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Rice Football: Year 2 gains the focus of Owls’ 2019 Media Day

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Rice Football hosted its 2019 Media Day. Several coaches and players spoke, but all shared the same refrain. The team is starting off on a better foot in Year 2.

“Talking season” is upon us, which means meaningful football games aren’t far away. Mike Bloomgren, Austin Trammell and Myles Adams attended Conference USA Media Days in July. Bloomgren, his coordinators, and more than a dozen players were made available for the Owls’ own Media Day on Saturday.

The conversations were varied, ranging from the finer details of special teams to the impactful freshman already turning heads. But one theme which ran through every discussion was the difference between Year 1 and Year 2.

Bloomgren began the conversation in his opening statement.

I think when you talk to all the coaches in this room and the players that were here last year, just the ability to be in the same system, to hear the same message taught and realize that we are singing out of the same hymnal day in and day out. I think that’s really important. It’s really good for the players, really good for the coaches. And it certainly allows me to be more comfortable in everything that we’re doing. I feel like we are making big, big gains.Mike Bloomgren

That continuity applies to the incoming freshman class as well. Even though they didn’t experience the 2018 season, they’re benefiting from the effort put in to build the culture they’re walking in to. Defensive coordinator Brian Smith said those newcomers have allowed the team “to raise the floor” and have built “depth at every position.”

More: Practice notes from the first scrimmage of fall camp

That depth will be tasked with bolstering the Owls’ who were thrown into the fire as freshmen last season. Some of those freshmen, like Cole Garcia on the offensive line, Antonio Montero at linebacker and Prudy Calderon in the secondary, became fixtures on the team who have maintained their position entering 2019.  Offensive coordinator Jerry Mike isn’t taking that experience for granted.

Across the board, we’re just so much more experienced. Like coach always says, everything is better in Year 2. And I think right now we’re reaping some of those benefits. It’s not perfect, by no stretch of the imagination. But one thing that we’re doing is we’re continuing to grow each day… we’re trying to figure out the best techniques and all the best schemes that we can develop against our defense that will carry on into the season.” Jerry Mack

That theme carried over to the special teams. Under the direction of newly appointment coordinator Drew Svoboda, the Owls’ special teams will have to replace Jack Fox and Hayden Tobola, but Svoboda is confident they have enough continuity as a unit to stay successful saying Rice will need to “make improvements and little tweaks and polish up little things.”

Like Bloomgren mentioned in his introduction, everyone is on the same page. Sticking to the process and making improvements as needed are the Owls’ marching orders. Now it’s time to execute.

You can read more about Bloomgren and his process in a special feature in our 2019 Rice Football Preview.

 

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Rice Football: Individuals shine in first scrimmage of fall camp (8/10)

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Rice football took the field for their first scrimmage of fall camp. The defense was impressive, but several offensive players made some big plays.

As a unit, the offense struggled out of the gate on Saturday. They had somewhere around a dozen drives throughout the day, managing to punch the ball into the endzone only twice and reaching the redzone once. The defense wasn’t doing anything fancy, staying more or less vanilla, but found repeated success. Here are a few of the bigger moments and notables from both sides of the ball.

Minor bumps and bruises

Austin Trammell, Brian Chaffin and Reagan Williams did not participate in the scrimmage. All three are dealing with some minor injuries which shouldn’t impact their offseason progress. Coach Bloomgren confirmed later that had there been a game today, each of the three probably could have participated.

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Offensive highlights

As has been the case for much of fall camp, there was plenty of attention on the wide receivers. With Trammell out for the day, several younger faces were given the opportunity to contribute with Jake Bailey filling in for Trammell with the first team.

Zane Knipe had a toe-tapping catch in quarterback/wide receiver drills. August Pitre made an impressive diving snag on third down to move chains on a nice feed from Wiley Green. Chris Boudreaux, working mostly with the reserves, was able to make some nice pickups after the catch in space.

Cam Montgomery was electric out of the backfield, making nice cuts upfield with the ball and being used frequently as a pass catcher. He’ll be relied upon heavily in that capacity this season. Charlie Booker and Ari Broussard both showcased some powerful running. While the offense as a whole was somewhat muted, the team was able to make some meaningful games in the run game behind those two players.

More: Check out each and every player profiles in our 2019 Rice Football Season Preview, on sale now.

Wiley Green had some nice moments at quarterback. He led the first team’s only touchdown drive, hitting Aston Walter in the flat in the redzone for the score. That was the highlight of an otherwise inconsistent showing from the unit as a whole. Tom Stewart took reps with the first and second team, but was unable to get the offense past midfield, not one of his better days.

Backup Parker Towns took off on a 30-yard touchdown scamper, the only other touchdown scored by the offense during the scrimmage. Jovoni Johnson was the last quarterback in. He displayed polished mechanics and looked comfortable in the pocket. When he did take off an run, his first step was explosive. His accuracy was up and down, but the zip on his passes was evident.

