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2019 Corner Gabe Jeudy excited to come back to Texas

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Rice football is building on an impressive 2019 recruiting base. One of those players. 2019 cornerback Gade Jeudy, is excited to get back to the great state of Texas.

More: Breaking down Jeudy’s commitment to the Owls

A Texas boy is coming home. 2019 cornerback Gabe Jeudy, who committed to the Owls in early August, is looking forward to a return to the Lone Star State next year. Currently a senior at Ardey Kell High School in Charlotte, North Carolina, Jeudy grew up in Austin, Texas. He moved to the east coast shortly before his freshman season in 2015.

In four years at Ardey Kell, Jeudy has emerged as a lock down, physical corner. Defensive coordinator Brian Smith hasn’t revealed much of his scheme at Rice so far, but the need for corners that can win one-on-one battles is already apparent. “I come from a man-to-man system”, said Jeudy, “I feel as though I can come in and make a difference.”

The Owls could use his height and size. At 6-foot-1, 172 pounds, Jeudy would tie Justin Bickham and Isaiah Richardson as the tallest defensive backs on the Rice roster. A season in the Hans Straub’s strength and conditioning program will go a long way to building up his muscle and could turn Jeudy into a weapon on the outside.

Jeudy is excited to be a part of the culture of Intellectual Brutality that coach Mike Bloomgren is cultivating at Rice. Stressing the importance of having a strong defense, Jeudy hopes to help the Owls become a complete football team. He took notice of the dynamic rushing attack, praising the offenses’ ability to “keep ticking off the clock while the defense is holding it down on the other side.”

Jeudy doesn’t have any visits to South Main planned just yet, but he’s hopeful he’ll have the chance to make it to a game this fall.

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3 Keys to victory over Houston

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Rice football faces a tough task against the Houston Cougars, but the Bayou Bucket can be won if the Owls stick to their key principals.

If you’ve had the chance to listen to Rice head coach Mike Bloomgren talk about his philosophy at all you’ve heard this phrase roll off his lips: “pound the rock, control the clock and play great defense.” That’s how Stanford built their dominant teams and that’s how he envisions success with Rice.

Aspects of each of those tenants were present in the win over Prairie View. There were times when the Owls did each of those things extremely well, they just weren’t consistent enough to pull away. Consistency, plus a new wrinkle or two, will give this team a fighting chance on Saturday.

1. Pound the rock

Emmanuel Esupka ran for 173 yards against Prairie View and Bloogrem called it “a good day for him, but not a great day for him”. Esupka is going to have a tough time running up the middle against defensive tackle Ed Oliver, so the Owls are going to have to get creative when it comes to checking this box against Houston.

Expected an increased role for Austin Walters and Aston Walters against the Cougars. Getting to the edge will enable the Owls to neutralize the interior of the defensive line. Playmakers in space create opportunities and opportunities lead to points.

2. Control the clock

Rice knocked this objective out of the park last weekend. The Owls registered 39:39 minutes of possession, limiting the opportunities for the Prairie View offense. Dual-threat quarterback D’Eriq King is going to be even more difficult to contain than Prairie View’s Jalen Morton.

The same can be said for his downfield abilities as well. Houston doesn’t have a receiver the caliber of Tristen Wallace, who torched the Rice secondary for 147 yards receiving and one touchdown. Still, the concerns exposed against Prairie View make extended opportunities for the Houston passing attack a daunting proposition.

3. Play great defense

The safety on a botched punt was a stroke of luck, but the fumble forced late in the second half was the most important defensive play of the game for the Owls. The win probability flipped from Prairie View to Rice on that play and the Owls’ comeback bid would have been extremely more difficult without that big defensive play.

Houston is favored by more than three touchdowns. If Rice wants to win the Bayou Bucket they’re going to have to win the turnover battle, and win it in convincing fashion. The recipe really might be this simple: pound the rock, control the clock and play great defense.

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3 Things to know about Houston and the Bayou Bucket

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Rice football (1-0) hosts the Houston Cougars in Week 1. The two Houston rivals will battle for the Bayou Bucket and bragging rights for the next year.

The Bayou Bucket is the biggest rivalry game in the city of Houston. Although the Cougars have dominated the series, Mike Bloomgren and his staff at Rice have plans to take back their city one game at a time. Get an in-depth look at both sides of the football and the Cougars’ 2018 schedule here. Bloomgren and some key players talked about the significant of this rivalry and more during the Owls press conference on Tuesday.

1. Rice has a two-game winning streak against Houston at Rice Stadium

Rice and Houston first met on the football field in 1971. Houston won that game 23-21 and has controlled the series ever since. The Owls have never won more than two consecutive games whereas the Cougars currently posses a four-game winning streak and have won as many as six in a row.

But, Rice does have one streak going for them. The Owls have won each of the last two games of the series that were played at Rice Stadium (2008, 2010), outscoring the Cougars 90-73 in those two contests. Houston opened as 21-point favorites in the betting markets climbing to 25 points during game week.

2. Ed Oliver isn’t going to win the Heisman (probably)

To this day Michigan defensive back Charles Woodson is the only defensive player to win the Heisman Trophy. His victory came in 1975. A lot has changed in college football since then, including the emergence of spread offenses and an increase in scoring. The Heisman is now, for better or worse, a quarterback award. Ed Oliver, All-World defensive tackle for Houston, might do enough to earn an invite to New York for the presentation ceremony, but he’s not taking home the hardware.

