AUSTIN, Texas — The Jake Spavital era of Texas State University football is underway.
The first-year Bobcats' football coach was in Austin Wednesday evening, meeting and greeting Texas State alumni and fans.
Spavital is currently on a tour of Texas cities, getting acquainted with Texas State alumni across Texas.
This is Spavital's first head coaching gig of his career. But, he is well-known, especially in this region of the country.
He was a graduate assistant for Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State University, where he coached the likes of quarterback Brandon Weeden.
He followed former OSU offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen to West Virginia, then to Texas A&M, where he was an assistant coach for then Aggies' head coach Kevin Sumlin.
Then to the University of California, where he was Sonny Dykes' offensive coordinator.
Spavital returned to WVU with Holgorsen the past two seasons before being named Everett Whithers' successor at Texas State.
In an interview with Spavital prior to Wednesday night's event at The Rustic Tap in Austin, I asked Spavital which coaching tree he is attached to: Gundy, Holgorsen or Sumlin?
"I think just, throughout your career, you pick something from everything that these guys do well," Spavital said. "I'm very fortunate to have been around guys like Mike Gundy and Dana Holgorsen and Kevin Sumlin, Sonny Dykes, Kliff Kingsbury. I think I was looking at it the other day, I've been around about 12 head coaches."
The main advice these coaches/mentors have offered him?
"Just be yourself. The main reason where you are today is because of who you are."
At age 33, Spavital is one of the youngest NCAA Division I football coaches in America. He is the son of a former high school football coach in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Spavital's brother, Zac, is a member of his coaching staff.
Zac is the Bobcats' defensive coordinator.
The Bobcats' spring game scrimmage is scheduled for April 13 at Bobcat Stadium.