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25 Days: Aaron Cephus snubbed from Biletnikoff Watch List

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Rice football lays claim to one of the nation’s greatest wide receivers. Can Aaron Cephus put together another jaw-dropping performance in 2018?

Aaron Cephus tallied 25 receptions in 2017. That’s not a herculean amount of catches, but it led the Owls by a good margin. Austin Walter and Kylen Granson were second on the team with 18 receptions each, but Walter is a running back and Granson is no longer with the team. That’s not to say it’s going to be a one-man show in 2018, but Cephus will be the preeminent pass-catching threat for Rice. The numbers he puts up could be extraordinary.

As a freshman, the 6-foot-4, 205-pound Cephus was one of the most impressive receivers in the nation. His 622 yards were modest, but his 24.9 yards per catch topped not only Conference USA, but the entire nation. He averaged more than seven additional yards per catch than anyone else in the conference; Turner Smiley from North Texas was the No. 2 receiver in CUSA and he averaged 17.8 yards per catch.

Inexplicably, Cephas was left off the 2018 Biletnikoff Award Watch List, the award given to the nation’s top pass catcher. Several other CUSA players did make the cut; Teddy Veal (Louisiana Tech), Tyre Brady (Marshall), Ty Lee (Middle Tennessee), Jalen Guyton (North Texas) and Michael Lawrence (North Texas). Those five may very well be deserving but leaving Cephus off the list is short-sighted at best and ignorant at worst.

Like Cephus, the rest of the Rice receiving corps is extremely young. Sophomores Cameron Montgomery and Austin Trammell with line up opposite Cephus with redshirt freshman Rhett Cardwell and Chris Bourdeaux also factoring into the mix.

As long as Cephus takes the bulk of the targets the Owls won’t need to find another top-flight pass catcher, but getting a pair of players with 20+ receptions should be a realistic goal for this offense. That will clear things but for Cephus, providing him with one-on-one matchups he can exploit.

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26 Days: Owls hope to improve on 26 offensive touchdowns in 2018

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Scoring was not the forte for Rice Football last season. Returning production and a revamped offense promise to push that number higher in 2018.

Rice football scored 26 offensive touchdowns in 2018, roughly averaging out to 2.2 touchdowns per game. That’s not a great rate of return on 732 offensive plays. The Owls’ total scoring output was near the bottom of the barrel last season, but there is reason for hope moving forward. The Owls get the vast majority of that offensive production back and they’ll be adding more skill players to the mix.

Of the nine Owls that found the endzone last season eight of them are returning to South Main. The only departing scorer, quarterback Miklo Smalls, would have been buried on the depth anyways, so his four touchdowns gone isn’t all that impactful. Here’s how the rest of the scorers shake out:

Player Pos Rush Rec Pass
Nashon Ellerbe RB 6 0 0
Sam Glaesmann QB 3 0 3
Aaron Cephus WR 0 5 0
Austin Walter RB 4 1 0
Miklo Smalls QB 3 0 1
Jackson Tyner QB 1 0 2
Emmanuel Esukpa RB 1 0 0
Jordan Myers RB 1 0 0
Will Phillips WR 1 0 0
Total 20 6 6

Nashon Ellerbe, Austin Walter and Emmanuel Esukpa make up a rather deep backfield for the Owls. All three players got at least 55 carries last season and each averaged at least 4.5 yards per rush attempt. Whoever wins the starting job could be in for a massive workload this year which would include an increase in goal-to-go carries and, most likely, more touchdowns.

With Aaron Cephus on the outside and that versatility in the backfield Rice should reload and come out even stronger next season. A legitimate rushing attack works wonders for any passing game, which makes the installation of Bloomgren’s rushing schemes extremely important this fall. Whether it’s through the air or on the ground, the Owls are destined for more scores in 2018.

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Owls not out for good on 2019 safety Ron Nunnery

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Rice football continues to make inroads with the state’s top prospects on the recruiting trail. Could they force a flip from 3-star safety Ronald Nunnery?

Mike Bloomgren has made raising the talent profile of Rice football a priority and the results are already beginning to show. The Owls have four 3-star recruits committed so far in their 2019 recruiting class and have their eyes set on several other playmakers both inside and outside the state of Texas.

Pearland safety Ronald Nunnery is high on the Owls’ list, and they’re not alone. The talented defensive back has made a verbal commitment to cross-town rival Houston. In addition to the offers from Houston and Rice, the 3-star safety holds offers from Colorado, Iowa State, Boise State and Colorado State.

