The source for Rice sports news

Conference USA Football Media Days: Live Blog

By

Conference USA Media Days are underway in Frisco, Texas. Stay tuned here for all the latest news and updates on Rice football and CUSA.

Rice Football Season Preview
Buy Now | 2019 Rice Preview

Monday

The coaches selections for the 2019 Conference USA Football All-Conference Team were released. In addition to 30 first-team selections, three players were recognized above the rest:

  • Offensive Player of the Year – North Texas QB Mason Fine
  • Defensive Player of the Year – FIU LB Sage Lewis
  • Special Teams Player of the Year – Charlotte kicker Jonathan Cruz

Tuesday

CUSA Football Preview
Buy Now | 2019 CUSA Preview

The 2019 Conference USA Football Media Poll was released.

EAST DIVISION
1. Marshall (14)
2. FIU (9)
3. Florida Atlantic (3)
4. Middle Tennessee
5. WKU
6. Old Dominion
7. Charlotte

WEST DIVISION
1. North Texas (20)
2. Southern Miss (4)
3. Louisiana Tech
4. UAB (2)
5. UTSA
6. Rice
7. UTEP

Wednesday

Live stream available on ESPN3

Teams will bounce around from station to station today, spending time on the live stream and various media outlets from around the country including CBS Sports, NFL Network and Stadium.

12:05 pm – Rice is scheduled to be on the live stream from 2:15 to 2:30. They’re the second team on deck for today, starting with North Texas at 2:00 pm.

1:25 pm – Louisiana Tech head coach Skip Holtz on Rice – “It’s definitely going to be a change of pace for everyone with the offense Rice is running in this league… I know what that program is capable of. I have great respect for that program.”

2:42 pm – UTSA head coach Frank Wilson on Rice – “It’s always challenging any time you face someone with that physicality and they take on that persona that they’re going to punch you in the mouth.”

2:45 pm – Rice Football DT Myles Adams – “I feel like we’ve been rebuilding for some time now and it’s time to showcase what we’ve built.”

3:34 pm – North Texas head coach Seth Littrell – You’ve gotta be extremely disciplined on defense in order to stop [Rice’s] system… this is a diverse league… You’re going to see about everything. That’s what makes it fun though, you want to coach against these great guys and these systems. To be honest with you, you probably see more hybrid things in this league than you see in any league I’ve been in.”

Don’t Forget! Grab your copy of the 2019 Rice Football Preview or 2019 Conference USA Football Preview today. Support local CUSA coverage and get the best insight on all 14 conference teams from local reporters and writers who know it best.
Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Football: Don’t panic over Owls Preseason All-CUSA snubs

By

Rice football didn’t land anyone on the Preseason Conference USA All-Conference team, but the Owls have plenty of young talent waiting in the wings.

The 2019 Conference USA Preseason Football All-Conference team was announced Monday. 12 of the conference’s 14 teams were represented. The two omissions? Old Dominion and Rice. On the surface, the lack of honorees was disconcerting, but it’s worth taking a breather and assessing where the Rice Football program is right now before getting too worried about preseason lists.

All-Conference teams, particularly those selected by the coaches, rely almost entirely on proven production. The vast majority of the time, that production has been seen first hand in conference games. End of season honorees have the benefit of a full slate of games to prove their abilities. That list could, and should, be more favorable for the Owls.

More: Athlon Sports and Phil Steele give Owls preseason honors

Rice doesn’t have many players who have been in Conference USA for long enough to warrant consideration. Of the upperclassmen projected to start for Rice this season, three have played enough snaps to earn a preseason look: wide receiver Austin Trammell, wide receiver Aaron Cephus and safety George Nyakwol.

The rest of the upperclassmen starters (find our complete three-deep depth chart projections in our 2019 Rice Football Season Preview) haven’t done enough at Rice to get themselves on the list. Players like Blaze Alldredge, Prudy Calderon, Treshawn Chamberlain and Juma Otoviano have the talent, but none have started a full season of college football yet. Few grad transfer earn recognition in lists like these.

Seniority and preseason lists go hand and hand. Of the 30 players honored, only Charlotte kicker  Jonathan Cruz is an underclassman. He made 17 of 22 field goal attempts last season.

Rice has some extremely talented players. They’re just young players. The youth movement in South Main is in its transitional stages. By the time the season is over, those freshmen and sophomores will have plenty of playing time under their belts. Let’s reassess the quality of the depth chart then.