Defensive highlights

Outside of some careless penalties, the defense clearly won the day. Rice was one of the least penalized teams in the country last year, so that issue should correct itself by the time the Owls take the field against Army.

The front seven was dominant. The linebackers were everywhere, led by Blaze Alldredge and Antonio Montero, with some nice stops by Garrett Grammer. Freshman De’Braylon Caroll has already moved up to the second team and had a big day. He’s been unblockable through fall camp and will be in the running to see significant minutes quickly. He’s been the most impressive freshman on defense so far.

Both Anthony Ekpe and Kebreyun Page forced fumbles. The entire group was quick from sideline to sideline. At one point, three separate defenders chased the speedy Montgomery to the edge for a loss, making it impossible for him to turn upfield and make even a minor gain.

The secondary did a phenomenal job as well. The offense didn’t take many deep shots and the few balls that did get thrown downfield fell harmlessly to the turf. D’Angelo Ellis went up and over Brad Rozner to break up a sideline throw by Green. Naeem Smith picked off Tom Stewart for the only interception of the day.

The safety play, headlined by George Nyakwol, Prudy Calderon and Smith, was superb. Corner Treshone Devones was recognized by Bloomgren as one of the Owls’ most impressive freshman through the first week of camp.

Special Teams

There were two dedicated special teams portions of practice. Freshman kicker Zach Hoban took all the reps with the field goal unit with the other kickers getting the day off. This wasn’t an indicator of Hoban necessarily being ahead in the pecking order, rather part of a cycle to keep all of the kickers fresh. Hoban was sharp and connected on what appeared to be four of five field goals to start the day.

The punting duties were split between Adam Nunez and Chris Barnes. Nunez displayed an impressive ability to place balls directionally well. Barnes was consistent, too, ending his session with a booming punt with a 4.7 second hang time. Nunez is probably a step in front at the moment, but it’s still a close race with the strong possibility both see game time this fall.

The scrimmage ended with one more special teams session where Trey Schuman blocked a long field goal. Coach Svoboda confirmed getting hands up in those situations has been a priority through fall camp. That made for a nice finale to the day.

Updated depth charts

Here’s how the team lined up for the first scrimmage. This went up on the forum during practice, stay tuned there for live updates.

First team offense

QB | Green/Stewart
RB | Walter/Booker/Otoviano
WR | Rozner, Trammell, Pitre
TE | Bull/French
OL | Servin, Leverett, Baker, Garcia, Gooseberry

Second team offense

QB | Marshman
RB | Broussard, Montgomery
WR | Knipe, Boudreaux, Palmer, Bailey
TE | Bradley
OL | Peterson, Riddle, Baker, Garcia, Osuji

First team defense

DL | Schuman, Adams, Garcia, Ekpe
LB | Alldredge, Montero
CB | Ellis, Bird, Chamberlain
S | Nyakwol, Calderon

Second team defense

DL | Page, Enechukwu, Carroll, Doddridge
LB | Silcox, Grammer
CB | White, Thornton, Newsome
S | Smith, Richardson

All practice updates will be available for all to see during fall camp. Once the regular season starts they’ll be reserved for members. Becoming a member is 100% FREE and takes 30 seconds. You can register here.

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Rice Football: 5 Position battles to watch in fall camp

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Five position battles have been a focal point of Rice Football fall camp. Here’s where the Owls stand at those key spots after the first week of camp.

1. Wide receiver

The suspension of Aaron Cephus left Rice in a tough spot at the wide receiver position. Austin Trammell will push 100 targets, but the rest of the depth chart is going to be asked to step up. August Pitre and Brad Rozner started camp with the first team.

When the team goes to split squad practice, freshman Zane Knipe works with the veterans. Jake Bailey is with the second team at the moment, but he stands out as the best player at his position in that group.

Projected starters against Army as of today: Trammell, Rozner, Pitre

2. Offensive line

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Three grad transfers in the mix make the offensive line one of the most competitive races of camp. The only position that is definitively set in stone is left tackle, where Clay Servin returns as the team’s top starter. Nick Leverett, Brian Chaffin and Cole Garcia are fighting it out for the two interior guard spots with Shea Baker the presumptive favorite to stick at center.

Learn more about each of these challengers by reading their player profiles in our 2019 Rice Football Season Preview, on sale now.

The most competitive race will come at right tackle where Uzoma Osuji and Ouachita Baptist transfer Justin Gooseberry are dueling for the starting role.

Projected starters against Army as of today: From left to right – Servin, Leverett, Baker, Garcia, Gooseberry

3. Quarterback

Wiley Green has had the inside track on the starting job in 2019 since the end of last season. He performed reasonably well in the spring and has continued to progress through fall camp. But, just like last year, the Owls brought in a grad transfer at the position to push their incumbent starter.

Through the first week of camp, it’s looking like Tom Stewart is the real deal. It was never a given that Green would be the de facto starter against Army, but recent developments make me believe this competition is going to very real and quite contentious. Stewart’s progress, plus the arrival of Jovoni Johnson could see this race draw out til the final days of camp.

