Rice football put the finishing touches on their gameplan for their Homecoming game against UTEP, the Owls’ Week 10 opponent.
After a few rough weeks in the middle of the season, the Rice offense is starting to come together. The atmosphere with the unit at practice was extremely positive on Thursday. Injured quarterbacks Shawn Stankavage and Evan Marshman were both there to offer encouragement and participate in the offensive huddle.
They stood by as receivers Austin Trammell and Aaron Cephus flashed in redzone work. Cephus has come a long way from where he started the season and is beginning to understand how to use his large frame to go up and rebound the basketball. His technical skills still need some refinement, but there are few better endzone targets on this offense than him right now. High-pointing the ball was a significant component of these sessions.
Dubbed “Mr. Consistent” by head coach Mike Bloomgren during fall camp, Trammell might have had glue for hands on Thursday. Coming off a career-best 10 reception, 94 yard game against North Texas last weekend, Trammell continues to be the focal point of the passing attack in practice and will continue to absorb targets in the games.
Injury update
The biggest new addition to the Owls’ this weekend will be cornerback D’Angelo Ellis. He’s been close to a return for a few weeks now, but Saturday should be his first action. He credits the strength program with the strides he’s made in recover thus far, saying Hans Straub’s program has helped him gain weight and get bigger and stronger.
