Saturday in the Alamodome, UTSA and Interstate 35 rival Texas State will meet for the first time since the 2020 season. The game will mark a special first for Roadrunners Head Coach Jeff Traylor: Leading the Bobcats into the Alamodome will be GJ Kinne, who was once Traylor’s quarterback at Gilmer High School.
Kinne first caught the eye of Traylor in 2005 when the quarterback led his Canton High School Eagles to a win over Traylor’s Gilmer Buckeyes in the second round of the Class 3A Division II playoffs.
“His rise doesn’t surprise me,” Traylor said of Kinne. “He’s always been different. … I’m happy and proud for him but at the same time they are right down the street. He’s created tremendous momentum.”
Kinne’s dad, Gary Joe Kinne, was his head coach at Canton. In the spring of 2005 the elder Kinne survived being shot by a disgruntled parent of a player. He was able to coach the Eagles that season. When the elder Kinne took a job at Baylor in spring of 2006, GJ needed to find a new high school. He chose to move in with his mother and stepfather, who happened to live about 60 miles east in Gilmer.
UTSA (0-1) vs. Texas State (1-0)
When: Sept. 9, 2:30 p.m.
Where: Alamodome
If you go: VIA Park & Ride service is available from Crossroads Park & Ride. Spirit Walk is at 12:15 p.m., and UTSA’s Conference USA championship banner will be unfurled inside the Alamodome 25 minutes before kickoff.
How to watch: ESPN+
After Kinne arrived in Gilmer, the connection with Traylor began to put down roots that would go as deep as those of the pine trees throughout east Texas.
“GJ was in a tough spot in his life,” Traylor said. “People didn’t like him moving to Gilmer and everyone was against us. We have a lot of special memories from that time. GJ’s younger brother McClain led me to my final state championship as a high school coach.”
Kinne led the Buckeyes to a 10-0 record in his senior season before they were upset by Liberty-Eylau in the first round of the playoffs. After graduating from Gilmer in 2007, Kinne signed to play football for the Texas Longhorns before transferring to Tulsa in 2008. Kinne became the Golden Hurricanes’ starter in 2009 and finished his collegiate career with 9,472 yards and 81 touchdowns.
“It will be different for sure,” Kinne said. “Everyone knows the respect I have for Coach Traylor. I wouldn’t be in this position I am today without his help and his guidance and mentorship.”
After a four-year run in professional football, Kinne went into coaching in 2017. His first stop was as a graduate assistant at Southern Methodist University. It was at SMU where he reunited with Traylor. The two would follow SMU Coach Chad Morris, joining his staff when Morris was hired as head coach at Arkansas. From there, Traylor was hired by UTSA.
When UTSA and Texas State last played on Sept. 12, 2020, at Bobcat Stadium in San Marcos, it was Jeff Traylor’s first game at the helm of UTSA. The Roadrunners won 51-48 in double overtime to move to 4-0 all-time against the Bobcats.
“That’s a long time ago,” Traylor said. “It was hot. We played about as well as we could have the first half and limped home down the stretch, to say the least. We were very fortunate to come out of there with the win.”
As Traylor was beginning his first collegiate head coaching job, Kinne was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Hawaii. In 2021, Kinne left Hawaii to become the offensive coordinator at Central Florida. In 2022, Kinne got his first head coaching job when the University of the Incarnate Word hired him. For the first time since 2018 Traylor and Kinne found themselves in the same city.
“For me, the off-the-field memories are probably just as cool if not better than the on-field memories,” Kinne said of his relationship with Traylor. “He’s someone I have leaned on for a lot of things. I have nothing but respect for him.”
Kinne led UIW to its best season in program history. The Cardinals went 12-2 and reached the semifinals of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs, losing to eventual national runner-up North Dakota State on Dec. 16.
It would be Kinne’s final game at UIW as two weeks earlier he was hired as the new head coach at Texas State. As soon as the Cardinals’ season ended, Kinne was on the road to San Marcos.
“I always figured I might be coaching for [Traylor], but I never saw myself coaching against him,” Kinne said. “It’s a real blessing. We are similar. He has a high emotional intelligence. He’s able to push people but do it the right way. He has a lot of fun.”
At Texas State, Kinne brought in 50 new players and completely overhauled the Bobcats roster from a team that went 4-8 in the final year under Jake Spavital. Kinne’s Texas State debut was this past Saturday, and it was a splashy one. His Bobcats went to Waco and beat Baylor 42-31. It was the Bobcats’ first win against a team from a Power Five conference since moving up to the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2012.
UTSA is coming off a 17-14 loss at Houston last week. For the first time in the rivalry series Texas State is the team with the better record. Whether that results in the Bobcats’ first win in the series will be decided in the Alamodome on Saturday.
One thing that is certain is that with a couple of Gilmer Buckeyes leading the two programs, the rivalry series has another ingredient to make it intriguing.
