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Rice Football: It’s all hands on deck for Owls during spring practices

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Rice football is pulling every able body into action during 2019 spring practice. Injuries and a thinned roster have given all players ample opportunity to shine.

The spring is supposed to be the time when everyone is healthy. Rice has had no such luck. The attrition, combined with an early dose of Texas heat, saw Monday’s practice cut a few minutes short to provide a respite from a busy day for both staff (Rice held their Pro Day on Monday, too) and players.

Dylan Silcox, Myles Adams and Aaron Cephus all wore red no-contact jerseys. Receivers Austin Trammell, August Pitre, Brendan Harmon and Sam Glaesmann all remain out of practice for at least the short term. That left only a handful of able-bodied receivers available for practice.

“Right now there are no reinforcements, you better be ready to play,” said Mike Bloomgren, almost jokingly, but with a twinge of truth. Like last spring, the Owls need more bodies. Fall camp will bring a much-needed inject of fresh legs. For now, everyone is getting plenty of work.

The good and bad on the offensive line

The offensive line remains a mixed bag. The talent level has been increased significantly since this time last year. Beyond that, the guys who are there have more experience and game action. Cole Garcia and Clay Servin have the potential to be special, and expectations remain high for Shea Baker and incoming graduate transfer Nick Leverett.

All that potential is going to take some time to gel. Monday saw bursts of individual success, but the collective product leaves something to be desired. Coach Joe Ashfield said the line is “at the point right now where we have to really become masters of our scheme so we can stop thinking so much about scheme and just get really good at how to do our craft.” In the most simplistic terms, they need less thinking and more doing up front.

Given the numbers crunch and the desire to have flexibility long term, centers Cole Elms and Shea Baker both have seen time at guard this spring. Baker should be considered the starting center at this point, but keeping him fresh at guard is wise considering the incoming arrival of Stanford transfer Brian Chaffin who will play somewhere along the interior of the line.

Scattershooting

  • While Wiley Green is the leader in the quarterback battle, the staff seems to have confidence in Evan Marshman and Parker Towns. All three have taken strides in their understanding of the offense and have said seeing game action last year was crucial to their development.
  • Tight ends figure to play a more prominent role in the offense in 2019. A guy to keep an eye on is Robert French. He blasted Antonio Montero in Oklahoma on Monday, not an easy task. He followed it up with a breakaway 50+ yard touchdown reception later in the afternoon.
  • Matthew Sams is another name to know in the secondary. The young corner has had his ups and downs this spring, but his good plays continue to outnumber the bad.
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Rice Football Pro Day results and workout updates

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The Rice Football Pro Day was held on Monday, March 25 in front of scouts and NFL onlookers who flocked to Houston to see four Owls work out.

A 2019 roster laden with freshman and sophomores still produced a few players with professional football aspirations. Four of those now former Owls put their abilities to the test on Rice Football’s 2019 Pro Day. Punter Jack Fox, fullback Gio Gentosi, edge rusher Graysen Schantz and all-purpose back Austin Walter will participate in NFL Combine-style drills as well as on-field workouts

From my count, seven different NFL teams were in attendance: Jets, Panthers, Colts, Browns, Raiders, 49ers and Texans.

Jack Fox, Punter — 6-2 5/8, 213

Coming off a season in which he was nominated for Ray Guy Award, Fox attended the NFL Combine and the NFL Shrine Game this spring. Monday will mark his third opportunity to kick in front of NFL personnel in hopes of being selected in the upcoming NFL Draft.

Workout notes

Fox did a full array of drills: directional punting, distance punting and backed up in the endzone. He drilled some nice balls with a few hang times in the area of 4.8 seconds.

Highlights

 

 

 

Gio Gentosi, Fullback — 6-0 1/8, 239

Gentosi came to Rice in the fall of 2019 after graduating from UCLA. He saw sparse playing time for the Bruins before earning the starting fullback job with the Owls. He scored his first collegiate touchdown in his final game against Old Dominion. Gentosi did not participate in any on-field workouts.

 

 

Grayson Schantz, Defensive End — 6-2 5/8, 247

Schantz battled injuries throughout a lengthy college career which comes to an end following the 2019 season. He registered a season-high nine tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery against UTEP.

Vertical 33
Broad 95

Workout notes

Schantz participated in just about every drill including a few as a pass catcher. He exhibited his power and burst well on the bag drills toward the later portion of the day.

Highlights

 

 

 

Austin Walter, Running back — 5-6 7/8, 194

At one point the national leader in All-Purpose yardage, Walter became one of the Owls’ most versatile weapons on offense in 2019. He raised some eyebrows with a 4.49 40-yard dash time at the NFL Regional Combine in mid-March.

