What Are We Even Doing In The Spring Anyway?

I think it’s silly we do football for a day in the spring at Texas State. There I said it.

In fairness to our beloved institution, we’re doing what we have always done. This past weekend we put on a spring football “showcase,” but the difference is this year, we were the only show along the I-35 corridor and still no one really cared.

It also may very well have been the last one of its kind due to a number of factors involving the college football world as we know it.

The UTSA Roadrunners and the Texas Longhorns have both abandoned the practice of a hosting a spring game or spring showcase, instead opting for open practices and scrimmages.

Texas State on the other hand, barred media from practices and instead opted to have select coaches and players available to talk about the spring happenings sprinkled throughout the NCAA practice window.

Incredibly lame in my opinion. A strange anti-media and marketing strategy. For a team last year that came into the season with College Football playoff hype it seemed like a complete 180 in terms of access and transparency we had expected in years one and two under G.J. Kinne.

Now, off the back of their second-ever bowl-winning season, we get booted from practices in the spring? Certainly felt strange coming from a team that did not have very many positive headlines when I started covering them in 2016.

I was frustrated before we even made it out to the stadium on Saturday, in short.

What has made all of this even more frustrating, aside from the weird access and credentialing practices the athletics department has now engaged in, is the spring portal window.

The NCAA opened the portal on April 16,th and Bobcats are jumped in. Most probably had their mind made about jumping into the portal and entertaining offers to play elsewhere before the spring showcase. Others’ fate seemed to be sealed following the event.

So, now football in the spring feels more like a family reunion or one last ride “Fast and the Furious” cut scene.

I got to catch up with Texas State University President Kelly Damphousse and Athletics Director Don Coryell. I got to talk to Head Basketball Coaches Terrence Johnson and Zenarae Antoine following their seasons.

We got an exclusivo look at the work being done at UFCU Stadium, more on that in this week’s episode. All of that, more useful than what was being done on the field.

And no hate to the team, either, I’m just not interested in things that don’t really matter. What’s the sexiest headline right now? “Brad Jackson likely starter?” “Parre completes 180 in return as starting RB?”

Kinne talked about giving the team some grace in this time too, without a full offensive install and without some major pieces coming in via the portal and the high school ranks. So, I will.

I need to see more from the team before I am able to make a few judgement calls and the lack of access has been eating at my soul.

My point with all my complaints is that instead of a showcase, with the portal with NIL, with all the other things that take away shine from the actual play on the field. We’re left with a sorta of one last ride cut scene in this video game we call life.

I actually at one point seriously pitched filling UFCU Stadium with bouncey houses for the kids, have the team sign autographs and turn the thing into a block party. Call it the Bobcat Bouncey House Spring Bash and see who jumps into the portal after.

I was also just in a crabby mood because right before the press conference my camera’s shutter locked up, so I sat on the bench for that. Luckily though, nothing important even happened anyway.

This team is still in the midst of defining its identity, its roster and what it wants to present to the world from a media and marketing stand point. I just want to be there when they show up.

So, we left UFCU stadium kinda in a meh mood. But, alls well that ends well, we got hotdogs at Birddog, highly recommend.

Thanks for Squarin’

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