The source for Rice sports news

Rice Football to hire Marques Tuiasosopo as offensive coordinator

By

Rice football has found its next offensive coordinator. The Owls are set to hire Cal tight ends coach Marques Tuiasosopo to run the Rice offense.

There have been a few changes to the Rice football coaching staff over the past several weeks. By the time the Owls arrive at spring practice in March they’ll have a new special teams coordinator, tight ends coach and offensive coordinator.

The men would fill those position coach roles were previously known. One, Chris Monfiletto, was already on staff. The other, Jim Jackson, was hired from UMass. We can now confirm head coach Mike Bloomgren has made his selection for the open offensive coordinator role.

Bloomgren is expected to name Cal tight ends coach Marques Tuiasosopo as his next offensive coordinator, replacing Jerry Mack who left the Owls’ staff to coach running backs at Tennessee.

Tuiasosopo played his college ball at Washington before being selected in the second round of the NFL Draft by the Raiders. He would go on to play eight seasons in the NFL before turning to coaching. Tuiasosopo has spent time with Washington, UCLA, USC and Cal. He’s coached quarterbacks and tight ends and served as the passing game coordinator at multiple stops.

Bloomgren and Tuiasosopo has crossed paths before. Tuiasosopo spent the 2007 as a quarterback with the New York Jets where Bloomgren worked as a quality control assistant. Now they’ll be reunited, not as player and coach, but as members of the same staff.

Among his notable achievements to date, Tuiasosopo helped develop Josh Rosen while at UCLA. He was also named Pac-12 Recruiter of the Year in 2015 after helping USC secure the nation’s top recruiting class.

What does this mean for Rice?

Sorry! This part of content is hidden behind this box because it requires a higher contribution level ($10) at Patreon. Why not take this chance to increase your contribution?
Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Women’s Basketball posts thrilling return with dramatic sweep of WKU

By

Rice women’s basketball returned to the court in triumphant fashion, posting two big wins over Western Kentucky.

There were no signs of rust when Rice women’s basketball returned to the court for the first time in four weeks. Injuries and COVID-19 impacts forced a prolonged pause for the Owls, but their resiliency was put on full display in their two-game sweep of Western Kentucky.

Both teams started fast on Friday, trading shot after shot in an exciting first half. Both teams shot better than 40 percent from the field. Western Kentucky’s Raneem Elgedaway and Rice’s Nancy Mulkey combined for 34 of the 69 (49 percent) of all points before the break.

Rice took over in the second half, ratcheting up the defense. They held Western Kentucky to 20 points in the final two quarters combined, sealing yet another conference win.

The second game was another highly contested battle. Rice led for most of the game before Western Kentucky pulled ahead with a thrilling fourth quarter run. When push came to shove, Rice wouldn’t be denied. A six-point deficit with 3:41 to play was erased thanks to three huge triples from Katelyn Crosthwait. Rice would ice the game with their defense and earn the sweep.

Player Spotlight | Lauren Schwartz

Rice took the lead in the third quarter of Friday’s game but Western Kentucky did not go quietly. The Hilltoppers came close to a few fourth quarter runs, but Schwartz slammed the door with one of her most clutch shooting performances of the season.

Schwartz scored the Owls’ final eight points, connecting on two three-pointers to ward off any notions of a Hilltopper comeback. She only finished with five points on Saturday, but her five rebounds and three blocks helped paved the way for another Rice win.

Stat Corner | Locking down the third quarter

There may not be a better third quarter coach in college basketball than Rice women’s basketball head coach Tina Langley. No matter the situation or the stakes, her teams are always ready when the second half whistle blows. On Friday, Rice turned a one-point halftime deficit into an eight-point fourth-quarter lead. One more big shot to start the fourth turned a close game into a double-digit difference.

Western Kentucky outscored Rice by one point in the third quarter on Saturday, but the Owls never lost their rhythm. They outrebounded WKU and shot a better percentage from the field.

Winning the third quarter doesn’t win basketball games. Still, when a team that plays the level of fundamentally sound, physical defense that Rice does enterers the fourth quarter with a lead, they’re hard to stop.

It’s probably no coincidence their only loss of the season, a four-point defeat on the road against a ranked Texas A&M squad, was one of the rare outings when Rice was outscored in the third period. Western Kentucky came close on Saturday but still couldn’t outdo Rice down the stretch.

Up Next

The final scheduled road series of the season looms next weekend for Rice basketball. They’ll hit the road one more time to take on Marshall in Huntington, WV. The Thundering Herd entered the weekend in the middle of the pack in the East. Like the Owls, the Herd have had multiple series postponed over the course of the past month.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Basketball 2021 Game Previews: Owls vs Western Kentucky

By

The Rice basketball got back in the win column with a sweep over Southern Miss while the women look to return to the court this weekend.