Vertical 31
Broad 89
Bench 15

Workout notes

Walter had a few hiccups on his starts in the 40-yard dash and shuttle drills. Once he settled in he posted times of 4.54 in the 40 and 6.75 in the three cone drill. The pass catching drills are where he shined the brightest, including a nice acrobatic catch on a ball throw with a bit too much juice over the middle. He hauled in everything and moved quickly in the agility drills.

Highlights

 

 

What’s next?

The NFL Draft runs from April 25 to April 27. It goes without saying the NFL is the primary goal for all college football players, but there are only so many roster spots to go around. There will be opportunities in the newly formed Alliance of American Football as well as the coming XFL reboot. Those who don’t stick in the NFL or don’t receive a camp invite could have further opportunities.

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Rice Football: Offensive lineman Brady Feeney commits to Owls

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The 2020 Rice Football recruiting class picked up another huge addition with the commitment of offensive lineman Brady Feeney.

Winning in the trenches has been the standard from the first day Mike Bloomgren arrived on campus. It’s no surprise then that he’s building on a strong 2019 class of big men in the trenches with a second impactful offensive lineman in the 2010 class.

A day after landing a commitment from Tomball offensive lineman Braedon Nutter, Rice doubled down up front. St. Louis, MO offensive lineman Brady Feeney has committed to the Owls. 247 Sports rates him as the No. 56 guard in the nation, but he has the power and foot skills to play either tackle position. It’s well within the realm of possibility that he forces his way into the starting lineup across from Clay Servin.

Athletically Feeney is everything you’d want in an offensive lineman. Standing 6-foot-5 and 270 pounds, he measures up well with everyone currently on the Rice roster. For someone of that size, he can move with balance and push defenders around, almost at will.

There will be some technical aspects of his game to clean up as he assimilates into the Owls’ scheme, but as a pure prospect, there’s a ton to like about Feeney’s game. He was one of the high priority guys from the start of Rice’s 2020 push. Getting a commitment from him in the spring is icing on the cake.

His commitment brings the 2020 class up to three, all three-star rated recruits, all in the running to be some of the highest rated commitments Rice has seen in the past five years. A strong senior season from Feeney could propel him even higher.

No matter where the rankings fall, Feeney is another high-talent, instant impact player who will make a difference at South Main quickly.

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Rice Baseball: Sunday comeback averts home sweep vs UTSA

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Rice baseball salvaged a tough weekend series against UTSA with a come from behind win on Sunday, their first victory when their opponent scored first this season.

It was another up and down weekend for Rice baseball as the Owls dropped the first two games against UTSA before rallying for a Sunday victory. The win snapped a seven-game losing streak for the Owls and an 0-5 start in conference play. Here’s a wrap up on each of the three games and some closing thoughts on the Owls’ second CUSA series.

FRIDAY | UTSA 4 – Rice 2

Rice ace Matt Canterino put together a career-long outing in the series opener on Friday, throwing 8 2/3rds innings before being relieved in the ninth by Kendall Jeffries for one final out. As was the case in his outing against FAU, Canterino was sharp for the duration, save for one crooked number which would prove to be the decider.

Canterino retired the first 10 batters he faced, hurtling through his start until the seventh inning where two triples, a single and a wild pitch put his team behind 3-0. Rice would respond with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the frame, leaving the tying run on third after a triple of their own.

UTSA would tack on an insurance run on a two-out double in the ninth, leaving Rice one more chance to even the score. With two men on in the ninth, Cade Edwards struck out to end the game.

SATURDAY | UTSA 9 – Rice 3

Jackson Parthasarathy, bumped up from his typical Sunday slot in the starting rotation, lasted two innings in the second game of this series. He was ticketed for four earned runs on five hits before being replaced by Addison Moss out of the bullpen in what felt like a crucial game for Rice tow in.

Not only was Moss unable to stop the bleeding, he had his second consecutive poor outing, allowing four earned runs on five hits, walking two. Trailing 8-0 entering the bottom of the fourth, Rice was unable to get enough big hits to make a meaningful dent in the sizable deficit.

Andrew Dunlap and Dominic Cox each picked up two hits and scored all three of the Owls’ runs on the afternoon. The bullpen combination of Blair Lewis and Dalton Wood held the Roadrunners scoreless over the final four innings, but it proved to be too little too late.

SUNDAY | Rice 8 – UTSA 3

Rice entered the final game of the series in desperate need of a victory to stop a seven-game skid. Evan Kravetz held his own early, but trouble in the third allowed UTSA to strike first. At that point, Rice was 0-14 when their opponents scored the first run.

