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Rice Football: Offensive coordinator Jerry Mack named Associate Head Coach

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A staffing announcement out of South Main. Current offensive coordinator Jerry Mack has been named Rice football Associate Head Coach.

The title of Associate Head Coach was vacated during the offseason when Pete Lembo departed Rice for Memphis to work on Mike Norvell’s staff as the special teams coach. That left some reconfiguring to do for Mike Bloomgren for the first time since he built his staff upon his arrival at South Main.

The first beneficiary of the change is Jerry Mack. The former head coach at North Carolina Central, Mack took over the Owls’ offense last season. He will retain his role as offensive coordinator alongside being named the Associate Head Coach.

For Mack and the offense, 2018 was a year of adjustments. The Owls experienced their fair share of growing pains as they transitioned to a more physical, run-dominant offense. Mack guided the offense through multiple quarterback injuries and a fluctuating offensive line.

Rice averaged 318.4 yards per game, finishing seventh in Conference USA with 143.6 yards per game on the ground. Both of those numbers are expected to improve next season with a fortified offensive line, which will include three graduate transfers, and a more stable quarterback situation.

The team ended on a high note, defeating Old Dominion in the final game of the regular season. They registered 275 rushing yards against the Monarchs, the most of any conference game that season.

Mack’s promotion does not involve special teams responsibilities. As previously reported, the candidate pool has been narrowed to two names with interviews forthcoming, held off until after National Signing Day. The decision on how that coaching spot will be filled is expected to be made in the coming weeks.

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Owls raise the ceiling and the floor with 2019 recruiting class

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National Signing Day marked the completion of the 2019 Rice Football recruiting class. The new Owls will be met with both excitement and expectation.

Mike Bloomgren stood in front of a microphone on National Signing Day and couldn’t help but smile when he talked about the 2019 Rice football recruiting class. He has to smile. He has to give those cliched axioms. “We have addressed everything we wanted to,” he said. “We’re a year better everywhere.”

But for this team, and this recruiting class, Bloomgren’s words were much more than platitudes. That’s because the 2019 class marked a significant change. It marked the official tipping point between Year 0 and the heart of the Mike Bloomgren era.

The second-year head coach isn’t an excuse maker. He carries himself with a humble confidence, celebrating the good times and vowing to push his staff and his team through the bad. And now this team is his team.

“Two-thirds of the team are guys that we brought in,” Bloomgren acknowledged “[the 2018 and 2019 signing classes] knew the expectation when they walked in the door.” For a man who has preached Process in his first year at South Main, the rubber is beginning to meet the road.

It’s no secret Bloomgren inherited a blank slate. The roster and the direction of the Rice football program were handed to him by athletic director Joe Karlgaard when the first-time head coach was hired away from Stanford following the 2017 season. Bloomgren crafted a plan and set it in motion.

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A lot has transpired since. Rice opened their 2018 season against Prairie View. After winning that game in thrilling fashion, the Owls put up strong performances in the next two games against Houston and Hawaii, both losses. Both defeats highlighted some glaring issues with the roster Bloomgren inherited — it wasn’t fast enough, strong enough or deep enough, not by a longshot.

In the weeks that followed Rice would win just one more game. Injuries ravaged the quarterback room and finding consistent performers on the defensive side of the ball was a weekly challenge. Freshmen, several recruited by Bloomgren in his first signing class at Rice, became stars.

Prudy Calderon and Antonio Montero built names for themselves on defense. Wiley Green, Cole Garcia and Juma Otoviano paved the way for the Owls’ climactic send-off win over Old Dominion. Despite the two-win record, there were pieces. There just needed to be more of them.

Bloomgren cut to the chase. “We need to raise the ceiling of talent on both sides of the ball all across this program, but we’ve also got to raise the floor.” He said, “We’re doing that right now.” The turnover on the roster has been hard to miss. Rice started six upperclassmen against Old Dominion — two of those will return to the roster in 2019: safety George Nyakwol and defensive tackle Myles Adams.

I love that we actually have competition. The way it’s supposed to be in college football.Mike Bloomgren

With the youth movement comes both challenge and opportunity. The incoming class has proof the team is going to start whoever earns each spot on Saturday. They’ll be competing for jobs out of the gate, something that can and must push the incumbents to work harder. “I love that we actually have competition. The way it’s supposed to be in college football,” remarked Bloomgren.

Competition. Process. Results. The wheels set in motion more than a year ago will continue to turn as the newest Owls make their way to campus, some in the spring, others in the summer. No matter when they arrive, they’ll each be asked to push themselves and this program further and harder than ever before. For Bloomgren and his staff, the future is now.

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Offensive lineman Justin Gooseberry commits to Owls

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Rice football picked up a commitment from another big transfer target, landing former Ouachita Baptist offensive lineman Justin Gooseberry.

Getting bigger and stronger on the offensive line was a priority once again for Rice this offseason. Ouachita Baptist transfer Justin Gooseberry fits that bill and has committed to play his final year of eligibility at South Main. The 6-foot-4, 250-pound offensive lineman joins Regan Riddle (6-foot-1, 284 pounds), Hunter Jones (6-foot-3, 270 pounds), Nick Leverett (6-foot-4, 312 pounds) and Brian Chaffin (6-foot-2, 275 pounds). That’s a lot of size.

