Some of Texas State\u2019s positions have been set in stone since spring. For others, starting roles will be up for grabs right up until Week 1. Here\u2019s a look at the Bobcats’ secondary.\u00a0<\/p>\n
MORE: Record-setting Texas State stars Beau Sparks, Chris Dawn Jr. lead Bobcats’ 2026 WRs<\/a><\/p>\n MORE:\u00a0Questions Texas State football still faces headed into its Pac-12 debut<\/a><\/p>\n Standout safeties<\/p>\n It’s hard to know what Texas State’s defense under defensive coordinator Will Windham<\/a> will look like. But of all the positions, safety might be the strongest across the board. Ryan Nolan<\/a> returns after briefly entering the transfer portal, giving the group a strong veteran presence. He led the Bobcats in tackles in 2025 and is one of the smartest players on the field at all times.<\/p>\n Kinne’s been vocal in his praise for defensive backs Jayden Bradley and Jayden Lawton, who have tantalizing physical tools despite their limited in-game experience. Bradley is a redshirt freshman who comes in at a solid 6-foot-1, 201 pounds. Lawton was a junior college prospect who sat out for most of 2025. He received offers from Ole Miss, Auburn and Missouri before signing with the Bobcats.\u00a0<\/p>\n Defensive back Amarion Atwood is poised for another strong year, although his versatility means he might spend time at various positions. The same goes for Will Mitchell, who suffered a season-ending injury in Week 3 last year. Chase Davis is another veteran depth piece.\u00a0<\/p>\n Cornerbacks prepped for breakouts<\/p>\n Texas State’s cornerback play suffered in 2025. But a year of development and a new system led by Windham, co-defensive coordinator Matthew Gregg and secondary coach Marcus Patton might just be what the group needs to take the next step.<\/p>\n Trez Moore returns after missing the entire year with an injury. The senior was the highest-rated cornerback on the roster in 2024, recording two interceptions, four pass breakups and 26 tackles. Craig Royal Jr. is another senior poised for a breakout. He came off the bench in 2025, putting up 13 tackles and snagging an interception.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Bobcats’ younger defensive backs are oozing with potential. Cordarian Powell showed flashes of playmaking ability, breaking up two passes in five games. Same with Christopher Jones, who had a pick-6 against Southern Miss in 2025. There are also a slew of veteran transfers who could make an impact.<\/p>\n Dexter Ricks Jr. and Michael Patterson III transferred from Liberty and Stephen F. Austin, respectively. Patterson in particular had a strong 2026, breaking up five passes and intercepting while primarily playing slot cornerback. John Smith, Greg Gipson Jr., Skylar Lewis and Jayden Flournoy are other freshmen who’ll be competing for playing time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Some of Texas State\u2019s positions have been set in stone since spring. For others, starting roles will be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":417126,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[261,9329,1771,9330,65998,27,29,28,9327,9328,1927],"class_list":["post-417125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-college-football","tag-gj-kinne","tag-ncaa","tag-ncaa-division-i","tag-pac-12-conference","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news","tag-texas-state-bobcats","tag-texas-state-bobcats-football","tag-texas-state-university"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417125","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=417125"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417125\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/417126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=417125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=417125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=417125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}