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Austin Trammell, the “blueprint” for Owls moving forward

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Sophomore Rice football wide receiver Austin Trammell has been a steady hand in a time of offensive turmoil for the Owls this season. Can he add to a career year?

Wide receiver Austin Trammell touched the ball 18 times, racking up 133 total yards as a true freshman last season. His sophomore performance has blown those numbers out of the water. Trammell’s most recent high point was a career game against UTEP in which he caught eight passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns.

From a role player to a superstar, Trammell’s humble, hard-working mentality exemplifies the kind of person and athlete Rice football needs to win. “Austin Trammell is absolutely the way I would build a football player, the way I want to build Rice football players. I would clone him and play him at center and left guard and right tackle if I could,” said head coach Mike Bloomgren about a player he dubbed “Mr. Consistent” earlier this season.

The team has experienced their highs and lows, so has Trammell. But how he has responded over the last month has been one of the brightest spots in a tough stretch for the Owls. Trammell says he “just had to refocus and come back to working hard every day.” That hard work hasn’t gone unnoticed, and it’s raised the level of this entire offense.

Austin Trammell is absolutely the way I would build a football player, the way I want to build Rice football players. I would clone him and play him at center and left guard and right tackle if I could

Rice was held out of the endzone against UTSA and UAB. In the three games that follow Trammell has amassed a team-high 23 receptions, 263 yards and two scores. His fight and effort are what this team needs. Bloomgren called him the “blueprint” of the type of players he wants to build his program around, doubling down by saying “we can win with Austin Trammell’s across the board.”

For now, they only have one Austin Trammell. He’s bought in and doing everything he can to bring people along with him. His effort and intensity continue to be instrumental in the psyche of the offense and should give Rice fans hope for the future. The Owls might not have had much success on the scoreboard yet, but they have one Austin Trammell, and he’s on a mission to flip that script.

 

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Youth movement continues, LaTech Press conference quotes (11/6)

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Rice football suffered a tough loss to UTEP in Week 10. Mike Bloomgren recaps the loss and looks forward to Louisiana Tech in Week 11.

On the rough start against UTEP

That’s absolutely something we have to get out of these kids minds – the soft attitude of letting one play affect the next. We’ve got to be able to move on to the next play. We’ve got to be mentally tough. We’ve got to understand what we can control in that moment, what’s important in that moment, and not what just happened.

On how the team has responded this week

We’re continuing to stress our process and demand that these guys do it our way. To these kid’s credit they came back in the building yesterday, they watched the film, they listened to me talk about the things that win football games… and then they went out on the practice field and worked.

On the health of starting quarterback Shawn Stankavage

Senior quarterback Shawn Stankavage, our day one starter, is going to be able to return from injury this week a lot faster than everybody thought.. we expect him to start [the rest of this] season. We’re excited to have Sean’s leadership and experience back in the huddle.

On the impact of the new redshirt rule on the program going forward

Some of these freshmen are playing 60-80 plays a game. It’s going to pay dividends, I know it is… the redshirt rule is awesome in that regard… I think going into spring ball knowing the tempo of what a college football game feels like instead of knowing what a practice feels like has so much value.

On Louisiana Tech’s star defensive end Jaylon Ferguson

Jaylon Ferguson is as good of a defensive end as I’ve seen in this conference… he’s how you would design a defensive end on the Madden video game. He’s going to be a great challenge for all of our tackles and backs and tight ends to get a chance to block.

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Quarterback Shawn Stankavage to start vs Louisiana Tech

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Rice football has a new quarterback again, sort of. Former starter Shawn Stankavage has been cleared to play against Louisiana Tech in Week 11.

Shawn Stanakavage went down in the Owls’ game against UAB and returned to the field with a boot on his foot. Redshirt freshman Evan Marshman took over the offense for the next seven-ish quarters of the season before suffering a hand injury that will keep him sidelined for the rest of the 2018 season.

Marshman ceded the job to true freshman Wiley Green who started the last two games against North Texas and UTEP. Green has a lot of raw talent and continues to show promise, throwing for more than 300 yards and two touchdowns against the Miners. As one of the last healthy passers remaining on the roster, Green was expected to be the starter for the remainder of the season.

Then the Rice coaching staff got some unexpected, but welcome, good news. Stankavage, the Owls’ original QB1 who had been written off as lost for the season, returned to practice on Monday. He’s expected to participate fully in team drills on Tuesday and through the rest of the week.

“He’s worked his butt off,” said Mike Bloomgren who affirmed he doesn’t believe starters should lose their job to injury. Stankavage has been on the field during practice, in the meetings and doing everything to prepare short of putting on a helmet. The limitation was his body, which has healed at a rate that caught most everyone around the program off guard. That might be the first welcomed surprise the Owls have received this season.

For Stankavage, it’s one more opportunity to play college football. In seven appearances for Rice this season he threw nine touchdowns and seven interceptions. He’ll be trusted with the reigns from this point forward and tasked with moving an offense that has been hot and cold all season. If he can turn the corner, this offense might too.

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This week in CUSA – Looking ahead at Week 11

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Rice football had a disappointing weekend, falling at home to UTEP. How did the rest of the conference fare and what’s next for Conference USA football in Week 11?