For as long as Mike Bloomgren is at the helm, the ethos of Rice football will aspire to be built on hard-nosed running and defense. Getting to that point is a process; one that Rice is further along today than they were at this point last year. Taking the next step on that road requires a dominant offensive line. Gooseberry can play a critical role in making that hope a reality.

Gooseberry played his college ball at Ouachita Baptist, a DII school in Arkansas. The 6-foot-4, 250-pound offensive lineman was a fixture on the Tigers’ offensive line in 2018 and was tabbed an All-American by multiple media outlets including the  Division II Conference Commissioners Association and the American Football Coaches Association.

More: Cole Garcia named The Roost’s 2018 Offensive Rookie of the Year

Adding Gooseberry to fellow grad transfers Nick Leverett and Brian Chaffin as well as Shea Baker, Clay Servin and Cole Garcia will makeup a formidable offensive line. It will also give the coaching staff the develop the younger guys at their own pace, rather than have to thrust players into the fire — something that became all-too prevalent in 2018.

Mike Bloomgren is doubling down on the offensive line and Gooseberry will be a welcomed addition.

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Jack Fox earns invite to 2019 NFL Combine

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Former Rice football punter Jack Fox has been honored with an invitation to the 2019 NFL Combine to workout in front of NFL teams in Indianapolis.

Jack Fox is one step closer to achieving his NFL dreams. The former Rice football punter has received an invitation to participate in the 2019 NFL Combine. A trip to Indianapolis doesn’t guarantee Fox a professional career, but it does give him one more touchpoint with NFL teams, several of which will have interest.

Special teams continue to grow as an area of importance in the college and pro game. One doesn’t have to look much further than the Los Angeles Rams, who clinched a Super Bowl berth on the leg (and the arm) of punter Johnny Hekker.

Fox showed off his impressive leg at the East-West Shrine Game in mid-January. He already compares favorably in several measures to the punters drafted in previous years. He’s answered every test with a resounding “Yes”. There’s no reason to expect anything else when Fox works out for every NFL team for the second time in a little over a month’s time.

The NFL Combine is scheduled to begin Tuesday, Feb. 26 and end on Monday, Mar. 4. Specialists will arrive on Day 1 where they’ll complete the necessary registration and orientation. Measurements will be taken on Day 2 with media sessions and on-field kicking workouts scheduled to take place on Day 3. The final day, Day 4, will include televised on-field workouts and then the whirlwind will be over.

Those days will come, and if the past year is any indication, he’ll be ready to rise to the occasion. For Fox, this is just the next chapter, one that he’s been prepared for the entire way.

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Breaking down 2019 National Signing Day signees

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Rice football added five scholarship players to their ranks on National Signing Day, rounding out the 2019 class with 31 signees. Here’s more on the new Owls.

It was a productive National Signing Day for Rice football. The Owls added five players to their 17 early signing period signees and nine walk ons, bringing their total to 31 members in this class. Rice has room for four more players which could include a few more graduate transfers by the time this team takes the field in the fall.

The new additions filled three major areas of need:

1. Quarterback

Jovoni Johnson, QB – Conway, AR
Tom Stewart, QB – Harvard (Grad Transfer)

Rice needed to shore up the quarterback room after missing on a signal caller during the early signing period. They added two players, each fulfilling a different purpose. Tom Stewart is the veteran hand who has played D1 football. He’ll have a shot at the starting job, but most importantly, he’ll serve as an insurance policy for Wiley Green and Evan Marshman — both quarterbacks were injured during the 2019 season.

Johnson is a different case. The big-bodied dual threat passer is built from a different mold than any other quarterback on the roster. While it’s unlikely he challenges for a starting role in 2019, he’s a developmental prospect for the future with sky-high potential.

2. Defensive front seven

Myron Morrison, LB – Atascocita, TX
De’Braylon Carroll, DT – Duncanville, TX

Adding a few more hard hitters in the defensive front seven was another goal for National Signing Day. The departures of Zach Abercrumbia and Roe Wilkins left depth concerns which needed to be filled up front. De’Braylon Carroll will slide into the mix and compete for playing time this fall. Behind him the Owls added Myron Morrison a hard-hitting linebacker from just outside Houston.

If Carroll was 6-foot-1 (he’s 5-foot-11) the Owls wouldn’t have been able to sign him. The knock on him is his height, which he more than makes up for with a quick first step and explosive instincts. He’s going to be scary teamed up with Izeya Floyd in the middle of the defensive line.

3. Instant impact transfers

Brian Chaffin, OL – Stanford (Grad Transfer)

The offensive line was a work in progress last season and only truly started to gel in the final weeks of 2018. If the offense wants to take a step forward, they need better protection in the passing game and better blocking for their backs. Rice is addressing that problem by signing two graduate transfers on the offensive line in the 2019 class.

Chaffin’s addition is more than just filling a hole, though. Bloomgren recruited him to Stanford and remains close with him and his family. “I know he knows what it takes and what I believe in,” Bloomgren remarked. “I know he wants to help me advance that culture. His one year will be felt beyond.”

While the younger guys continue to develop and get stronger, this battle-tested pair (including early signee Nick Leverett) have the ability to catapult this entire unit forward significantly. All of a sudden a unit which had several question marks with the departures of Joseph Dill and Sam Pierce could become one the team’s biggest strengths.

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