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Rice Football: Offense remains a work in progress after Spring Game

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The Rice football offense trudged through a slow spring, leaving plenty of questions after a dismal showing at the Blue and Gray Spring Game.

The defense was two steps ahead of the offense on the first day of spring practices in early March. By the time Rice finished the spring game in mid-April it looked like they’d gained another 10 steps, if not more. That set up the coaching staff with a predicament. Is the defense truly elite? Is the offense that bad? Or is the truth somewhere in between?

Head coach Mike Bloomgren was all smiles when he talked about the defensive side of the ball following the Spring Game, which the defense won 48-14. As he transitioned to discussing the offense, he offered a clarifying statement:

[Defense] is a destructive process by nature. You can have a Blaze Alldredge make a play when all 10 of his teammates fall down. On offense, you need all eleven [guys] to do their job to have a chance to make a play a success, and thus offense is a constructive process.

It’s hard to build something when the individual contributors aren’t on the same page. That’s what we saw during the spring game. Quarterbacks were missing their receivers. Receivers were failing to haul in catchable passes. The offensive line looked disoriented.

Senior running back Aston Walter described the situation as one in where, rather than acting instinctively,  “too many people are thinking about what they should do.” That sluggishness off the ball was why the offense as a whole only drove the length of the field for a touchdown twice, one of which was a 60+ yard bomb from quarterback Wiley Green to receiver Aaron Cephus.

Bloomgren said there are “no magic pills” to transition from the offensive struggles into a fully functioning unit, but he remains optimistic things will get sorted out by the fall. This doesn’t seem to be purely a talent issue. With the possible exception of an unproven stable of young running backs, the talent level across the offense is better this year than it was last spring. The issue is getting all that talent to work together.

Consistency, making plays and understanding the scheme will be the marching orders for this unit from now until the fall. That goes hand and hand with how Walter assessed the summation of the spring. “We’re just not confident,” he said, “not where coach [Bloomgren] wants us to be… We gotta keep working.”

More than once the coaching staff has stressed the team is significantly ahead of where they were at this time last year in terms of understanding the scheme and knowing the playbook. That hasn’t produced positive results yet, but there’s still plenty of time before Rice plays their first game against Army in August.

If the spring struggles truly stem from mental setbacks, a summer studying combined with a strong fall camp should be enough to work through the offensive woes. No, they’re not where they want to be, but that doesn’t mean they can’t get there.

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Rice Football Spring Game Takeaways

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The defense dominated from start to finish during the Rice football spring game, capping off a productive spring for the Owls on the gridiron.

Rather than feature two separate squads, the 2019 Rice football spring game was a battle between the offense and the defense. Modified scoring was put in place, but one didn’t require the scoreboard to notice the defense had the upper hand. The offense scored twice but was more or less held in check, finishing off the spring with one of their most impressive performances.

Here are a few immediate takeaways from the Owls’ spring exhibition:

Ari Broussard is going to be heavily involved in this offense

Broussard has been the story of the spring on the offensive side of the ball, and for good reason. The former walk on linebacker has been the most productive ball carrier for the Owls thus far and had another big day on Saturday. He led the team with 79 yards on the ground, averaging 4.9 yards per carry and scoring the only rushing touchdown.

Rice also showed off a split backfield look with Cam Montgomery and Broussard flanking the quarterback on either side. That’s not a look Rice showed very often last season. Broussard’s power complimented with the speed of the other backs might force the staff to inject more of that into the playbook this fall.

The defensive front seven was superb

The defensive line and linebackers have been two of the brightest groups this spring and they continued their dominance on Saturday. Outside of Broussard running through some bodies, there weren’t many missed tackles. Running up the middle was a no-go, regardless of who was in the backfield.

It wasn’t just a strong presence against the run which gave reason for optimism. Antonio Montero had an interception, as did Dasharm Newsome in the secondary as the quarterbacks were forced to throw with hands in their faces all afternoon. The defense picked up four sacks on the day. Corners weren’t left on islands to fend for themselves and the results were an overwhelming one-sided showing by the defense.

The receiving corps has work to do

The receiving corps did not have a good day. Rhett Cardwell led the team with three catches, but the unit as a whole could not hold on to the football. Aaron Cephus, Brendan Harmon, Austin Conrad, Chris Boudreaux had some frustrating drops. Although the number of players targeted was probably close to a dozen, only four receivers caught a pass.

Austin Trammel was sidelined this spring and several guys were in and out with minor injuries, giving just about every pass catcher time in the offense. This spring it’s looking like Trammel, Cephus and incoming JUCO receiver Bradley Rozner are going to be the trustworthy guys. This unit has work to do.

Moving the chains is a big concern

Drops, combined with the pressure from the defensive line set up a lot of third and long situations. The offense converted a few of those, but there were still more punts than scores. Effective offenses aim to reach third and manageable situations, ones that open up the playbook and create uncertainty for the defense. That wasn’t the case for the Rice offense at the spring game and it’s been an issue all spring.

The three quarterbacks combined to complete nine of 32 passes with one breakaway touchdown and two interceptions. As effective as Broussard was on the ground, this offense is going to need to become more balanced by the fall.

