Rice football is going to need to pull out the whole bag of tricks if they want to beat the LSU Tigers on the road, and that starts at practice.
In a season full of silver linings, the offensive adjustments and changes have been encouraging to see in practice over the last few weeks. The team isn’t sticking to the same ‘ol, same ‘ol, rather they’re adapting and adding to their repertoire week after week.
That was evident with their insertion of D’Angelo Ellis at wide receiver and the incorporation of Aston Walter in the running game, allowing Austin Walter to be split out wide. There were more wrinkles put into the gameplan for LSU this week, several of which the Owls haven’t put on tape at all this year.
There will be a few trick plays up Mike Bloomgren’s sleave, but most of the additions are schemes and plays designed to maximize the opportunities for the Owls to break big plays.
Looking for the fourth option in the passing game
Three different pass catchers — Austin Trammell, Aaron Cephus and Austin Walter — have caught 72.8 percent of the Owls’ passes this season. That speaks to the reliability of each of those players, but also the void that exists elsewhere in the offense.
None of the tight ends have really made their presence felt yet and the high hopes the coaching staff had for receiver Brendan Harmon have been put on hold via injury. D’Angelo Ellis has begun to play the lion’s share of reps on the outside and Jordan Myers is settling into the primary tight end role. Both had flashes during practice on Thursday, but someone is going to have to step up and help quarterback Shawn Stankavage.
All-Academic teams announced
Bloomgren recognized both Jorian Clark and Parker Hanusa who were named Google Cloud Academic All-District 7 team. Those selections were made by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
