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Rice Football 2020 Defensive Player of the Year: Blaze Alldredge

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Linebacker Blaze Alldredge set a new standard at South Main. The Owls’ captain is our pick for Rice Football Defensive Player of the Year.

The story of how Blaze Alldredge came to be a Rice Owl is a good one, but the impact he’s had on the Rice football program is a legacy still being written.

As he describes it, head coach Mike Bloomgren and Rice football took “a chance on a junior college guy with zero offers out of high school.” A late addition to the 2019 signing class turned into one of the most impressive resumes of any linebacker to walk between the hedges on South Main—and there have been some great ones.

Alldredge first received the call to start on the road against Southern Miss in 2018. He led the team in tackles and had the Owls’ first interception of the year in that game, the fourth contest of the season. But the defense still surrendered 40 points and the Owls lost the game. A fill-in role for an injured man above him on the depth chart turned soon led to his name being inked in permanent marker among the defensive starters.

In almost a perfect juxtaposition of past and present, Alldredge also had an interception in his last road start, coming this fall in Huntington, WV against previously unbeaten No. 15 Marshall. Once more, Alldredge led the team in tackles, but this time the end result was much different. Not only did the defense not allow a single point, they scored a touchdown of their own, courtesy of Alldredge’s roommate Naeem Smith on a pick six.

Alldredge will tell you himself that he’s come a long way from that first start against Southern Miss. The accolades that follow him reinforce that growth. A first-team All-Conference USA selection this year, Alldredge was also on every preseason watch list he qualified for. It didn’t matter who you asked, Alldredge was and is the best of the best.

The only naysayer, to any degree, would probably have been himself. “I just wish I coulda given them more,” he said following his senior season.

What he did give, was impressive. Alldredge finished the 2020 season third in Conference USA in tackles per game. He had at least a share of a tackle for a loss in his last 16 games played, dating back to last year when he finished second in the nation with 21.5 tackles for a loss. He was the heart of the Rice defense, and at the same time, he was the arms, legs, feet and just about everything else. There wasn’t anywhere on the field Alldredge couldn’t be and there wasn’t any job he wouldn’t do.

A team captain, Alldredge’s impact well beyond the field. In the preseason, linebackers coach Scott Vestal said having Alldredge in meetings was “almost like having another coach in the room.” Vestal praised the Alldredge’s inquisitiveness and forward-thinking nature. A student and a teacher, Alldredge would routinely quiz and council young players and help them understand the scheme. He found all the little ways to make the team better.

Boiled down to its core, Alldredge was a culture builder for a program in desperate need of a reformed identity. The defense allowed 36.0 points per game in Alldredge’s first season. This year the Owls surrendered 18.8 points per game. From one extreme to the other. It doesn’t really matter which statistic you pick, Alldredge made the defense better.

“Plays that would have rattled us before,” Alldredge noted, “That doesn’t happen anymore. We have a lot more confidence.” Call it confidence; call it consistency. Call it whatever you’d like to. The net result is a defense that looks entirely different than the unit Alldredge stepped into.

Rice made tremendous strides on defense thanks to Alldredge’s leadership. But in his mind, the bar has been elevated. “In terms of what I’ve accomplished at Rice. I think that that’s going to be best reflected by what happens in the years to come,” he said, following the end of the 2020 season. “I think that we have a really talented linebacker room, we have guys that hopefully, in a couple of years, make you forget about Blaze Alldredge.”

Forget about Blaze Alldredge? Not a chance.

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Rice Football 2020 Offensive Player of the Year: Mike Collins

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Mike Collins impressed in limited action, doing more than enough to be named our 2020 Rice Football Offensive Player of the Year.

Rice football did a lot of things well in the first two years under head coach Mike Bloomgren. Consistency at the quarterback position remained squarely on the “work in progress” side of the ledger. The Owls had gone through at least three quarterbacks in each season with no sure-fire answer heading into their 2020 campaign. Enter Mike Collins.

When he arrived on campus, Collins was a relative unknown. A grad transfer from TCU who played his high school ball in Connecticut, Collins was the Owls’ third graduate transfer at the position in three years under Bloomgren. His resume included a couple of Big 12 games and coaches were hopeful.

Collins tracked a step to two ahead of redshirt freshmen JoVoni Johnson through a shortened spring and delayed fall camp. He looked the part. Then, shortly after a day of practice in which he threw zero incompletions all afternoon, he was named the starter. There was a guarded optimism when the season began in earnest in late October against Middle Tennessee. Still, no one was certain what would happen when he took the field for the first time.

Mike Collins completed two of his first 10 passes in a Rice uniform. He threw his only interception as the Owls fell behind 7-6 early in their season opener. Then he settled down and transformed into the passer the coaching staff saw throughout camp. He led the Owls back from a fourth-quarter deficit, delivering a key fourth-down conversion and the go-ahead touchdown pass with seconds remaining.

