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Rice Football: Setting a new standard for effort in 2019

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The process continues into Year 2 for Mike Bloomgren and Rice Football and building a winning culture remains a focal point of the Owls rebirth.

Rice Football Season Preview
Buy Now | 2019 Rice Preview

When Mike Bloomgren took charge of the Rice football program it had fallen on challenging times. The Owls were in need of a major reset, one which got underway with a 2-11 campaign in 2018. Those arduous weeks produced churn in the starting lineups on both sides of the ball. Talent was a factor, but grit and focus were equally prevailing forces.

Instilling grit begins with the strength and conditioning program, one which Bloomgren himself has revamped his program over the past year. “We’re just night and day different from last year,” he said, “I think Hans Straub is the best strength and conditioning coach in the country. We are so lucky to have him. Everything he does helps me sleep at night”

That refrain, initially spoken by Bloomgren, was echoed by his players during the other media sessions.

“You see it too?” senior defensive lineman Myles Adams asked on the way from one interview to the next. The core of the change, at least how Adams describes it, is the culture.”It’s different. I’ve never felt like this since I’ve been at Rice.”

More: Conference USA Media Days Live Blog

From the workouts to the new people being added to the program in each recruiting cycle. The new Rice feels different. “Culture, that word is real,” Adams echoed, “When I first came in I used to say we didn’t have a culture, but we had a culture it just wasn’t a winning mentality, it wasn’t a winning culture. And now we’re starting to reshape than and understand what it takes to win.”

Wins are the defining metric by which all football programs are measured. The Owls final record will be the overriding determinant of success in 2019. But, in a year with expectations in the process of being reset from four consecutive losing seasons, how Rice plays could be equally important.

If this team is as tough as the talk, the wins will follow. Or, as Adams says, “when all the wheels are moving it’s hard to stop the train.”

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Rice Baseball Minor League Roundup: Matt Canterino makes pro debut

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Rice baseball products are making headlines in the minor leagues. Updates on the 2019 draftees and Owls currently in the pipeline.

2019 Draftees

Garrett Gayle

Gayle has appeared in four games for the Tri-City ValleyCats (Astros) following his 12th round selection in the 2019 MLB Draft. He has a 3.00 ERA over four games with eight strikeouts and five walks. His most recent outing came on July 11th, a three-inning save, the first save of his pro career.

Available Now: 2019 Rice Football Season Preview
Evan Kravetz

A fifth-round pick of the Reds this year, Kravetz has made one appearance so far this summer. He threw one scoreless inning in a start for the Greeneville Reds on June 22, retiring all three batters he faced without allowing a hit.

Matt Canterino

Canterino’s first action following his second-round selection by the Twins came on July 13 with the GCL Twins. He threw two innings, allowing one hit and one run with two strikeouts and a walk.

Other minor league notables

After spending 2018 in lower-A ball, Ford Proctor was promoted to single-A this season where he’s currently hitting .276 with the Bowling Green Hot Rods. He leads the team with 18 doubles and 48 runs scored.

Ricky Salinas was named Reds MiLB Player of the Month, and for good reason. Salinas started five games in June and finished with a jaw-dropping 1.03 ERA and a 0.911 WHIP. Opposing batter hit .181 during that span.

It was a good spring for Glenn Otto with the Tampa Tarpons (Yankees). He made seven appearances, all starts allowing more than two earned runs in just one outing. Among pitchers who made at least five starts, Otto was second on the team with a 2.87 ERA.

Tony Cingrani was pitching well in limited action with the Oklahoma City Dodgers. He posted a 2.45 ERA in eight appearances (one in with Rancho Cucamonga) before he had surgery to repair his labrum. He’ll miss the remainder of the season.

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Rice Football: Owls give new life to the fullback position

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Rice football is daring to be different, employing a fullback in their offense as many of their peers have long since done away with the position.

In modern college football, you’re more likely to see five wide receivers on the field than you are to see a fullback. Even the most spread open offenses rarely leave the quarterback alone in the backfield with the exception of a late-game hail mary or a particularly intriguing matchup against an opposing linebacker or defensive back.

At Rice, the fullback is more than just a novelty, it’s a core building block of the Owls’ offense. The fullback is responsible for knowing not just his blocking assignment, but how everyone in front of him is supposed to execute before he reaches the line of scrimmage. It’s a complicated task, one that few are groomed for in today’s game.