Team Last Week Result This Week
Charlotte at Tennessee L, 14-3 at Marshall
FAU at FIU W, 49-14 vs WKU
FIU vs FAU L, 49-14 at UTSA
LaTech at Mississippi State L, 45-3 vs Rice
Marshall at Southern Miss L, 26-24 vs Charlotte
MTSU vs WKU W, 29-10 at UTEP
North Texas — OFF —  — at ODU
ODU — OFF —  — vs North Texas
Rice vs UTEP L, 34-26 at LaTech
Southern Miss vs Marshall W, 26-24 at UAB
UAB vs UTSA W, 52-3 vs Southern Miss
UTEP at Rice W, 34-26 vs MTSU
UTSA at UAB L, 52-3 vs FIU
WKU at MTSU L, 29-10 at FAU

Notable Week 10 results

UTEP comes out guns blazing

It’s safe to say nobody saw the result on South Main coming. A UTEP win is one thing, but a 31-3 lead for the Miners against any opponent seemed unthinkable. Well, it happened. The cushion was big enough to fend off 23 unanswered points from the Owls who pulled within one score midway through the fourth quarter but were unable to capitalize. The rebuild at Rice has been a struggle, but there’s nowhere to go but up.

FAU is not dead yet

Even though things went south early this season for Lane Kiffin and the FAU Owls they don’t seem to be packing it in. They’ll now play the role of spoiler — their first victim found that out in Week 10. FIU had been unbeaten in Conference USA play, that was before FAU dropped 49 points on the Panthers in a rout.

“Charlotte has a good football team”

Coach speak is a normal part of college football vernacular. It’s the comments coaches make almost nonchalantly, praising their opponent, offering platitudes about how guys “played hard” and so on and so forth. Tennessee head coach Jeremey Pruit, after the Vols 14-3 win over Charlotte, said the 49ers have “a good football team“. Coach speak or not, worse things could be said about your program from an SEC foe.

Week 11 storylines

Could UTEP win two in a row?

Middle Tennessee and Rice are having two very different seasons. Rice is still hunting for their first conference win and Middle Tennessee sits atop the East. The Miners’ impressive start against Rice was a reminder of what others have seen from UTEP this year. They play physical and have a sturdy defense. A UTEP winning streak might not be likely, but it’s possible. How about that?

Can anyone cool down the Blazers?

UAB is one of the best feel-good stories of 2018. The recently reinstated Blazers have run roughshod over the rest of CUSA West, giving no quarter. UTSA was their most recent victim. Next up is Southern Miss, who’s coming off a win over Marshall. A perfect CUSA season is in play for UAB. Can they finish strong?

A much-needed break

Two Conference USA squads were on bye last week, North Texas and Old Dominion. The Mean Green and the Monarchs return to action in Week 11, facing each other. Both teams had a tough stretch of games entering the break and needed time to recharge. Who will come out ready to play on Saturday?

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For Mike Bloomgren rebuilding is hard, but hope remains

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Rice football hit a new low on Saturday, falling to a previously winless UTEP team at home. Mike Bloomgren is taking the loss harder than anyone else.

“We’re just past the point of moral victories. I love that they fight, but we’ve just got to win games.”

The frustration in the room was palpable following Rice’s stunning near-blowout loss at the hands of the now 1-8 UTEP Miners. Rest assured fans, head coach Mike Bloomgren hears you loud and clear and he feels the pain as deep as anyone else associated with this program, if not more so.

“I never thought I would be associated with a team that has had this little success,” Bloomgren admitted following the loss,” This has been very difficult.” It was a difficult result in more ways than one for Owls everywhere. Prior to Saturday, UTEP’s last win came in November of 2016 — nearly two years ago. The toll a defeat to a program that had been so bad for so long is ringing loud and clear through the Rice locker room and through Bloomgren’s ears. The reverberations are going to continue for some time.

“UTEP made more plays than we did down the stretch and that seems to be a common theme,” Bloomgren said in the aftermath of the defeat, adding that his team has been “given a lifetime of lessons this year.” If the team doesn’t start learning from these gut-wrenching moments, Bloomgren knows they’ll be in for more of the same feelings. And that’s not fun.

“It’s no fun right now to do this,” he said, “The fun is in the winning… life is not fun for me right now because this is such a big part of my life. It’s not fun for our coaches; it’s not fun for our players. It’s just not fun. Fun is in the winning.”

Life is not fun for me right now because this is such a big part of my life. It’s not fun for our coaches; it’s not fun for our players. It’s just not fun. Fun is in the winning.

It’s been a challenging season for Bloomgren and his staff. This team has been repetitively punched in the mouth and asked to respond. For every step forward the Owls seem to take two steps forward, but that doesn’t mean the steps forward should be ignored. This team has shown signs of progress, something evidenced by their willingness to fight back from a 31-3 deficit and turning it into a one-score game in the fourth quarter.

Bloomgren says there’s no “magic pill” and he “wouldn’t be able to sleep if I threw these seniors out with the bathwater.” This staff won’t throw in the towel and write this season off as lost, no matter how gruesome the record might be. Instead, they’re going to keep working, keep making adjustments and keep showing up on the field every Saturday with winning intentions.

This team needs to see progress, at whatever the cost. “At this point, everything is on the table,” said Bloomgren. The Owls’ new head man inherited a 1-win team with a monumental rebuild awaiting him. It’s been harder than even he could have anticipated, but it doesn’t mean all is lost. This is the valley. There’s nowhere to go but up.

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