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Mailbag: Transfers, recruits and a quarterback battle

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Rice football enters the offseason with momentum on the recruiting trail and plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the future.

Q: How badly did our season damage recruiting?

Honestly, not much at all. Nobody likes to lose, but the poor record is a selling point in itself. Mike Bloomgren and the coaching staff aren’t selling the same thing Nick Saban is selling at Alabama. The Owls’ pitch centers moreso on playing time and building the program from the ground up. It’s messy, sure, but it puts the onus on the player to be the difference maker and the Owls are after a lot of difference-making type players.

Just take a look back at the UTEP game. Rice lost what was expected to be their best chance at a conference win and fell to 1-9 on the season. Josh Landrum and Kirk Lockhart committed that weekend. Hunter Henry called and committed a few days later.

You’d be hard pressed to find a lower point of the 2018 season and Rice landed three recruits, one of which had never set foot on campus. If that’s not a testament to the caliber of recruiters Bloomgren has assembled on this staff, I don’t know what is.

Now the interesting part comes with the 2019 season. If this staff can recruit at a high level with two wins what will they be able to do with more? Building upon the groundwork laid in 2018 is going to be huge. The results next season will play a far greater role than this season, which was essentially year zero for Bloomgren and his staff.

Q: What 2019 recruit are you most excited about?

Can I pick more than one? Yes? Alright. On offense, I’m going to go with one of the newest additions — receiver Bradley Rozner. He led JUCO in receiving touchdowns last season with 13 scores in 9 games. Rice pass catchers tallied 13 receiving touchdowns in 13 games last season. He’s not a burner, but he should provide a complimentary piece on the outside and his sure hands will help the Owls a lot on third down.

On defense, I’m excited to see linebacker Garrett Braden in action. He’s not the biggest guy, but he just makes tackles. Tackling in space was an issue for the defense at times this season. That’s why you saw a guy like Antonio Montero, all 6-foot of him, crack the starting lineup and stay there. Braden is slightly taller than Montero at 6-foot-2 and plays with the same “no-quit” motor.

Q: Are the players transferring out being forced out by Bloomgren or are they transferring out on their own accord?

I talked with coaches and players and from everything I can see the partings have been peaceable. It’s no secret this team is in the midst of a youth movement. Four upperclassmen started the Owls’ regular season finale against Old Dominion: Sam Pierce, Graysen Schantz, Roe Wilkins and Zach Abercrumbia. The remainder of the starters were young guys who rose above their junior and senior counterparts on the depth chart last season.

Jackson Tyner, Emmanuel Esukpa, Justin Bickham and Houston Robert are the four grad transfers that have been announced. I wouldn’t have expected any of those four to be starters next season, and depending on the play of the incoming 2019 recruiting class, a few of them might not have cracked the two-deep by midseason. Given those circumstances, it seems to make the most sense for everyone to move on. They get the chance to play and Rice gets more room to bring in new talent.

Bloomgren never minced words during the season. He mentioned on multiple occasions the senior class and the freshman class was the strongest classes on this team. These early transfers are in line with that assessment.

Q: Do you think Wiley Green will have any competition at QB heading into the offseason?

Mike Bloomgren saw enough between Jackson Tyner and Shawn Stankavage during fall camp to have a pretty solid idea who was going to be his starter entering the year. It took him less than a half of live game exposure for him to solidify this decision, but he still let the competition play out. I don’t think you see much different of an approach in 2019.

The starting job figures to come down to either Wiley Green or Evan Marshman. Both guys had some good moments this season and while Green has the higher upside as a passer, he probably didn’t do enough in four appearances this season to lock the job down entering fall camp.

Marshman and Green will battle it out this spring and into the fall, but unlike last year, Bloomgren will have enough exposure with his passers to have a decision in place before the start of the year. Competition is a good thing, and it will make both guys better. That’s especially true with younger players, but don’t be surprised if Bloomgren calls it an open competition at any point this offseason.

If I were projecting right now, Wiley Green is your QB1 with Marshman as the backup.

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Offensive lineman Hunter Jones commits to Owls

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The 2019 Rice football recruiting staff added another key member to its offensive line haul with the commitment of offensive lineman Hunter Jones.

More: Complete list of 2019 Rice football commits after the early signing period

Winning the battle in the trenches has been the priority for Mike Bloomgren and his staff since he arrived in South Main. Establishing a culture of “Intellectual Brutality” plays hand in hand with Bloomgren’s background as an offensive line coach and run game coordinator at Stanford.

The offensive line started to gel at the tail end of the 2018 season and further reinforcements are on the way. Rice went out of state to secure the commitment of 2019 offensive lineman Hunter Jones from Stockton, CA. He joins fellow 2019 offensive lineman commit Regan Riddle, who made his pledge to the Owls in June.

Jones picked the Owls over offers from Hawaii, Fordham, and Utah State. Edging out a few Division 1 programs that had strong seasons in 2018 is a good sign for Rice, who has found a way to continue to draw in talent without the onfield results the coaching staff would like. They’ve now added two commitments since the season ended and more should follow.

Standing 6-foot-3 and tipping the scales at 270 pounds, Jones is a bit undersized compared to the lineman on the Owls’ roster right now. A few months in Hans Straub’s strength and conditioning program will have him in the mix with a relatively young line which will have spots available next season. Several true freshmen made starts on the line in 2018, a clear sign the door is open for Jones to make an impact soon.

