretch of the season and sneaks into a bowl game at 6-6. It’s a significant step forward for an extremely young program as Withers continues to gain momentum on the recruiting trail. It may be a stretch for the Bobcats to reach the postseason so quickly, especially without Williams. Worst Case With the program forced to rely on so much youth during the rebuilding process, things could go bad quickly. The offensive line struggles as often as it did last season, bottling up the run game and putting even more pressure on a true freshman quarterback to throw the ball in an offense built to succeed through ground-and-pound. Nobody steps up on the perimeter of the offense next alongside Morbley, allowing defenses to focus their coverage on him. After knocking off Houston Baptist in the opener, the Bobcats go through a brutal stretch in the Sun Belt without any light at the end of the tunnel. A bowl game is out of the question, so Withers gets as many of his freshmen onto the field as possible trying to look forward to next season. Worst-case scenario, the Bobcats finish with just a win or two as their young and inexperienced roster continues to grow.

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