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The Roost Podcast | Ep. 16 – 2019 Marshall Review

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With the second open weekend of the season looming, Carter and Matthew discuss the emergence of JoVoni Johnson and Rice Football vs Marshall in Week 10.

Despite only finishing with seven points, the Rice football offense had some sparks against Marshall during their Homecoming weekend. Follow along with the Owls’ current quarterback predicament, a still stingy defense and another busy week on South Main in this week’s episode.

You can always find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, Give a listen to Episode 16 below.

Episode 16 Notes

  • News and notes —  Rice Basketball is under way with the women and men opening their season. We touch on that briefly as well as a shout out to the Owls’ undefeated-in-conference-play and national ranked volleyball team who host Western Kentucky on Sunday.
  • Marshall Review — The new-look offense sure felt a lot different than previous iterations on the Owls’ efforts on that side of the ball. Juma Otoviano plus JoVoni Johnson was a dangerous combination, unfortunately one which was ended prematurely when Johnson left the game with injury. And of course, shoutouts to a constantly tenacious defense. Saturday featured big days from Antonio Montero, Blaze Alldredge, Naeem Smith and Garrett Grammer.
  • The redshirt dilemma — There is a very real scenario where both Johnson and grad transfer quarterback Tom Stewart are healthy for the Owls’ upcoming game against Middle Tennesse. Johnson has one game remaining to preserve his redshirt. Will Rice preserve his eligibility? Or will they do everything they can to win now? What’s the right answer? Carter and Matthew discuss.

Where can you find us?

Download and subscribe to The Roost Podcast on any of your favorite podcast providers. The show is available on iTunes, GooglePlay, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn and PodBean. Please consider leaving a review wherever you listen.

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Rice Football Film Room 2019: Marshall review

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The Rice football offense has some new players to break down. In this week’s edition of the film room we take a look at JoVoni Johnson and Juma Otoviano against Marshall.

Hey y’all, and welcome back to the Rice Football Film Room. This week we’ll be taking a look at a few plays that hopefully bode well for the future of Rice’s struggling offense.

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Rice Football 2019: Owls in the NFL Week 9 Update

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It’s a good time to be an Owl. Rice Football alums went undefeated in Week 9. Here’s the latest on what the NFL Owls did on the field this week.

There are former Rice football players are scattered across the NFL. Stay tuned each week for their game results and notables from each player.

Week 9 results

Broncos 24 (Anderson, Callahan) – Browns 19
Cowboys 37 (Covington) – Giants 16
Eagles 22 (Sendejo) – Bears 14
Seahawks 40 (Ellerbee, Willson) – Bucs 34 OT
Steelers 26 (Boswell, McDonald) – Colts 24
Texans 26 (Gaines) – Jaguars 3

Calvin Anderson, OT, Broncos

Anderson is still awaiting his first game action with the Denver Broncos after being signed off the Jets practice squad. He was inactive for their Week 9 win over the Browns. The Broncos are on bye in Week 10.

Bryce Callahan, CB, Broncos

Like his teammate, Callahan is awaiting his first 2019 snaps with the Broncos. He was also inactive on Sunday and hasn’t played since a foot injury he suffered with the Bears last season. The Broncos are on bye in Week 10.

Christian Covington, DE, Cowboys

Covington was active, but did not get into the game on Monday Night Football against the Giants. The Cowboys host the Vikings on Sunday Night Football in Week 10.

Andrew Sendejo, Saf, Eagles

Sendejo had one tackle in the Eagles Week 9 win over the Bears. His tackle count is up to 25 on the year, his seventh consecutive year with 25 or more in a season. The Eagles are on bye in Week 10.

Emmanuel Ellerbee, LB, Seahawks

Ellerbee was placed injured reserve prior to the start of the season. The Seahawks visit the 49ers on Monday Night Football in Week 10.

Luke Willson, TE, Seahawks

Willson was targeted twice in the Seahawks’ Week 9 overtime win over the Seahawks. He hauled in both passes, the first for four yards and the second for 12 yards. The Seahawks visit the 49ers on Monday Night Football in Week 10.

Chris Boswell, K, Steelers

Boswell rebounded from his first missed field goal of the season in Week 8 by going 4-for-4 against the Colts, including a 51-yard try and a 26-yard game-winner in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. He added two successful extra points as well. The Steelers host the Rams in Week 10.

Vance McDonald, TE, Steelers

After a few quiet weeks, McDonald burst through with a big showing in Week 9. His five receptions were the second-most on the team. He had 30 receiving yards and fought through a slew of defenders for the Steelers’ lone receiving touchdown of the day. The Steelers host the Rams in Week 10.

Phillip Gaines, CB, Texans

Gaines was placed on injured reserve following an ankle injury suffered during the Texans’ Week 8 game against the Colts. The Texans are on bye in Week 10.

More Owls in the NFL

From practice squads to current free agents, there are others Owls on the cusp of returning to active rosters. Find more detail on current contractual agreements and former Rice football players waiting for their next opportunity here.

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Rice Football: From walk-on to starter, Tre’shon Devones is on the rise

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From walk-on to starter, Rice Football freshman corner Tre’shon Devones has a bright future at South Main and his journey is just getting started.

At risk of stating the obvious, scholarships to play college football don’t grow on trees. There are limitations on how many can be handed out. There’s plenty of red tape when it comes to eligibility in genreal. For those reasons, most every locker room contains a mix of scholarship players and those paying their own way, commonly referred to as walk-ons.