Jones’ commitment brings the current total up to 13 commitments for the 2019 class. That means the Owls are more than likely about halfway done with their second class under Mike Bloomgren with the early signing period set to begin on December 19.

Check out some of his highlights available here.

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Rice Football 2018 Defensive Player of the Year: Zach Abercrumbia

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The Rice football defense was a work in progress this season, but Zach Abercrumbia never waiver in the up front. He’s our 2018 Defensive Player of the Year.

Like the offense on the other side of the ball, the Rice defense took a while to get going in 2018. The play in the secondary got off to a slow start and consistent tackling in the linebackers had to be developed over time. Through the noise, defensive tackle Zach Abercrumbia was the steadying force that drove this unit forward.

Named the defensive captain in 2018, Abercrumbia led with his voice and his actions. It was he who gathered the team in post-practice huddles. He called for meetings with the team and challenged individuals to work harder and be better. All that in the midst of a historic statistical season of his own.

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Abercrumbia registered 55 tackles and 4.5 sacks from the interior of the defensive line. He finished third on the team in total tackles and third in sacks. He registered a career-best nine tackles against UTSA.

Those are no small feats for a defensive lineman, and numbers of that caliber haven’t been produced from a Rice defensive lineman since Christian Covington tallied 59 tackles and 4.0 sacks for the Owls in 2013. Covington would later go on to be a sixth round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft following, impressive company for Abercrumbia to say the least.

His impact grew as the defensive line progressed throughout the season. By the time November rolled around there weren’t many teams finding success against the Owls between the tackles or in obvious running situations. Rice opponents averaged 3.6 yards per carry on third down and 1.6 yards on fourth down. Both of those marks were in the better half of Conference USA. Opposing teams simply struggled to make headway with Abercrumbia holding down the middle. The redshirt junior has one more year of eligibility remaining.

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Rice Football 2018 Offensive Player of the Year: Austin Trammell

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Rice football had an up and down year on offense, but Austin Trammell was the steady hand through it all. He’s our 2018 Offensive Player of the Year.

The Rice pass catchers were almost a complete unknown entering the 2018 season. There weren’t any proven wideouts on the roster outside of Aaron Cephus who caught 25 passes for 622 yards last season,

In 2017 Austin Walter was still primarily a running back and the next two closest pass catchers, tight end Jordan Myers and Austin Trammell, caught 11 passes and four passes, respectively. There was plenty of opportunities for another pass catcher to emerge. Austin Trammell seized his chance and ran with it, more than earning the honor of being named the 2018 Offensive Player of the Year.

Dubbed “Mr. Consistent” by head coach Mike Bloomgren in fall camp, Trammell became the linchpin of the Owls’ offense. He led the team in receptions (62), receiving yards (632) and was the only player to register at least one reception in all 13 games.

He set team and career highs with a 10 catch performance against North Texas and 112 receiving yards against UTEP. His 53-yard scramble drill touchdown against the Miners further solidified his status as the safety net for whomever the Owls had under center which, in 2018, varied from week to week.

Short of scoring a few more touchdowns, there wasn’t much through the air that Trammell wasn’t able to achieve. Walter’s 62 receptions ranked seventh-most in school history and were eight-most of any Conference USA pass catcher in 2018.

His successes didn’t go unnoticed. Bloomgren said Trammell was “absolutely the way I would build a football player,” praising No. 10’s work ethic and consistent approach to the game. Trammell was so reliable he was trusted with punt return and kick return duties as well. He led the team with a long punt return on 19 yards and a long kick return of 54 yards, outpacing even all-purpose weapon Austin Walter.

A slot receiver might not be the primary pass catcher of most offenses, but it was for Rice this season. Given how productive Trammell was as a sophomore, it’s hard to imagine the offense moving the ball consistently without him.

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Rice Football 2018 Special Teams Player of the Year: Jack Fox

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The Rice Football special teams were Conference USA’s gold standard thanks to the incredible season of Jack Fox, our Special Teams Player of the Year.

Rice football won’t fully appreciate how special Jack Fox was until he’s gone. The Owls’ senior punter and kickoff specialist was an incalculably important weapon for the team this fall. The nation took notice.

Fox was named a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award, was a First Team All-Conference USA selection and has now been named Conference USA Special Teams Player of the Year. Frankly there aren’t many more accolades Fox could receive that he hasn’t already been awarded. That sort of thing happens when you have the kind of season Fox did in 2018.

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Highlighted by a career-best 76-yard punt against North Texas, Fox amassed 3,636 punt yards with his leg, the most in the nation. His 80 punts included 31 downed inside the 20 and only 15 returnable kicks. He averaged 45.5 yards per punt with a net of 40.1, both well inside the top 25 punters in the country. His 12 punts against UAB tied a school record for a single game.

On top of all that, Fox recorded two tackles and recovered a fumble on a kickoff. He was also asked to execute a few trick plays this season, rushing for a first down against UTEP and throwing for a first down against UTSA. A former high school quarterback, Fox maintains a career 100.0 percent completion percentage.

Fox leaves Rice as one of the most talented specialists in school history. He was the safety net and the consistent force for a 2018 team featuring, at least at times, an offense and a defense in need of a spark. Every time they asked, Jack Fox delivered. That’s just the kind of guy he is. Talented, consistent, and one of the best punters in the nation.

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