When the dust settled, Collins had thrown for 242 yards and four touchdowns in his Rice debut. That marked the first time a Rice quarterback had thrown four touchdown passes in a game since Tyler Stehling did so against Prairie View in 2016. It was the first time any Owl had four touchdown passes in a season opener since Chase Clement threw six against SMU in 2008.

The heartbreaking loss was tough to swallow. Still, Collins displayed tremendous resolve when he returned to the field for practice the next week. “There’s so much that we can improve on, especially personally that I can improve on,” he said before his second start, a road game against Southern Miss.

Already in the company of some of the better Rice quarterbacks of the modern era, Collins didn’t slow down. He was spectacular against Southern Miss, completing 12-of-17 passes for 233 yards and another four touchdown passes.

His 10 passing touchdowns in three games were the most in the first three Conference USA games of any quarterback in school history. He was efficient, leading the offense to 30+ points in two of his three appearances, a scoring total the Owls had only reached twice in their previous 25 games. His final outing came on the road against North Texas. Rice would lose, but Collins would throw for 300 yards for his first time as an Owl.

Even with the 1-2 start, everything seemed to be looking up for the Owls, particularly on offense. Then Collins did not return to the field. An undisclosed injury forced Rice to finish the 2020 campaign without their breakthrough star signal caller. JoVoni Johnson would come off the bench an defeat No. 15 Marshall on the road, but the offense never clicked the same way it did when Collins and senior receiver Austin Trammell were both healthy.

No matter where Collins goes from here, his impact on Rice football was significant. He delivered a blueprint for this offense, one that’s had its share of highs and lows. He proved the ceiling for this passing attack is higher than it had been in previous years. That with the right skill set and understanding, a potent offensive attack was possible within this scheme.

Where the Owls turn now, or rather to whom, will forever be seen through the lens of Collins’ accomplishments. Should he chose to do so, Collins would be eligible to return to Rice for the 2021 season. Further clarity on the Owls’ senior class will develop in the coming weeks. No matter what happens next, his three-game 2020 stint will be revered.

Collins ends 2020 as one of two quarterbacks in the nation to throw for 10 touchdowns with one or fewer interceptions. That’s not bad company for an offense that prides itself on pounding the rock.

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Rice Football 2020 Rising Star: Jake Bailey

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We saw flashes this season, but we’ve only scratched the surface of what 2020 Rice Football Rising Star Jake Bailey will do in his career at South Main.

Jake Bailey’s commitment was announced in the middle of the 2018 Early Signing Period. The Owls’ had already amassed what looked to be a strong class in the months and weeks prior to the faxes rolling in, but the class didn’t have a marquee name just yet. Then Bailey’s signature, and subsequent announcement, became official.

The highest-rated Rice signee under Mike Bloomgren at the time, the two-way athlete was heavily sought after by the offensive and defensive coaches. The offense won out, and Bailey suited up with the wide receivers to begin his Rice career. He worked diligently, learning behind Austin Trammell and Bradley Rozner, two all-conference caliber players.

Before the 2020 season, wide receiver’s coach Mike Kershaw called Bailey “a guy that we’ve got to get on the field more and get him some more touches.” When fall camp eventually commenced, Blomgren himself singled out the young receiver: “Jake Bailey is becoming somebody the quarterbacks trust completely.”

It was hard to go a day at camp without someone mentioning the potential of number 11. Whether a coach or player, everyone was pointing to the work Bailey had done in the offseason and heaping praise and expectations on his shoulders for the season to come.

When the games arrived, Rozner had since been injured and opted out. The rest of the receiving room was riddled with bumps and bruises. Rather than splitting reps with Austin Trammell in the slot, Bailey was forced to the outside. The 5-foot-10 wideout played out of position for almost the entirety of the season. And he still led all wideouts in receptions.

“I feel like my development has been at a good pace,” Bailey said midseason. He’d seen his receptions trend upward in three straight games and scored in consecutive games for the first time in his career.

When Trammell was injured and forced to miss the final two contests, any pretense of easing Bailey into the offense went out the window. He became the go-to guy, setting career-high marks for receptions in back-t0-back weeks. He barely missed out on a touchdown on a goal line stretch against Marshall. A kick return touchdown was taken off the board against North Texas the week prior. Whether the plays counted or not, Bailey became the explosive playmaker the Owls needed.

2020 was meant to be the year the proverbial training wheels came off and Bailey’s potential was realized. When the season played out the way it did, those expectations were strained, but not removed.

With the game on the line against UAB, Bailey was the trusted outlet. He was peppered with targets, almost willing the Owls down the field himself for a hail mary heave.

Bailey was gritty and dependable. He was effective at all levels of the field, and he did it with his head down, ready and willing to work. The box scores in a shortened season don’t boast overwhelming totals. The negated plays that were inches away from going the other way don’t help the numbers either. But the player that Bailey became was irrevocably better than the version of himself he was the year prior. And he looked pretty good then.

