As the 2019 Rice Football season approaches there remains one unspoken pressing question. Can the Owls ride one quarterback this year?
A rotten combination of poor performance, bad luck and injuries through the Rice football quarterback room into chaos for most of the 2018 season. The players themselves were as calm and collected as possible, but the lack of clarity at the position as a whole did the team no favors as they tried to win football games.
More: Mobility key for Owls quarterbacks in 2019
Three different quarterbacks started games for the Owls last season. Vanderbilt grad transfer Shawn Stankavage got the first shot, starting the first seven games until he was injured in the Owls loss to UAB. Evan Marshman, who took over in the second half of the UAB game, didn’t make it through his start the following week either. He went down against FIU, opening up the door to Wiley Green.
Green led the way for the next two games, losses to North Texas and UTEP. Stankavage returned, effectively allowing Green to keep his redshirt as the veteran started the final two road games of the year against Louisiana Tech and LSU. Finally, Green capped off the season with a win at home over Old Dominion.
Confusing? That’s because Rice changed starting quarterbacks four times in the final six weeks of the season before ultimately landing back on Green.
Green will battle for the starting job in 2019 with incoming Harvard grad transfer Tom Stewart. (Read more about that battle and what to expect from each player in the fall in our 2019 Rice Football Season Preview). Regardless of who wins the job, sticking with one guy would be a much-needed change of pace. Barring injuries, the Owls look to be on the right track.