Walk-ons can become scholarship players, but it takes work. They have to prove themselves, to the coaching staff and to their peers. Ari Broussard knows what that’s like. So do Matthew Sams and Brendan Suckley, Austin Conrad and Evan Marshman. Rice football true freshman Tre’shon Devones was one of the six former walk-ons to earn scholarships this year. And he found a way to expedite the process.

Broussard, who earned a scholarship in the spring, along with Sams, Suckley, Conrad and Marshman who earned scholarships this fall, spent at least a full year with the team prior to earning their scholarship. Two of those, Broussard and Suckley, changed positions before they found their niche. Devones earned his spot in three weeks.

More: Takeaways from Rice Football vs Marshall

The condensed timeline isn’t a knock on the former five, but rather offers a compelling case for Devones’ unique talents. Devones had offers from schools in the Pac-12, ACC, Big 12 and AAC programs but instead walked on without a scholarship at Rice. In many ways, he bet on himself.

“I knew coming in that I was going to work really hard,” Devones said. “So every chance that I got, I just tried to go my 100 percent, 110 percent at that.”

Devones had put in the work, but he had no idea the scholarship was coming. He found out during a team meeting after fall camp when his picture flashed up on the screen. “I had to tell my mom first,” he admitted, going on to praise the staff and his teammate for helping him get to the point where he was deemed worthy of a scholarship to play Rice Football.

His 110 percent put him on the field in the Owls’ season-opening game against Army. On that night, he registered his first collegiate tackle. He was a consistent special teams ace, filling in on defense several times over the weeks that followed. Before missing the Southern Miss game with the flu, Devones had been one of four true freshmen to play in every game this season.

Devones knows as well as anyone his role with Rice Football will be dependent on his ability and effort. That’s why he’s set an honest, straightforward goal for the 2019 season: “Be the best Tre’shon Devones I can be, that’s my goal every day.”

More: Breaking down JoVoni Johnson’s first career start 🔒

Coach Mike Bloomgren, who saw enough in the true freshman to put him on scholarship prior to the season, isn’t surprised. “It’s so earned,” Bloomgren said of Devones’ starting assignment. “It was earned incrementally the way we want it to be and every game opportunity has been good. I think we’re seeing the start of a great career in Tre’shon Devones… It’s really exciting.”

On Saturday against Marshall, Devones started his first college game. He registered his second pass break up, the second-most of any corner on the roster. The “best Tre’shon Devones” is already one of the better defenders on the team.

If that’s even a fraction of his ability, Rice football fans are going to want to take note of number 19. His best is still to come.

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Conference USA Football 2019: Week 10 C-USA Roundup

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It was another disappointing weekend for Rice football, but plenty of other Conference USA Football teams had big wins to celebrate in Week 10.

Team Week 10 Result Week 11
Charlotte vs MTSU W, 34-20 at UTEP
FAU at WKU W, 35-24 vs FIU
FIU vs Old Dominion W, 24-17 at FAU
LA Tech — OFF —  — vs North Texas
Marshall at Rice W, 20-7 — OFF —
MTSU at Charlotte L, 34-20 — OFF —
North Texas vs UTEP W, 52-26 at Louisiana Tech
Old Dominion at FIU L, 24-17 vs UTSA
Rice vs Marshall L, 20-7 — OFF —
Southern Miss — OFF —  — vs UAB
UAB at Tennessee L, 30-7 at Southern Miss
UTEP at North Texas W, 52-26 vs Charlotte
UTSA at Texas A&M L, 45-14 at Old Dominion
WKU vs FAU L, 35-24 at Arkansas

Notable Week 10 results – Standings

What could have been?

The Rice football offense showed signs of life under freshmen quarterback Jovoni Johnson, but untimely penalties and his injury stopped the Owls before they could ever get into a rhythm. One proficient half through the air was more than enough for Marshall to beat Rice on Saturday.

Tops turned after hot start

Three weeks ago, Western Kentucky was in the driver’s seat in the C-USA East. Losses to Marshall and FAU, the latter which came at home in Week 10, have not only put the dreams of winning the conference on hold, but severely dampened aspirations of playing in a bowl game this season. Sitting at 4-5 with a date against Arkansas next weekend, the Hilltoppers season might have just turned on a dime.

The Mason Fine we all know and love

It’s been a bumpy ride for preseason offensive player of the year, Mason Fine. A grueling schedule and some injuries have kept Fine off his A-game.  He threw for 300 yards three times in the Mean Green’s first seven-game, averaging 2.1 touchdowns over that span. In his last two games, he’s averaged 363 yards and SIX touchdowns per game. His seven touchdown outing against UTEP was marvelous.

Week 11 storylines

Could Charlotte go bowling after all?

It’s been a roller coaster of a season for Charlotte in 2019. After four straight losses, the 49ers have won their last two games, giving them four victories under their belt with three games to play. They still have Marshall on the schedule, but they also draw UTEP and Old Dominion, neither of which has won a conference game this year.

All-Florida showdown

Florida Atlantic and FIU have had this coming weekend circled on the calendar since the season began. It’s been a bumpy ride for FIU, but the Panthers can clinch a bowl berth and knock FAU out of contention for the East with a win. Rivalry games always seem to live up to the hype. This should be a good one.

For the west

Louisiana Tech has a win over Southern Miss and a one-game lead in the race fo the West. Beating North Texas next weekend at home will keep them in the front of the pack, but perhaps an even more intriguing battle will be happening in Hattiesburg. The winner of Southern Miss vs UAB could thrust themselves back into the mix, particularly if the Blazers can win on the road as they have a date with Louisiana Tech later in November.

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