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Rice Football: 5 predictions following end of spring practices

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With spring practices in the books, Rice football begins to look ahead at the 2019 season in earnest. Here are five predictions for the Owls this fall.

1. QB1 will be Wiley Green

Mike Bloomgren has options, but none of them look better than Wiley Green right now. The sophomore signal caller had a bit of a slow spring, but so did his offensive line and most of his pass catchers. As the offense progresses his natural talent will come through and he’ll be named the starting quarterback, quite possibly much sooner than Bloomgren made an official statement on the matter last season.

2. The tight ends double their production in 2019

Jordan Myers and Jaeger Bull combined for a pedestrian 20 receptions for 267 yards and two touchdowns last season. That was the totality of the production contributed from the tight end position, something which should change drastically this coming fall. A host of tight ends saw significant run this spring including fresh faces like Jonathan Sanchez, Brendan Suckley and Robert French. Those three, plus Myers and Bull simply must blow the top off last year’s numbers.

3. Blaze Alldredge leads the team in tackles

This one seems like a no-brainer. After watching the entire linebacking corps fly around the field this spring the favorites to lead the team in tackles have to be Antonio Montero and Blaze Alldredge. I flipped a coin.

4. At least one of the starting specialists aren’t on campus yet

The absence of Jack Fox and Haden Tobola was notable this spring. The kicking game got off to a slow start and remained inconsistent during spring ball. A few guys had a crack at the placekicking job, but not did enough to put themselves ahead of the pack. That bodes well for incoming kicker Zach Hoban, who blasted a 60-yard field goal from the star in Dallas Cowboy Stadium following an event this winter.

The starting punting job will be a battle between Chris Barnes and incoming TCU transfer Adam Nunez. Barnes has been solid this spring, and it’s no guarantee he gives up the job. Nunez wasn’t brought in to ride the pine, though. That’s a battle that will take place in fall camp.

5. Rice isn’t done with the Transfer Portal

Depth was a major hurdle for the Owls this spring. Practices were cut short because there weren’t enough guys able to go and those who were still moving around had been worked to the brink of exhaustion. The depth will get better when the bulk of the 2019 recruiting class arrives this summer, but there is still room for a capable veteran or two to balance out what is already an extremely young nucleus.

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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 Baseball: Friday blowout not enough as Owls drop series to Charlotte

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Rice baseball followed up a Friday night offensive explosion with a pair of Saturday losses, ruining brief hopes of another road series win.

What could have been a reassuring weekend ended in frustration as Rice dropped another Saturday doubleheader after a Matt Canterino Friday night win. The loss drops the Owls’ record to 15-23 with the heart of conference play still ahead of them. Here’s how each game went and a few closing thoughts on another disappointing series.

FRIDAY | Rice 19 – Charlotte 4

Things couldn’t have gotten off to much of a better start for Rice in the series opener. After both teams were held scoreless in the first inning, Rice exploded for 10 runs in the second on two grand slams, the first from Justin Collins and the next by Andrew Dunlap.

Staked to a more than comfortable lead, Matt Canterino maneuvered through six innings before turning things over to Dalton Wood and Drake Greenwood. It wasn’t the sharpest Canterino has been this season (two strikeouts, one walk, and four earned runs), but it was more than enough for his third straight win.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON | Charlotte 6 – Rice 5

The first end of the double header was headlined by the pitching staffs. Evan Kravetz got the start for the Owls and threw seven innings, allowing one earned run and striking out eight. Charlotte fought back, taking a 3-1 lead in the fifth.

Rice would recapture the lead in the eighth on a Cade Edwards triple, eventually setting the Owls up with a 5-4 advantage entering the ninth inning. Things start out innocently enough with a ground out to third base. Charlotte would then load the bases, and then, with two outs, the 49ers came through with a game-winning walk-off single up the middle.

SATURDAY NIGHT| Charlotte 4 – Rice 0

Jackson Parthasarathy did enough on the mound in the series finale to give his team a chance to win. The Owls’ last piece in the starting rotation threw 5.1 innings, striking out 11 batters and allowing three earned runs, one each in the first, fourth and sixth innings. That first run would prove to be the game-winner, though, as Rice was shut out on three hits a little more than 24 hours removed from a 19-run shellacking of this same squad on Friday night.

Rice had their chance to spark a rally in the ninth, getting their first two base runners on with no outs. Two strikeouts and a groundout would extinguish the threat and end the series in favor of the home team.