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

Recent Posts

Rice Baseball Minor League Roundup: Matt Canterino makes pro debut

By

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.

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

Recent Posts

2019 Rice Football Season Preview by The Roost

By

 

The staff of The Roost is pleased to announce the release of the 2019 Rice Football Season Preview, a 143-page digital magazine detailing everything you could imagine about the Owls’ upcoming season.

This preview is the culmination of months of research, interviews and analysis. Consider it your one-stop-shop as you prepare for the Owls’ 2019 season.

Available as a downloadable PDF for on-the-go access, this preview contains the following:

1. A breakdown of every position group on the team

Who are the favorites to start entering fall camp? What sort of production should you expect from returning starters? Which of the incoming transfer players should make their mark the quickest? Answers to all of those questions are included, as well as notes on every single player on the 102-man roster.

2. An exclusive interview with head coach Mike Bloomgren

We sat down with coach to get his honest evaluation of where the Rice football program is right now and how he views the progress the team is making as they approach 2019. He’s sticking to a process, one which he remains confident will bring success to South Main.

3. Previews of each 2019 opponent and all 14 CUSA Teams

Supported by local beat writers and experts who cover each team, this section has a wealth of knowledge about every CUSA Team and all the Owls’ 2019 opponents.

Rice fans will want to familiarize themselves with the teams they’ll be facing this year. Get to know which players each squad will have to replace, which newcomers could make noise in 2019 and what outstanding questions those in the know have about their respective squads.

4. A complete 2019 Conference USA Football Preview

Available separately to purchase, everyone who purchases the 2019 Rice Football Season Preview will also get The Roost’s 2019 Conference USA Football Preview. We made our picks for preseason honors, top games to watch in 2019 and a closer look at how every team in the conference stacks up.

Don’t need any more convincing? Get a copy for yourself today

Buy Now

 

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

Recent Posts

Rice Football: Assessing the Owls’ Year 2 coaches through history

By

It takes some time to build a program. How have the various Rice football coaches faired in their second year at South Main?

After a two-win season in 2018, Rice football coach Mike Bloomgren enters 2019 with a renewed vigor. The Owls went through the growing pains expected with a coaching change last season, rebuilding as they went. That season was all about installing the right schemes and educating the younger players. 2019 marks a transition from training from what most coaches call “Year Zero” into the “real world” of sorts.

Officially in his second year of command, Bloomgren joins the ranks of 14 Rice coaches who stayed at the school for multiple seasons. Eight of those coaches won had a better winning percentage in Year 2. Six fell short.

Interestingly enough, the best Year 2 season in school history came in 2008 with David Bailiff at the helm. Rice won 10 games that season, capping things off with a Texas Bowl win over Western Michigan. Bailiff’s squad was coming off a 3-9 start the year before, a hair better than Bloomgren’s 2-11. Fortunately for Bailiff, he had the benefit of senior quarterback Chase Clement as well as pass catchers Jarrett Dillard and James Casey.

Other coaches had more work to do in Year 2. Jimmy Kitts (8-3 in 1935), Jack Meagher (8-4 in 1930) and Jess Neely (6-3-1 in 1941) are the only other Rice coaches to finish with a winning record in their second season.

Coach Year W L T Pct
David Bailiff 2008 10 3 0 77%
Jimmy Kitts 1935 8 3 0 73%
Jack Meagher 1930 8 4 0 67%
Jess Neely 1941 6 3 1 60%
Fred Goldsmith 1990 5 6 0 45%
Al Conover 1973 5 6 0 45%
Phillip Arbuckle 1915 5 3 0 63%
John Heisman 1925 4 4 1 44%
Watson Brown 1985 3 8 0 27%
Ken Hatfield 1995 2 8 1 18%
Jerry Berndt 1987 2 9 0 18%
Ray Alborn 1979 1 10 0 9%
Homer Rice 1977 1 10 0 9%
Bo Hagan 1968 0 9 1 0%

Ultimately the successes (or failures) of Bloomgren’s predecessors have a negligible impact on his team’s outlook for 2019. For the most part, those that have come before him have taken a few seasons to get things up and running. Legendary coach Jess Neely’s best season came in Year 10. Time will tell where Bloomgren fits amongst the ranks.

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

Recent Posts