Rice Basketball

Time: Friday, Feb. 12 at 7:00 p.m. CT and Saturday, Feb. 13 at 5:00 p.m.
Venue: Tudor Fieldhouse
Radio: Stretch Internet Portal
TV: Friday – ESPN+ / Sunday – CUSAtv

Western Kentucky 13-4 (6-2), Last 5 (4-1)

  • 58-63 (L) at Louisiana Tech
  • 81-73 (W) vs Marshall
  • 69-67 (W) at Marshall
  • 82-67 (W) at Middle Tennessee
  • 68-52 (W) at Middle Tennessee

Western Kentucky statistical leaders

  • Scoring | Charles Bassey – 17.8 per game
  • Rebounds | Charles Bassey – 12.2 per game
  • Assists | Davvion McKnight – 3.2 per game
  • Steals | Josh Anderson – 1.9 per game
  • Blocks | Charles Bassey – 3.4 per game

Rice 12-8 (6-6), Last 5 (2-3)

  • 74-86 (L) at UAB
  • 74-69 (L) vs North Texas
  • 53-79 (L) at North Texas
  • 88-62 (W) vs Southern Miss
  • 76-68 (W) vs Southern Miss

Rice statistical leaders

  • Scoring | Quincy Olivari – 15.9 per game
  • Rebounds | Max Fiedler – 9.2 per game
  • Assists | Max Fiedler – 4.1 per game
  • Steals | Travis Evee – 1.2 per game
  • Blocks | Max Fiedler – 0.9 per game

Rice keys to victory

Rice basketball needs a repeat showing of their most recent pair of outings. Rice shot incredibly well against Southern Miss, made careful, astute halftime adjustments and battled down the stretch to hold the lead. Rice showed they do have that extra gear needed to win close games. Taking that on the road is the next task.

Rice is 5-2 in league play at Tudor Fieldhouse, but four of their final six games are on the road where they are just 1-4 to date. This team has the pieces. They just need to find that level of consistency away from Houston.

Rice Women's Basketball

Time: Feb. 12 at 2:00 p.m. CT and Feb. 13 at 4:00 p.m.
Venue: Tudor Fieldhouse
Radio: Stretch Internet Portal
TV: Feb. 12 – ESPN+ / Feb. 13 – ESPN+

Western Kentucky 6-10 (5-5), Last 5 (3-2)

  • 60-77 (L) vs Middle Tennessee
  • 100-99 3OT (W) vs Charlotte
  • 65-54 (W) vs Charlotte
  • 71-64 (W) vs Florida Atlantic
  • 70-75 (L) vs Florida Atlantic

Western Kentucky statistical leaders

  • Scoring | Raneem Elgedawy – 21.5 per game
  • Rebounds | Raneem Elgedawy – 11.4 per game
  • Assists | Hope Sivori – 3.8 per game
  • Steals | Meral Abdelgawad – 2.4 per game
  • Blocks | Raneem Elgedawy – 1.8 per game

Rice 10-1 (6-0), Last 5 (5-0)

  • 69-57 (W) at UTSA
  • 74-68 (W) vs UTEP
  • 55-43 (W) vs UTEP
  • 77-66 (W) at Old Dominion
  • 67-59 (W) at Old Dominion

Rice statistical leaders

  • Scoring | Nancy Mulkey – 16.2 per game
  • Rebounds | Nancy Mulkey – 7.8 per game
  • Assists | Jasmine Smith – 3.7 per game
  • Steals | Jasmine Smith – 1.5 per game
  • Blocks | Nancy Mulkey – 3.1 per game

Whats’s at stake

The Owls haven’t played a conference game in three weeks. During that time other programs have experienced postponements as well, but the run of open weekends for Rice is approaching a critical juncture.

Rice has played six conference games. No other team in Conference USA has played fewer than eight. The vast majority have played 10 games or more. The average, including the Owls’ low-mark, is 9.71 games played per team. If that difference held, Rice would retain claim to the No. 1 Seed in the West and clinch a bye in the Conference USA Tournament.

Healthy and safety is, and should continue to be, the No. 1 priority for Rice athletes. If anything, the extended delay emphasizes the lengths to which the program will go to ensure its players’ health remains the focal point.

But if Rice were to miss another weekend, they could be playing catch up. Much in the same way the football regulations in the fall required a team to play no fewer than two games below the average games played by the conference, a similar ruling will apply to basketball. A team can’t lose a tournament bid by playing too few games, but it can lose a first round bye.