TAKEAWAYS | Charlotte wins series 2-1

1. Are the double-headers too much?

The Rice offense has come prepared for their last two series openers. The Owls scored eight against FIU on Friday night and followed it up with 19 in the opener against Charlotte. Matt Canterino pitched both of those games, and although he wasn’t perfect, he was more than effective enough to give Rice plenty of cushion on the scoreboard.

Then the doubleheaders happened. Rice scored nine in two Saturday against FIU, one more than their Friday night tally. The Owls were held to five one day after their 19-run outburst against Charlotte. As the series have drawn on, the focus at the plate has waned. It didn’t even seem like the same team that showed up to the ballpark on Friday and Saturday.

2. Not good enough to be unlucky

Rice was one out away from winning this series. Then a single in the first game of the Saturday doubleheader evaporated what could have been a 2-0 series lead. Even with a loss in the finale, a 2-1 finish would have lifted Rice to .500 in conference play. Instead, they sit at 6-8.

Three errors by Rice gave Charlotte the chance for a game-winning hit on Saturday afternoon. Then Charlotte first baseman Dominick Cammarata punched ball up the middle. A little bit further to either side and it’s an out, but Cammarata’s ball found the hole and Charlotte won.

Right now, Rice needs a little bit of luck. They haven’t been consistent enough to overcome bad bounces. Mistakes are magnified when the margin for error is thin. This time, it cost Rice the series.

3. This team needs Evan Kravetz and Jackson Parthasarathy more than ever

Rice has lost both the final two games of each of the last two series, but it hasn’t been due to a lack of capable pitching. Kravetz had one poor outing, allowing six runs through 4.2 innings, but the Owls would still go on to score seven in a losing effort. The rest have all been strong starts which went unrewarded.

Canterino and Addison Moss were billed as the Owls’ 1-2 all offseason. Injuries have largely kept Moss out of the rotation, but Kravetz and Parthasarathy have more than answered the call. When they’re on the mound Rice typically has a chance to win. Otherwise, Rice could have been trailing 9-0 on Sunday instead of 4-0. If those two had been worse, Rice would be starting at a sub-.500 CUSA record with little to no reason for hope.

Rice can pitch, and pitch with the best of them. It’s going to make more than that alone to climb back to the upper half of the conference standings, but it’s one thing Rice does have going for them.

ON DECK | vs Middle Tennessee (Thus-Sat)

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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: 5 things to look for at Spring Game

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The Rice football spring game will kick off in a few hours. Here are a few key players and position groups to keep an eye on during the exhibition.

Ari Broussard

The departures of Emmanuel Esukpa and Austin Walter left plenty of opportunity for the Rice running backs. The position was wide open, but it was assumed Aston Walter and Juma Otoviano would inherit most of the workload. That might still be the case, but if Broussard has yet another strong showing he could firmly cement himself into an active role in the backfield this fall. He’s an ideal goal line and short yardage guy, but the door is open for more.

The offensive line

This group was expected to take a big leap forward from last year to this year. Clear evidence of improvement has been intermittent this spring. Two additional grad transfers are on their way, making more turnover here possible. Those who do take the field on Saturday need to display fundamentally sound football. They’ve shown they’re capable  They just need to put those moments together for the duration of the scrimmage.

Quarterback

This position hasn’t created many headlines this spring largely because there hasn’t been a ton of movement in either the positive or negative direction. All three guys — Wiley Green, Evan Marshman and Parker Towns — have had their moments, but none has separated themselves from the pack.

At this point, Green is still in the driver’s seat for the starting job, but Saturday’s results could play heavily into that decision. A big game from Green could bring the competition closer to a close whereas a strong outing from Marshman or Towns could stretch the battle into the fall.

The secondary

The back end of the defense was challenged early and often last season. Many of those players who were blown by last season are gone. The secondary as a whole is a lot younger. Andrew Bird, Collin Whitaker and Naeem Smith all figure to he prominent names, can they show the fans and coaches they’re up to the challenge?

Blaze Alldredge

Alldredge has secured his spot at the center of the Rice defense. He’s not fighting for his job like others are this spring, but he’s still going to turn a few heads. Alldredge has been one of the most prolific defensive enforcers over the past few weeks and is turning into a player who could compete for All-CUSA honors this season. He’s going to be special.

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