Those intricacies, combined with the Rice offense, making finding fullbacks a challenging task. Last season Rice went to the transfer wire, scooping up Giovanni Gentosi from UCLA. This season the new addition comes by way of Stanford, Bloomgren’s old stomping grounds. Reagan Williams traded Palo Alto for South Main for his final season of college ball.

The other players at the position, Brendan Suckley and Luke Armstrong, are learning the position for the first time. Suckley is a converted tight end. Armstrong is a converted offensive lineman. (Read more about each of the fullbacks will impact the offense this fall in our 2019 Rice Football Season Preview.)

Rice will be one of the few programs to recruit a fullback in 2020. The Owls currently have a commitment from Baton Rouge native Brian Hibbard. He should be the first of several fullbacks who make their way to Rice in the coming years. Rice is in the fullback business. And they’re just getting started.

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Rice Football: Owls draw toughest schedule in Conference USA

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The Rice football team has a rigorous schedule this fall, one more strenuous than any other team in Conference USA. Are the Owls up to the challenge?

It doesn’t take more than the eye test for an average fan to accurately assess the challenge looming in front of Rice football before it plays its first game of the 2019 season. The Owls schedule is daunting, highlighted by four potent non-conference opponents in the first four weeks of the regular season.

The full schedule and detailed previews of every team Rice will face this season is available in our 2019 Rice Football Preseason Preview. Those non-conference games, combined with a tough draw from Conference USA East featuring Marshall and Middle Tennessee, gives Rice an ignominious claim. The Owls own the hardest schedule in Conference USA — check out our CUSA Preview for more insight on each team.

ESPN’s Strength of Schedule metrics are reflective of that assumption:

  • Rice –  74
  • Middle Tennessee – 76
  • Southern Miss – 92
  • Old Dominion – 96
  • UTSA – 101
  • FAU – 104
  • Western Kentucky – 106
  • Charlotte – 110
  • Marshall – 115
  • Florida International – 120
  • UTEP – 122
  • North Texas – 125
  • Louisiana Tech – 126
  • UAB – 129

Three teams from the West Division have a top 100 strength of schedule and Rice is right at the top. But even those with similar strength of schedule marks are separated by a wide margin. Rice plays three Power 5 teams and Army. Southern Miss plays two (Alabama and Mississippi State) and UTSA plays one (Texas Tech).

More: Offseason transfers add up favorably for the Owls

After factoring in a game against Rice (2-11 last season), Middle Tennessee is the only other CUSA team in the same tier of difficulty. The Blue Raiders play Michigan, Duke and Iowa in non-conference play.

A hard road sets the Owls up with plenty of opportunities to make some noise, but it doesn’t guarantee the team anything. Rice has been tasked with continuing to make progress in Year 2 of a rebuild, regardless of opponent. Win or lose, Rice is going to be challenged every single week they take the field.

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Rice Football: Will there be one quarterback in 2019?

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As the 2019 Rice Football season approaches there remains one unspoken pressing question. Can the Owls ride one quarterback this year?

A rotten combination of poor performance, bad luck and injuries through the Rice football quarterback room into chaos for most of the 2018 season. The players themselves were as calm and collected as possible, but the lack of clarity at the position as a whole did the team no favors as they tried to win football games.

More: Mobility key for Owls quarterbacks in 2019

Three different quarterbacks started games for the Owls last season. Vanderbilt grad transfer Shawn Stankavage got the first shot, starting the first seven games until he was injured in the Owls loss to UAB. Evan Marshman, who took over in the second half of the UAB game, didn’t make it through his start the following week either. He went down against FIU, opening up the door to Wiley Green.

Green led the way for the next two games, losses to North Texas and UTEP. Stankavage returned, effectively allowing Green to keep his redshirt as the veteran started the final two road games of the year against Louisiana Tech and LSU. Finally, Green capped off the season with a win at home over Old Dominion.

Confusing? That’s because Rice changed starting quarterbacks four times in the final six weeks of the season before ultimately landing back on Green.

Green will battle for the starting job in 2019 with incoming Harvard grad transfer Tom Stewart. (Read more about that battle and what to expect from each player in the fall in our 2019 Rice Football Season Preview). Regardless of who wins the job, sticking with one guy would be a much-needed change of pace. Barring injuries, the Owls look to be on the right track.

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