That makes the Owls’ upcoming series against Western Kentucky all the more important. As of now, that series looks to be on as scheduled. When Rice does get back on the hardwood they’ll have waited 27 days since their most recent competition, against Old Dominion on January 16. Keeping everyone healthy and shaking off the rust as quickly as possible will be imperative.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Football: Owls’ OC Jerry Mack headed to Tennessee

By

Rice Football offensive coordinator Jerry Mack is headed to Tennessee. How will his departure impact the Owls on offense?

First reported by Pete Thamel, Rice football offensive coordinator Jerry Mack is set to be named the next running backs coach at Tennessee. He will join the staff of newly hired head coach Josh Heupel, who was only recently named to his position,

Subscriber content.<br /> Please login to see the full post or visit our Patreon page.

Mack is the second Rice coach to move to a new job this offseason. Before his departure, Rice lost special teams coordinator Drew Svoboda to Memphis.

How does Mack’s departure impact Rice?

Sorry! This part of content is hidden behind this box because it requires a higher contribution level ($10) at Patreon. Why not take this chance to increase your contribution?
Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Conference USA Basketball: Where each team stands entering the home stretch

By

Conference USA basketball is in the home stretch. Where does every team stand heading into the final weekends of league play?

There are four* weekends left of Conference USA basketball before the start of the Conference USA Basketball Tournament. Well, there are three scheduled weekends before a catch-all makeup weekend to open March. UAB leads the West. WKU leads the East. How do the rest of the teams stack up? Are there any teams that could emerge from the pack over the course of the next month?

West

Leading: UAB

UAB is the clear front runner in all of Conference USA. The Blazers have utilized a league-leading defense that allows 56.9 points per game. They also boast one of the most fundamentally sound rosters on both ends of the court. UAB leads C-USA in turnover margin, forcing 5.8 more turnovers from their opponents while committing only 10.2 turnovers per game, the best mark in the conference.

In the Hunt: North Texas, Louisiana Tech

North Texas and Louisiana Tech are the two teams most ready to challenge UAB in the West. They split their series this past weekend, playing two tight games in Denton. Both play great defense and can grind out games when shots aren’t falling. The Mean Green tend to shoot a bit better thanks in large part to the contributions of Javion Hamlet, but the Bulldogs’ league-leading rebound totals offer a strong counter.

Treading water: Rice, UTSA

Rice was hot early. UTSA has been on fire of late. When fully healthy and playing at their best, these are two teams that could make runs in the last few weekends.

The Owls’ have C-USA’s top two three point shooters; Quincy Olivari (45.6 percent) and Travis Evee (42.6) are machines from deep. UTSA has top scorer Jhivvan Jackson. For both squads, consistency is the key ingredient they’ll need to find if they want to be relevant come conference tournament time.

On Alert: UTEP, Southern Miss

Southern Miss has lost six in a row. UTEP has lost seven of their last nine. These two squads split their series in Hattiesburg in early January and could be playing to avoid the bottom spot in the West. Neither team shoots particularly well or plays consistent defense.

There’s talent on both rosters and UTEP’s win over Arizona State is one of the most impressive non-conference victories by any Conference USA team. They just haven’t been able to deliver that quality of performance on a regular basis.

East

Leading: WKU

The East is much closer than the West, but the Hilltoppers still deserve the benefit of the doubt at this point in the season. They’ve got a weekend sweep of Marshall under their belts and a split with Charlotte. Charles Bassey has been a difference maker and leads the conference in rebounding by a significant margin (12.2 per game compared to runner-up Max Fielder of Rice who has 9.2 per game).

In the Hunt: Old Dominion, Charlotte, Marshall

Marshall is Kenpom‘s highest-ranked C-USA squad and might have been in the driver’s seat in the East had they done as much as split with Western Kentucky. Nevertheless, Taevion Kinsey and jarrod West are one of the best tandems in the league and will pose problems for opponents down the stretch.

Old Dominion and Charlotte are neck-and-neck with the Herd in the standings. The Monarchs probably have a subtle edge after the 49ers were swept for the first time this past weekend by Middle Tennessee. That said, picking between ODU’s Malik Curry and Charlotte’s Jahmir Young would seem to be an impossible task.

Treading Water: Florida Atlantic

Florida Atlantic has played the fewest league games of any of the men’s teams (six), so it’s hard to get a good read on where they fit in the pecking order. Their remaining schedule includes games against UTSA, UTEP and Southern Miss from the West, keeping them very much in the conversation in the East. They lead all teams in scoring, averaging 80.7 points per game.

On Alert: Middle Tennessee, FIU

Middle Tennessee picked up two thirds of it’s conference wins this past weekend. They count, but before last Saturday the Blue Raiders were 1-7 in league play, with the lone with coming over fellow cellar-dweller FIU.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts