Next up for Rice football: Memphis. Here’s what interim head coach Pete Alamar had to say about the matchup and a few depth chart notes.
Interim head coach Pete Alamar and a set of players met with the media for their customary weekly availability. They recapped the Navy game and then looked ahead at their upcoming matchup with Memphis.
More: Game Preview: Rice Football vs Memphis
We touch on those items, then dig into the Rice football depth chart and what the team looks like heading into the weekend. First, the quotes:
Press Conference Quotes
“It makes the next week a lot more fun I know that. It was great to celeberate as a team in the locker room afterward and to see the smiles on everyone’s faces, mine included. You want to take that momentum and you want it to propel you into the next week and go play, and play hard. I think anytime you play well there’s a sense of belief in your ability to go do it again. I think that’s obviously what you’d hope the reaction is. To be rewarded for your hard work is always a great thing. They were rewarded for their hard work. We’ll take that into this week and see if we can’t do it again.” – Interim head coach Pete Alamar on the impacy of the Navy win
“You’ve got a guy that’s been there for four years, okay… He’s the only FBS starter that’s stayed at the same school [for four years]. Everybody else, the longterm starters in FBS, have all bounced around. This guy stayed right there. The leadership, the confidence he has in running the offense, being able to keep the play alive while still focusing his eyes down field… His ability to keep the play alive and still scan the field downfield and find receivers is a great trait.” – Interim head coach Pete Alamar on Memphis quarterback Seth Henningan
“Fast. Physical. Want to play on your side of the line of scrimmage. They’ll feed off their energy up front. I think their front creates a lot of big plays for them, creates energy. And then you’ve got secondary that can run with anybody. No matter how you line them up, if they can do that then that creates a challenge for you.”– Interim head coach Pete Alamar on the Memphis defense
“I think we did well. There’s also some things left out there, too, a couple missed tackles, a couple of plays where we lacked some eye discipline. I still think we have a lot on the table. Our coaches hold us accontable every week. We know our goal is to be the best defense in the country and I think we’re making steps towards their goal but we haven’t had that perfect game yet and that’s the scariest part. I think we have so much more we can do as a defense.” – Safety Peyton Stevenson of the play of the defense
“It doesn’t really change, who our opponent is. Our opponent is Memphis this week, so we’re focused on them and picking those guys apart however we can. I know that our coaches are going to come up with a good plan and EJ [Warner] is going to have something for us to do. Obviously we go into every game feeling confident. That’s what it’s about.” – Wide receiver Thai Bowman on the team’s approach against Memphis
Depth Chart
Depth Chart Notes
There were no official depth chart changes this week, which is understandable given the short week and the changes the program has gone through in recent weeks. That said, there are a few differences between the two-deep above and the lineup Rice football has trotted out in practice this week as they prepare for Memphis.
If you haven’t yet, subscribe on Patreon to get access to our practice notes later in the week as well as a behind-enemy-lines report from folks who know the Memphis program well.
