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2018 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors Season Preview

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A year removed from a trip to Australia, Rice football‘s furthest road trip in 2018 is a still-lengthy flight to the Pacific to take on the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors.

By far the most scenic road trip on the Rice football schedule in 2018 will come in early September when the Owls travel to Oahu, Hawaii to take on the home-town Rainbow Warriors in Aloha Stadium.

Hawaii was an offensive powerhouse under now CFL head coach June Jones, but current headman Nick Rolovich has his eyes set on revamping the offense and returning it to those glory days. The third-year headman played quarterback for Hawaii from 2000 to 2001, seeing the majority of his playing time when Hawaii’s all-time leading passer Timmy Chang went down to an injury.

Rice and Hawaii have met on the gridiron seven times, all occurring in the last 20 seasons. The two squads alternated home games from 1999 to 2004; Rice went 4-2 in those games. The teams then took a break, meeting most recently at Rice Stadium in 2014, a 28-14 victory for the Owls. What will this version of the Rainbow Warriors look like in 2018?

Offense

Hawaii was thrown for a loop when Dru Brown announced he would transfer to Oklahoma State for the 2018 season. After joining the Rainbow Warriors from the JUCO ranks, Brown threw for 2,785 yards, 18 touchdowns and eight interceptions last season.

Brown wasn’t perfect, but he was by far the most experienced passer on the roster. Backup Cole MacDonald had more rushing attempts last season (16) than passing attempts (nine). He’ll be in the mix with Sacremento State transfer Kolney Cassel and USC transfer Larry Tuileta.

Whoever wins the job will benefit greatly from a full season with wide receiver John Ursa. Despite missing half of the 2017 campaign, Ursa led the Mountain West in receiving yards and hauled in five touchdowns.

Outside of Ursa, the skill positions are baren. The Rainbow Warriors will have to replace their next three pass catchers and their top two running backs. The departed receivers were nothing special, but running back Diocemy Saint Juste leaves Hawaii as the No. 2 all-time leading rusher with 3,102 yards.

Sophomore Freddy Holly will be given the first crack at the starting tailback role. Blocking for him will be a bevy of JUCO transfers along the offensive line thanks to the departure of all-Moutain West left tackle Dejon Allen and starters John Wa’a and Chris Posa.

Defense

Hawaii has always prided themselves on their offense almost at the detriment of their defense. The Rainbow Warriors have allowed fewer than 32 points per game once in the last five seasons and actually showed modest improvement a year ago when they allowed 33.9 points per game (10th in the Mountain West) compared to 37.3 allowed in 2016.

Although they face the same amount of attrition as the offense, the defense could be better prepared to make big strides next season. Linebackers Jahlani Tavia and Soloman Matautia were ballhawks last season, accounting for 209 tackles, 6.5 sacks and four interceptions in 2017. Both return this year and will serve as anchors for a defense with a lot of new faces.

More JUCO transfers were brought in to reinforce the defensive line which returns just one player that saw a significant amount of playing time, Sam Akoteu. Zeno Choi, Blessman Ta’ala and Jeffrey Keene Jr. will round out the front which owns three starts between the quartet.

The secondary will have to replace a pair of safeties. The corners they do bring back were part of a unit that allowed 248.6 passing yards per game and a conference-high 29 touchdown passes. With little reason for increased optimism in the form of a stronger pass rush, the back end of the Hawaii defense could be in for another rough year in 2018.

Teams that can move the ball through the air are going to be able to beat this unit consistenly making shootouts more likely for this squad once again.

Schedule

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Quarterback competition nearing finale, practice notes (8/16)

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Rice football is just days away from their first game of the 2018 season. The quarterback competition is wrapping up and coach named some camp standouts.

Fall camp is coming to an end. After a few weeks of getting working with his players hands-on, Mike Bloomgren is ready to get ready for his first football game as a head coach. The team looks good, but it’s time they hit somebody else that wasn’t wearing navy and white. Here are a few takeawys from Thursday’s practice.

1. Quarterbacks

Head coach Mike Bloomgren declined to name a starter, but he did hint the competition is starting to wind down. He says he’s confident both guys have what it takes to lead the offense this fall, but added that it’s “not far away from us having to make a decision and pick one of them that’s going to take the bulk of the reps.”