Projected starters against Army as of today: Green

4. Special Teams

While the rest of the aforementioned position battles project to be close, each of them features some sort of frontrunner rather by way of seniority or familiarity with the Owls’ schemes. Two of the most prominent special teams jobs are wide open.

Adam Nunez and Chris Barnes have both had strong fall camps at punter. Nunez was a multi-year starter at TCU; Barnes sat behind current-NFLer Jack Fox. There’s probably not a wrong answer here. The kicker spot features more uncertainty. Will Harrison has experience but wasn’t accurate this spring. Incoming freshman Zach Hoban has an impressive highlight reel, but he’s never produced at the college level.

Projected starters against Army as of today: Punter – Adam Nunez, Kicker – Zach Hoban

5. Corner

The emergence of Andrew Bird late last season was huge for the Owls’ secondary which lost several veterans this offseason. Back alongside Bird are D’Angelo Ellis and Tyrae Thornton, both of whom have had their ups and downs. One of the two is going to start opposite Bird out the gate. Who that will be remains to be seen. This is one of the spots where we could see freshmen emerge early to play meaningful snaps.

Projected starters against Army as of today: Bird, Ellis

All practice updates will be available for all to see during fall camp. Once the regular season starts they’ll be reserved for members. Becoming a member is 100% FREE and takes 30 seconds. You can register here.

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

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Rice Football: 8 Freshmen making noise at fall camp

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Several veteran players are drawing rave reviews at Rice Football fall camp, but here are a few freshmen who have thrust their names into the mix.

The Owls were already a young football team before the 2019 Rice Football recruiting class arrived on campus. A week into fall camp, those new additions are turning heads. Zane Knipe is already working with the first team, but there are several other freshmen making significant noise.

Defensive line

De’Braylon Carroll is the real deal. There hasn’t been a practice that’s gone by without him turning heads. The defensive MVP of the 8-6A District of high school football, this Duncanville star has proven himself to be the real deal. It’s going to be tough for any freshmen to earn starting jobs before nonconference play through. Carroll might just be the exceptions

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If Carroll wasn’t dominating to the degree he was, his partner in the trenches, Izeya Floyd, would be garnering all the accolades. He’s been a welcomed physical presence on the inside. It’s evident he and Carroll are going to be regulars in the rotation this season.

Secondary

The safety spots are spoken for. George Nyakwol won’t leave the field much this season. The winner of a close battle between Prudy Calderon and Naeem Smith will give Rice another strong option in the defensive backfield.

Corner is a different story. Andrew Bird has been rock steady on one side, but the rest of the depth chart has been up and down. Freshman Treshone Devones, Josh Landrum and Kirk Lockhart have all impressed early. Winning a starting role before midseason would be a stretch, but each of those three will be in the mix for playing time.

Offensive line and tight end

Rice is relatively deep along the o-line and at tight end, but that hasn’t stopped some younger players from flashing. Regan Riddle has done well for himself. He faces an extremely crowded depth chart along the interior of the line but could see some playing time as the “ogre” sixth man. He’ll be a chief contender to start in 2020.

Likewise, Jack Bradley is entering the conversation at tight end. He’s drawing buzz as one of the more well-rounded players the Owls have at that position. He’s another name to keep an eye on.

All practice updates will be available for all to see during fall camp. Once the regular season starts they’ll be reserved for members. Becoming a member is 100% FREE and takes 30 seconds. You can register here.

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

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The Roost Podcast | Episode 2 – 2019 Rice Football offense preview

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The Roost Podcast is back for Episode 2 where Carter and Matthew break down the Rice football offense in 2019, complete with MVPs and sleepers at each position.

Carter and Matthew are back with Episode 2 of The Roost Podcast. Last week in Episode 1 we talked through the 2019 schedule. If you haven’t yet, you should go ahead and give that a lesson. It should serve as sufficient grounding for Episode 2, where we break down the offense in great detail.

Give a listen to Episode 2 below.


Episode 2 Notes

  • Quarterbacks — The latest on how the quarterback battle is shaping up and what to make of the buzz surrounding freshman quarterback Jovoni Johnson.
  • Running backs and fullbacks — Our best estimate on how the carries will be distributed to start the season and how Rice plans to utilize several very different backs.
  • Wide receivers — A clarification on what we know about the Aaron Cephus suspension and what to expect from the other receivers on the roster. Which freshman have made waves early in camp?
  • Tight ends — Why weren’t the tight ends as productive last year as expected? More on Jonathan Sanchez and Robert French and how they could be productive pieces of the offense this season.
  • Offensive line — Assessing the depth on the outside and the inside. Where do the three grad transfers fit into the mix and which players are most likely to earn starting jobs out of the gate?
  • Carter and Matthew each give a potential offensive MVP and a sleeper to watch for in the 2019 season

Where can you find us?

Download and subscribe to The Roost Podcast on any of your favorite podcast providers. The show is available on iTunes, GooglePlay, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn and PodBean.

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