Traditionally, Rice has been edged out of recruiting races when the Power 5 schools start getting into the mix. That doesn’t appear to be the case for Nunnery, who was impressed by what Rice is building in his recent visit to campus which came prior to his commitment to Houston.

Nunnery called the defensive scheme a “great fit” and noted that one of the positive aspects of new coaching was a wide-open depth chart with the opportunity to get early playing time. He was complimentary of the coaching staff that Bloomgren pulled together from all over the nation and said he plans to make a few trips out this fall to see some games.

Nunnery is a top 200 player in the state of Texas according to 247 Sports. He holds 19 offers and counting, but when asked where the Owls ranked in the mix he gave a short, straight-forward response: “[Rice is] in my top 5”. Even though Nunnery chose the Cougars, the Owls appeared to be close enough to stay in the mix through the fall. Flipping Nunnery away from the Cougars would be an impressive feat indeed. You can be certain that Bloomgren will give it a try.

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27 Days: Will Kicker Will Harrison lead Owls specialists again?

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Rice football got 27 points from their leading kicker Will Harrison last season. He’ll need to up his game for the Owls in 2018.

The paltry amount of field goals Rice football attempted in 2017 is borderline unbelievable. If it seemed like the Owls didn’t attempt any field goals last season it’s because they averaged less than one field goal attempted per game. Their five total field goal attempts ranked dead last in the FBS.

The limited offensive production placed Rice near the bottom in PAT tries as well. Their 25 attempts (24 successful) were more only six programs in the nation.

It wasn’t that long ago that Rice fans were treated to the wonder leg of Chris Boswell. The former Rice star is kicking in the NFL for the Pittsburg Steelers, but he got his start with the Owls. From 2010 to 2013 he scored 359 points for the Owls, connecting on 65 field goals and knocking through 164 PATs.

The Rice specialists are going to need some help from the offense if those numbers are going to tick upwards in 2018. Regardless of whether its five or 25 field goal attempts, they’ll fall on the leg of sophomore kicker Will Harrison.

Harrison led the Owls’ kickers in attempts (four) while connecting on just two of his kicks. Those six points, combined with 21 PATs placed him fourth on the team in scoring with 27 points. Junior Hayden Tobola connected on his lone field goal attempt and added a pair of PATs while punter Jack Fox did not attempt any field goals, but knocked through his only PAT of 2017 in the season opener against Stanford.

Harrison made field goals one field goal of 36-yards against UTEP and a 31-yard kick against Houston. He missed a 43-yard attempt against Houston and had a 25-yard attempt blocked against Old Dominion, a game which Rice lost by three points.

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28 Days: Where will sacks come from in 2018?

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Rice football was effective in their efforts to get to the quarterback last season but they’ll need to find new faces to continue the charge in 2018.

One of the most encouraging traits of the Rice football defense in 2017 was their ability to get to the quarterback. The 28 sacks tallied by the Owls’ defense was fifth best in Conference USA. They finished tied for 41st in the nation with a rate of 2.33 sacks per game, better than several imposing defenses like Georgia, Florida, Michigan State and South Carolina.

The Owls were led by defensive end Brian Womac who registered 10 sacks and defensive tackle Roe Wilkins, who picked up 6.5 sacks. Wilkins is back, but Womac now plays for the Los Angeles Rams. That leaves a void that must be addressed.

Regression in the sack department is certainly possible for the Owls if they can’t find someone to step up and fill Womac’s shoes. Nose tackle Zack Abercrumbia (two sacks) is the only other returning player who registered multiple sacks last season. Also missing from the 2018 squad are Emmanuel Ellerbee, Graysen Schantz, Blain Padgett each of which picked up 1.5 sacks in 2017.

The assignment falls to the aforementioned Wilkins and Abercrumbia as well as sixth-year edge rusher Graysen Schantz. Back for one final ride after an injury-plagued career, Schantz will slot in at rush end. Through 26 career games, he’s picked up 71 tackles, 15 tackles for a loss and 6.5 sacks. He’s only played one complete season (2016) and appeared in just six games last season for the Owls.

After Schantz, the depth chart gets murky, fast. Opposite Schantz will be some combination of sophomore Anthony Ekpe and 2018 signee Antonio Montero. The highest rated linebacker recruit in the Owls’ class, Montero finds himself in position to see meaningful snaps early in the season. How much playing time he gets moving forward will be up to him.

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