Cool postgame moment

Ari Broussard was told after the game he was going to be on scholarship. His reaction here:

 

 

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Rice Football Recruiting: Recapping the Owls’ status with a few key targets

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The 2020 Rice football recruiting class is picking up steam and the Owls might not be done adding to their numbers. Here are a few names to know.

It’s been a busy few weeks for the Rice football recruiting staff. Most notably was the hiring of former Houston assistant Alex Bown as the Owls’ Director of Recruiting and the promotion of James Burnett. The staff is already making waves, landing Fort Bend athlete Kobie Campbell this week as well as making significant headway on a few other key targets. Here are some names to keep a close eye on this spring.

Logan Kyle, WR – Tomball, Tx

The race is heating up for Tomball Memorial wideout Logan Kyle. All reports from his most recent visit to campus over the weekend were positive and there’s a belief the end could be in sight for his recruitment. At this point, the Rice and Vanderbilt lead the pack and the Owls feel good about their chances.

Sage Ennis, TE – Tallahassee, Florida

Rice finds themselves in a battle for another prized weekend visitor, too. Out of state tight end target Sage Ennis said his experience at Junior Day “couldn’t have went any better.” Barring an offer from in-town Florida State at some point down the road, Rice is sitting in good position for his commitment. Memphis is the key competitor is his recruitment.

Joseph Alexander, Connor Finucane and Brian Hibbard, OL – Baton Rouge, LA

Rice has two offensive linemen in the 2020 haul already and will look to add at least a few more before the class is complete. Three teammates from the same high school are drawing the Owls attention, all of which have been on campus in the last few weeks. Hibbard made his pledge over the weekend and the other two are trending in the right direction.

Other news and notes

The Noah Teliancich commitment to Lousiana came a bit out of left field. He had a great time at the visit and was in communication with those on the staff on his journey home. Less than 24 hours later he’d committed elsewhere. The motivation on his end is uncertain, but the abruptness of the decision suggests Rice could stick around if they choose to do so.

Rice is taking a shot on a few higher tiered recruits in this cycle, too. They know they won’t bat 1.000 on that front, but a focused effort on a few key guys could yield a big commitment or two. Drake Metcalf, a teammate of 2019 commit Jake Bailey is currently being courted by Stanford, Oregon and some other big names. Right now Rice has a foot in the door. If there’s a chance he leaves the west coast, the Owls are in as good of a position as they could be,

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Rice Football Recruiting: 2020 ATH Kobie Campbell commits to Owls

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The 2020 Rice football recruiting class continues to add weapons to their arsenal, this time with the commitment of do-it-all athlete Kobie Campbell.

Campbell enjoyed his experience on campus on Junior Day this spring and came away with nothing but positive comments regarding the program and the staff. Not long afterward he returned to campus to observe spring practice and make his pledge, committing to play his college football at Rice in 2020.

Rice was the first D1 program to offer Missouri City athlete Kobie Campbell, securing his commitment in the span of a few weeks from the initial offer. The expedited recruiting process reflects how focused the staff was on landing Campbell and how much Campbell bought into the trajectory of the program. He joins an arsenal of talent which has only continued to grow.

Prior to Campbell coming on board, an impressive succession of recruiting wins already had Rice football at four commitments. Campbell raises that tally to five — Rice didn’t have their first commitment last year until the summer months began. The hot start has continued from March into April with more positive news likely on the horizon.

Campbell played just about everywhere in high school, but Rice intends to play him at running back. The 5-foot-8, 160-pound ball carrier has burst, quickness, and an elusiveness which leaves defenders flat-footed in his dust.

His time spent in the secondary gave him a fearlessness at the point of attack and he’s more than powerful enough to run through tackles. He’s a fantastic addition to an already strong class.

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Rice Football: Offense dominates their first spring practice

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The Rice football offense had their best offensive showing of the spring, capping off Monday’s practice with a near-perfect redzone performance.

Touchdown. Touchdown. Touchdown. The Rice offense had started to forget what the endzone felt like after a dominant start to the spring by the defensive unit. The offense managed a single field goal in their scrimmage on Saturday, failing to reach the endzone at all. They made up for their absence then, and the rest of the spring, with an impressive showing during Monday’s practice.

Bradley Rozner broke a few ankles, carving up the secondary on his way to six. Aaron Cephus high pointed some passes in the endzone. Ari Broussard was almost impossible to bring down. Evan Marshman took a keeper to the pylon. And all of that happened in the span of 20 minutes.

Breakthrough was coming, it was only a matter of time. Finally, something clicked. Cephus called it “a thin line between regular and great” which the offense had surpassed. There was no secret weapon, rather it was the culmination of weeks of learning and practice finally coming together at once. A slowed down game plus, as Cephus called it, “a lot of nastiness and grit”, gave the entire offense a much-needed confidence boost.

Mike Bloomgren called the sudden onslaught of offense “the spark” that “lit a fire”, setting up a battle between both sides of the ball on Thursday. That will be the last true practice before Rice holds their spring game on Saturday.

Several alumni and letterman will be in attendance then, some of which have already paid visits this spring. Sam Pierce stopped in to check out practice on Monday. Peter Godber, Calvin Anderson, Jack Fox and others have been by over the past week.

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