Bloomgren has been pretty consistent with his message on the quarterbacks throughout fall camps. He’s given both Jackson Tyner and Shawn Stankavage praise when earned and constructive criticism when needed. “They’ve both had their moments,” said Bloomgren. But time is running out.

Rice kicks off against Prairie View A&M in a week’s time. Before that game starts, Bloomgren intends to have made a decision. With the caveat that nobody has snatched the job quite yet when asked about whether or not he’d’ have his decision made before game time Bloomgren was straightforward. “We definitely will,” he said, before adding the ever so important qualifier, “internally”.

From an ability standpoint, this looks to be Jackson Tyner’s job to lose. He’s had success throwing the ball down field and getting it into tight windows. His biggest challenge has been consistency. If he can master that he’ll have a good chance at winning the job outright before camp is over.

2. Special teams

Sophomore wide receiver Austin Trammell is in line to be the starting punt returner for the Owls this fall. He’ll also be in the mix for kick return duties as well. Fellow receiver Brendan Harmon got reps with the return unit today as well. Running backs Austin and Aston Walter have done some work with the return teams. Whoever gets the nod, the Owls will have plenty of speed and athleticism on special teams this year.

Practice ended with special teams once again, but this time with a twist. Kickers Jack Fox and Hayden Tabola were pitted in a kicking competition in which the entire team was asked to pick a side. Fox was victorious and Tabola’s team did push-ups. There’s still a strong chance Fox is the Owls’ punter and kicker this fall.

3. Camp MVPs

Preparing for the Prairie View game officially began today. While fundamentals and some of the summer and fall ball drills will continue to be incorporated into campus this marks a shift in focus moving forward. When asked to look back at the players that impressed the most over the last few weeks Bloomgren named a handful of guys specifically, citing specific superlatives.

Tight end Jordan Meyers was praised for his versatility. Bloomgren called Emmanuel Esupka “special”, a comment he’s made several times already this fall. Sophomore receiver Austin Trammell was dubbed “Mr. Consistent” while senior right tackle Sam Pierce is playing “the best football he’s ever played at the offensive line position.”

On defense, Bloomgren praised Zach Abercrumbia and George Nyakwol for their consistency. As for special teams, he grinned and gave a short synopsis: “Jack Fox is Jack Fox.”

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2018 Southern Miss Golden Eagles Season Preview

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Rice football came close to upsetting Southern Miss last season but couldn’t hang on. What will the Golden Eagles bring to the table in 2018?

Southern Miss worked through some quarterback turmoil a year ago on their way to an 8-5 finish, including six wins in conference play. Third-year head coach Jay Hopson improved on a seven-win campaign the year before but continue that trend in 2018 might prove more difficult.

The Golden Eagles are going to be much younger this season and lose several key pieces from last year’s squad that needed a late fourth quarter rally to beat the Owls. The nine-point victory won by the Golden Eagles on their home field last season brought the all-time series to an even four-game split.

Southern Miss has won three straight in the series and opens conference play against the Owls this year. What can the Owls expect to see from the Golden Eagles?

Offense

Ineffectiveness and injuries created a messy situation for Southern Miss at quarterback last season. Although it wasn’t how Hopson drew it up, both Kwandra Griggs and Keon Howard gained valuable starting experience, each contributing to the Golden Eagles’ offensive success last season.

Griggs (1,879 yards, 16 touchdowns and two interceptions) projected to be the starter before he was suspended indefinitely during fall camp. That openee the door for Howard (1,199 yards, eight touchdowns and five interceptions), but he has since transferred to Tulane. That leaves Jack Abraham as the front runner in Hattiesburg.

Whoever lines up in the backfield will be handing the ball to a new primary tailback. Ito South was named to the All-CUSA first team after churning out 1,483 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns last season. Tasked to recreate his production in aggregate will be returning senior Tez Parks (290 rushing yards, two touchdowns) as well as speedster George Payne and converted quarterback Steven Anderson.

In addition to replacing Smith the offensive line that blocked for him saw several meaningful departures. Gone are center Devin Farrior and tackle Jerry Harris, making for a lot of change for the Southern Miss rushing attack.

