San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
McBride stands out despite depleted roster
SAN MARCOS — Finding it out of character for Texas State safety DeJordan Mask to be lying on the Bobcat Stadium turf between segments of Saturday’s spring game, coach Jake Spavital walked over to check on him.
“I’m like, ‘Are you doing all right?’ ” Spavital said. “And he said, ‘I don’t have any sub right now. I’m just trying to take a break.’ ”
Spavital said the Bobcats were without about 30 or 35 players Saturday due to injuries or COVID-19 protocols, including close to 20 on defense.
Texas State is just a few days removed from a pause that spanned about two weeks. Spavital said the Bobcats have been ravaged by injuries, ranging from normal hamstring pulls through cases as unusual as appendicitis. At the same time, COVID-19 testing and contact tracing — including “a lot of false positives,” Spavital said — have rendered a segment of the roster unavailable.
The impact of the deficit was clear Saturday, as quarterback Brady McBride had the offense humming against the Bobcats’ defense. Spavital said Texas State played many three-man fronts defensively because of limited numbers on the line.
“They were cussing me there for a little bit, because they were running so many plays,” Spavital said. “We were just kind of limited numbers, and we just wanted to make sure we got our way through it all.”
Spavital said the Bobcats opened spring with plans for a normal scrimmage but settled on an alternate format to help keep players fresh. Periods of live action pitting the offense against the defense were split up by a series of individual drills or recreational competitions.
Skill players faced off in a passing contest, and linemen took turns trying to field punts, highlighted by 6-foot-3, 285-pound Tate Heitmeier misreading a ball in the air, charging forward and making a lunging attempt that came up short.
Rather than move the game, Spavital said he wanted to keep it aligned with Friday’s inaugural Jake Spavital Golf Tournament and Texas State’s home softball and baseball games Saturday afternoon.
Bobcat Stadium was open to a scattered group of spectators. The program’s band and cheerleaders set up behind the end zones, and players were interviewed on the stadium’s video board between series.
“We were just trying to piece it together and keep it entertaining,” Spavital said. “For us, spring games are more for the fans and making sure we get out healthy.”
Despite the challenges, Spavital said he viewed it as a productive day.
McBride was the standout, leading the offense to the end zone on his first three drives and finishing 8-for-10 passing with 144 yards and three touchdowns. He connected on scoring passes to Javen Banks for 22 yards, Drue Jackson
for 12 yards and Waydale Jones for 6 yards and also found Chandler Speights for a 45-yard pickup.
Spavital said McBride’s poise has taken a leap as he enters his second year in the Bobcats’ system.
“He looks so much more confident and comfortable out there,” Spavital said. “I just really like where he’s at right now and the control he has of the game.”
McBride alternated possessions with junior Tyler Vitt and freshman Ty Evans, reaching the end zone three times before the other signal-callers sparked a scoring drive.
Evans capped the day with a 31yard TD pass to Trevis Graham Jr., while Vitt spurred the offense to a field goal on his fourth possession.
Vitt, a MacArthur product, finished 5-of-9 passing for 45 yards. Spavital praised Vitt for overcoming some “unfortunate things” in his possessions, including missed blocks or offensive penalties.
“He’s just calm and cool out there,” Spavital said. “He’s tough. Those kids love playing for him, and he just has a great mind, a great football mind.”
Texas State will make up for lost days with practices Monday through Thursday this week, and Spavital said the sessions will be “very limited,” with more of an individual focus.
Overall, Spavital said the Bobcats will reach the same level of training as in a typical spring.
“Whatever we have out there, we’re going to rep and get better,” Spavital said. “There are a lot of guys we need to pay individual attention to, and that’s what we want those last four practices, what we’re saving them for.”