Still, with only five games played, Bailey and the Rice offense remain somewhat of a mystery. What this unit can be, and what Bailey can help lead it to be, remain an expectant vision. By the time the 2021 season rolls around, Bailey will be entering his third year in the offense. He’ll have 32 receptions, two touchdowns and thousands of reps under his belt. His ceiling is sky-high.

Last year, De’Braylon Carroll earned this award. He delivered on those expectations by becoming a fixture in one of the most disruptive defensive interiors in the conference. He and Elijah Garcia made running the football up the middle a tough sell against some of the most productive rushers they faced.

Bailey’s growth has been notable. His potential remains as high as it’s ever been. The Owls need someone to continue to push the offense to new heights. Bailey can be that guy.

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What’s about Rice Football seniors and eligibility for 2021? All-American Q&A

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All-American Level subscribers on Patreon get access to a monthly Q&A with me. This update focuses on eligibility and potential Rice football returning seniors.

Q. Can Collins come back since he only played 3 games?

Q. Do you expect any senior/grad transfers to come back next year?

A. There were a couple of questions to this effect in my most recent mailbag ask, so I decided to address them together, starting with the eligibility rules for the 2020 season and leading into how that impacts Rice football specifically in 2021 and beyond.

First, the 2020 season did not count against the eligibility of anyone who played football this fall.

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Rice Football 2020 Special Teams Player of the Year: Charlie Mendes

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Charlie Mendes impressed in his debut season. The redshirt freshmen punter is our 2020 Rice Football Special Teams Player of the Year.

Before former Rice football special teams coordinator Pete Lembo left Houston to take a job with Memphis, he helped secure a commitment from punter Charlie Mendes. The California native was a member of the 2019 recruiting class who elected to come to South Main even though Lembo had moved on. That decision proved fortuitous for the Owls.

Mendes didn’t play a snap during his freshman year. His big leg caught an occasional eye in practice, but the Owls didn’t have need for the newcomer just yet. His time would come, though. After a year of waiting and learning, it was Mendes’ job to lose this spring. Not only did he keep the job, he put together an impressive season. Despite all the challenges that came with the bumpy road the Owls were forced to take, Mendes was steadfast.

When Mendes first stepped foot onto the turf at Rice Stadium in a live game the calendar had already blown past September into late October. Most teams around the country had played several football games, but Rice football was in the midst of their season opener against Middle Tennessee. Mendes took the snap and blasted a 58-yard bomb. Welcome to college, kid.

From that point onward, Mendes has been a fixture on Rice special teams. He averaged 42.8 yards per punt with a long of 59-yards. For those that don’t eat, sleep, and breathe punting statistics, the Owls’ redshirt freshmen punter had a good year. Perhaps not a Ray Guy Award-caliber season, but a surefooted debut in the midst of a season that was anything but normal.

Before the year began, special teams coordinator Drew Svoboda liked what he’d seen from the Owls’ new punter. “He’s got long levers,” he said, “He’s got great biomechanics to punt.” The 58-yarder out of the gate backed up those initial assertions. It also kept any competition from incoming transfer Collin Riccitelli at bay.

Most football fans don’t pay much attention to the punter unless there’s a misstep in a crucial moment. But the reliable foot of Mendes may have gone further under the radar than usual because of the bevy of riches the Owls’ have had at the punter position in recent years.

One of Mendes’ predecessors, Jack Fox, is a Pro Bowl punter in the NFL this season. After taking a redshirt season of his own following a stellar college campaign, Fox continues to wow with his leg. Following Fox at Rice was the tandem of Chris Barnes and Adam Nunez who pulled off one of the more spectacular shared punting seasons in recent memory, splitting the long distance and short-range duties.

And then there’s Mendes, who took over following that lengthy list of successful punting seasons and didn’t miss a beat.

On a per punt basis, Mendes put 42.9 percent of his punts inside the 20-yard line this year. Fox averaged 38 percent such punts during his three-year Rice career. Mendes put one of 21 punts into the endzone for a touchback. Nunez and Barnes had a touchback apiece in 2019. Fox averaged one touchback on roughly every 10 tries, twice the rate of Mendes.

As good as Rice has been on special teams in three years under head coach Mike Bloomgren, it hasn’t been nearly as smooth of a ride at any other facet of the third phase. Rice muffed punts in three consecutive games this year. Place kicking was good, albeit with a few notable, painful bad bounces. The Owls’ only return touchdown was called back via penalty. But punting, punting was never a problem. Because of Mendes.

Which brought to mind another conversation with Svoboda following spring practice. “When you’re back there punting in practice,” Svoboda said of Mendes, “a hundred guys seem to be staring at every punt, so it’s pretty easy to gain or lose credibility with your teammates pretty quick as a specialist. He rose to the challenge.”

Both in practice and when the lights turned on, Mendes delivered, again and again. He was named to the Conference USA All-Freshman team for his efforts. If the bar was high, Mendes held it there. The latest in a growing lineage of punters, he’ll have an opportunity to further engrave his place on the list in seasons to come.

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