The receiving corps isn’t much better off. The Golden Eagles three leading receivers from a year ago are gone, leaving Quez Watkins (23 receptions, 337 yards and two touchdowns) as the most experienced pass catcher on this team. For as much as this team likes to throw the football (fifth in CUSA with 439 attempts in 2017) it’s hard to believe they won’t suffer a setback in the receiving department this season.

Defense

If the offense was green, the defense is greener. South Miss allowed 24.5 points per game in 2017, their best mark since they allowed 20.8 in 2011. That figure will be hard pressed to improve this year with just four of their top 11 leading tackles returning to Hattiesburg.

The production they do get back largely consists of members of the front seven. Linebackers Racheem Boothe (79, 3.5 sacks, five tackles for a loss) and Picasso Nelson (missed 2017 season due to injury) have to be the glue that holds this team together. The ability of that duo to get to the quarterback and force hurried plays will go a long way to determining whether or not the Southern Miss defense will be able to stay afloat in 2018.

Beyond those two the defensive line and secondary both contain more question marks than answers. The team tallied 24 sacks a year ago but only 6.5 of those are out the door.

Big plays in the secondary is another matter entirely. Southern Miss tallied nine interceptions by five different players and none of them will be on the field this season. Both of their starting safeties, Jomez Applewhite and Tarvarius Moore, as well as leading corners Curtis Mickell and Cornell Armstrong are gone as are three other rotation players. This has the potential to be the least experienced defensive back unit in the nation.

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2018 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Season Preview

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Rice football and Louisiana Tech don’t have an extensive history, but the series has been rather one-sided since the Bulldogs joined CUSA in 2013.

After three straight nine-win seasons, Louisiana Tech stumbled to a 7-6 finish last in 2017. Things could have turned out quite differently had the Bulldogs not lost three games by one point. Those narrow defeats at the hands of South Carolina, UAB and North Texas kept the Bulldogs away from their first 10-win season as a D1 FBS program.

Head coach Skip Holtz will have a double-digit target placed in front of his team this season. Getting to that mark will be challenging considering a schedule that includes road trips to LSU and Mississippi State in non-conference play. That will require near-perfection in conference play.

Rice and Louisiana Tech have met on the gridiron 10 times. The Owls own a 3-7 record against the Bulldogs and have lost four straight. Righting that record starts one game at a time, but it could be a challenge for the Owls this year. Louisiana Tech fields a promising team in 2018. Here’s how they’ll look on both sides of the ball:

Offense

Louisiana Tech has typically boasted well-rounded offensive attacks under Holtz who took over the program in 2013. In his five years leading the Bulldogs he’s constructed offenses that averaged north of 430 yards per game and a lot of points. Last season marked the first time since his first season at LaTech in which his team averaged less than 37 points per game, falling off to 30.5 points per contest.

One of the driving forces behind the variation in points per game was the variation in quarterback play. The Bulldogs’ offense will once again live and die on the decision making of junior quarterback J’mar Smith.

Smith’s back-and-forth quarterback play made every game an adventure through his 13 starts last season. In consecutive weeks he posted these two very different box scores:

Week A: 15-of-28 passing (53.6 percent) for 203 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions
Week B: 7-of-21 passing (33.3 percent) for 101 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception

Week A was a win over UTEP. Week B was a win over UTSA. Both starts by Smith, but his play could not have been more hot-and-cold.

The Bulldogs will benefit from the deep receiving corps led by returning star Teddy Veal (79 receptions for 950 yards and seven touchdowns in 2017). The offensive line returns a ton of experience and will add former LSU offensive lineman Willie Allen to the mix as well.

Running back is another big question mark for the Bulldogs who lose their two leading rushers from a season ago. No one remaining on the depth chart has had any meaningful touches, setting up a wide-open competition between Jaqwis Dancy Jr. and Kam McKnight for lead back duties. A committee approach is most likely here.

Defense

Replacing three of their top five tacklers will be the biggest challenge facing LaTech as they enter the 2018 season. The good news is they carry depth at every level on the defense and have more than enough options to plug into the gaps left by Secdrick Cooper, Russell Farris and DaMarion King.

The secondary was one of the best in Conference USA last season thanks in large part to the tandem of Cooper and true freshman Amik Robertson. He forced his way into the starting lineup quickly and led the team in interceptions (five) and pass breakups (six) by the end of the season while also finishing third on the team in tackles.