Sensing the need to right the ship, Rice flipped the script in the bottom half of the inning. Following an RBI single from Bradley Gneiting, the Owls took the lead on a drooping double from Cade Ewards which landed on the right side of the right field line, scoring two to give Rice a 3-1 lead. UTSA evened the score the following frame with a two-run homer to left field.

Momentum seemed to shift toward the Owls in the fifth. In the top half of the inning, Braden Comeaux gunned down the would-be go ahead run at the plate. In the bottom half, Cade Edwards punched a bullet into center field, scoring Andrew Dunlap to give Rice a 4-3 lead.

TAKEAWAYS | UTSA wins series 2-1

1. If the starting rotation stumbled, Rice is in trouble

The combination of Matt Canterino, Jackson Parthasarathy, Evan Kravetz and Addison Moss have been ticketed as the biggest assets this team has in 2019. Canterino has a future in the big leagues, while the others have each achieved legitimate collegiate successes.

The bullpen has been hit or miss. The lineup has struggled through injuries and been inconsistent when healthy. The starting rotation isn’t all this team has to turn things around, but it’s unquestionably the greatest weapon in the arsenal. But Canterino is losing ball games. Moss and Parthasarathy didn’t make it through three innings. Kravetz was marginally better on Sunday, throwing 4 1/3rd innings and allowing three runs.

Nobody else has emerged to help right the ship. Rice’s big guns need to step up. If the starting rotation doesn’t turn things around Rice is going to lose a lot more 4-2 games.

2. The lineup wasn’t deep … and then came the injuries

Dominic DiCaprio will miss the remainder of the season with recurring back injuries. A senior, it looks like DiCaprio has played his last games ever for the Blue and Gray. He ends his career with a .299 average, 173 hits and 85 RBI. DiCaprio hadn’t been the same since injuries spoiled his junior season, but his veteran presence in the lineup will be missed.

That alone would be a concern for a thin Rice lineup which is already coping with a string of injuries. Braden Comeaux returned to the lineup this weekend after missing a week with a back injury. Brandt Frazier eased back in last weekend against FAU after recovering from a hamstring injury.

Justin Collins didn’t miss extended time, but a midweek scare on a backswing against Texas State made all Rice fans hold their breath. Rice absolutely must stay healthy, particularly with one of their senior bats being put on the shelf.

3. Consistency is needed from Six – Seven – Eight – Nine

Health aside, Rice has been able to find relatively consistent production from their top half of the lineup. The Owls have five players hitting better than .300 on the season, but the rotation of outfielders and whomever draws the start at first base has been problematic.

Dominic Cox, who had four base hits on the season entering the UTSA series, had his best weekend yet with three hits from the bottom third of the order. Outside of his strong weekend, the bottom four spots in the lineup hit a meager 7-for-33 (.212) with nine strikeouts, salvaged by a big seventh inning on Sunday against multiple UTSA relievers.

The bottom third of most lineups in college baseball will punch below the level of the top third; there are only so many bats to go around.  Expecting a .400 hitter to emerge from the eight-hole isn’t realistic, but finding someone who can make contact consistently and put balls in play at a reasonable clip is doable. Rice has yet to find the combination which makes that happen.

ON DECK | at Texas State (Tues),  at Old Dominion (Fri-Sun)

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Rice Football: Offensive lineman Braedon Nutter commits to Owls

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The 2020 Rice football recruiting class has gotten off to a great start with Braedon Nutter joining safety Plae Wyatt as the initial members of the Owls’ next class.

Big things are happening at South Main. As Rice begins to grow the third recruiting class of the Mike Bloomgren era the word seems to have gotten out. High-caliber players from around the state are flocking to Houston. Offensive lineman Braedon Nutter was the latest to buy in to the vision, committing to play his college ball for the Rice Owls.

Nutter is a perception-changing commitment for Rice. The program had finished near the bottom of the conference in recruiting over the last several years prior to Bloomgren’s arrival. But with two highly regarded in state commitments already, things are changing.

At the time of his commitment, the 6-foot-3, 287-pound lineman held offers from Houston, Tulsa, UAB, Air Force, Army, a host of Ivy League schools and Colorado. He has more than a dozen offers under his belt, but Rice has won the battle for his services.

A two-way player in high school, Nutter is being slotted in on the offensive side of the ball. He’s been pegged as a center, but could move down the line or back to defense depending on need. A mauler in the trenches, Nutter is as physical as they come. He embodies everything about the culture of Intellectual Brutality that Bloomgren is seeking to build at Rice.

There aren’t many programs in Conference USA beating out Pac-12 programs for recruits. And if the trajectory of the Owls’ first two commitments continues, he might not be the last. Let’s just say the future is as bright as it’s been in a while at South Main. Watch Nutter’s film for yourself. He’s not going to get moved out of the way very often. He’ll be the one lowering the shoulder and delivering a big blow.

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