While Robertson and his companions are locking down the back end, future NFL draft pick senior Jaylon Ferguson is providing the rush up front. The talented defensive end tallied seven sacks last season and is already receiving legitimate first-round buzz. He’s got a long way to go before that happens, but at 6-foot-5, 260 pounds he has the frame that NFL teams will look to build on.

The glue in between those two units will be the linebackers. In addition to last year’s leading tackler Dae’Von Washington the team adds three JUCO transfers including NJCAA Defensive Player of the Year Connor Taylor. A Snow College product, Taylor led the NJCAA in tackles (139) with a stunning 21 tackles for a loss and three sacks.

This unit allowed 25.4 points per game in 2017 and should be even better. If the offense comes along with it the Bulldogs could be looking at a special season in 2018.

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11 Days: Tracking all 11 Owls in the NFL

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Rice football boasts 11 active NFL players and coaches, spread across 10 different teams. Where are they and which players are making noise at the next level?

The NFL Preseason is underway. As the first kickoff of the season approaches teams will be forced to cull their pool of players down to their final 53-man roster. That final cut will be official on Sept. 1, giving a few Owls a chance to earn their spot in the NFL.

Along with a few new faces, Rice football has some veterans in the league as well. Here are the Owls 11 NFL personnel:

1. Chris Boswell, Kicker, Pittsburgh Steelers

Bowell entered the NFL in 2015. After a brief stint with the Houston Texans he made his way up north to join the Steelers where he’s been the primary kicker for three seasons. He owns a career 89.5 field goal percentage with a long of 53 yards.

2. Bryce Callahan, Corner, Chicago Bears

A reserve corner for the Chicago Bears, Callahan is also in his fourth professional season. He’s become more and more active with Chicago each year in the league. In 2017 he played in 12 games, registering two interceptions, a forced fumble and 25 total tackles.

3. Christian Covington, Defensive End, Houston Texans

A Canadian native, Covington stayed close to campus after being drafted in the sixth round by the Houston Texans in 2015. In limited action, he’s picked up four sacks, and 50 total tackles in his three year NFL career.

4. Emmanuel Ellerbee, Linebacker, Atlanta Falcons

Ellerbee signed with the Falcons as an undrafted free agent and is working to earn his way onto the roster in 2018. He led the Owls in tackles last season with 95.

5. Phillip Gaines, Corner, Buffalo Bills

A third round pick by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2014, Gaines saw sporadic action (16 starts over four seasons) with the Chiefs before signing with Buffalo this offseason.

6. Larry Izzo, Assistant Special Teams coach, Seattle Seahawks

After playing 13 seasons in the NFL, winning three Super Bowls and earning three Pro Bowl nominations, Izzo retired from the NFL and quickly took a coaching position with the New York Giants. He went from the Giants to the Texans before being hired by the Seahawks this offseason.

7. Vance McDonald, Tight End, Pittsburgh Steelers

McDonald was a second round pick of the San Francisco 49ers in 2013. McDonald was a productive offensive cog for the 49ers in four NFL Season before moving to the Steelers in 2017. He’s caught 78 passes for 1,054 yards and eight touchdowns in his pro career.

8. Andrew Sendejo, Safety, Minnesota Vikings

After a brief start to his NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys, Sendejo has been with the Minnesota Vikings since 2011. During that span, he’s accounted for 237 tackles and six interceptions. He most recently made news with his reaction to the league’s new helmet contact rule.

https://twitter.com/Asendejo/status/1025466588424597504

9. Jordan Taylor, Wide Receiver, Denver Broncos

A nice depth piece behind Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, Taylor has seen modest action in two NFL seasons. He caught 16 passes in 2016 and 13 more in 2017, totaling 251 receiving yards and two career touchdowns.

10. Luke Wilson, Tight End, Detroit Lions

A five year veteran with the Seattle Seahawks, Wilson moved on to a new team this offseason, signing at 1-year $1.5 million deal with the Detriot Lions. He’ll be in the mix with the rest of the Matt Stafford’s pass catchers this season.

11. Brian Womac, Defensive End, Los Angeles Rams

The No. 2 tackler for Rice football in 2017, Womac is fighting for a roster spot with the Rams after going undrafted following his senior season with the Owls in 2017. He finished with a team-best 21 tackles for a loss and 10 sacks.

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