Still, he’s going to be pretty darn good. Oliver leads all FBS players in career tackles for loss per game with 1.56. He tallied five sacks as a freshman in 2016 and 5.5 sacks last season. Offenses know he’s going to be coming for the quarterback up the middle, but they haven’t been able to prevent him from racking up 38.5 tackles for a loss in 24 games.

Oliver is going to make some highlight reel ready, show-stopping plays on Saturday. Rice needs to make sure he doesn’t sway the outcome of the game by himself.

3. Cougars plan to air it out

Rice struggled through the air against Prairie View last weekend. Tristen Wallace went off, catching five balls for 147 yards and a touchdown before halftime. But the Owls held him to zero receptions in the second half. Prairie View had -4 yards in the fourth quarter and that played a large role in Rice’s ability to claw back and ultimately reclaim the lead on a last-second field goal.

Which group of defensive backs show up on Saturday against Houston? Offensive coordinator Kendall Briles comes to Houston by way of FAU. A product of his father Art Briles’ coaching tree, Kendall has already made his mark on the college football world as a coordinator that likes to open up the offense and air it out.

FAU averaged 8.3 yard per attempt last season, tied for 22nd most in the nation. In his previous stop at Baylor the Bears ranked 49th, and fourth in the same metric in 2016 and 2015 respectively. The Rice corners struggled against the deep ball against Prairie View. Houston has several talented pass catchers on the edge. If adjustments aren’t made things could get dicey.

More: I sat down with the Scott & Holman podcast and talked more about the Owls’ 2018 season and how they stack up with the Cougars.

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Owls ready to battle Houston for Bayou Bucket, Press Conference Notes (8/28)

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Rice football started 1-0 and is looking forward to getting back on the field against the Houston Cougars in the battle for the Bayou Bucket.

Rice has won two straight at home against their crosstown rivals. They’ll be sizable underdogs in 2018, but have the advantage of having one game under their belts whereas Houston will be seeing their first action of the season. At quarterback, the Owls will start Shawn Stankavage, but Jackson Tyner is still expected to play. Bloomgren has yet to name a definitive starter for the rest of the season.

Looking back at Prairie View

“Gritty” was the word Mike Bloomgren used to describe the team’s victory over Prairie View last weekend, saying  he was “pleased with how we finished.” From the press conference following the Prairie View game to his comments today, Bloomgren stressed the importance of taking a significant jump forward on the field. He’s repeatedly said the best teams he’s been a part of make the biggest jump from game one to game to, and he knows his squad needs to show improvement prior to their game against Houston on Saturday.”

Before moving on to talk about Houston, Bloomgren recognized several players for their performance last week. Emmanuel Esupka, Roe Wilkins and Jack Fox were recognized as players of the game. Scout team players of the week were Kebreyun Page, Wiley Green, JaQuez Battley.

Planning for Houston

Bloomgren stated the obvious when he summed up Houston’s All-American defensive tackle Ed Oliver as “a very talented football player”. He and his staff are going to have their hands full devising a gameplan to limit Oliver’s ability to impact the game. “He has our attention,” Bloomgren said, “We’re going to know where he is and we’re going to try and put the best plan together to attack him.”

If the Owls are going to spring the upset they’re going to need to make big plays. Turnovers, both of which came at key moments in the second half, allowed Rice to get back in the game and ultimately defeat Prairie View. More big moments like that are going to be required this weekend.

“The turnover margin is the single most important stat that we can point to in wins and losses,” cited Bloomgren, who went on to extoll the importance of a turnover-free game by the offense and opportunistic play from his defense against Prairie View.

Importance of the Bayou Bucket and beating Houston

The Rice players aren’t backing down from the challenge the Cougars will pose this Saturday. “It’s always big to play tough competition,” declared running back Emmanuel Esupka, “It’s really exciting to see that type of talent on the other side of the ball.” More than just a jump in talent, the Houston game is a major rivalry game in the city of Houston.

#HTownTakeover, Houston’s marketing campaign, hasn’t gone unnoticed by Rice players. They know this weekend is important. “It’s huge. You might go to the gas station and see these guys,” said Esupka, “It’s a cross-town rivalry… we’re just trying to defend our home” Defensive lineman Roe Wilkins echoed him, “It’s something that we really want,” he acknowledged, “We got to defend our home.”

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This week in CUSA – Looking ahead at Week 1

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Rice football was the only Conference USA football team in action in Week 0. The Owls defeated Prairie View at home. What’s next for the CUSA squads in Week 1?

Your weekly check in for all things Conference USA is underway. CUSA went a perfect 1-0 in the opening weekend of college football as the Rice Owls bested Prairie View at home. It was a nailbiter with several notable takeaways for the Owls and their new head coach. Most importantly, their culture of Intellectual Brutality survived its first test.

Week 0 results

Rice 31 – Prairie View 28

Week 1 games

  • Savannah State at UAB (Thr)
  • Western Kentucky at Wisconsin (Fri)
  • FAU at Oklahoma
  • Houston at Rice
  • Marshall at Miami (OH)
  • Old Dominion at Liberty
  • Fordham at Charlotte
  • Louisiana Tech at South Alabama
  • Indiana at FIU
  • Jackson State at Southern Miss
  • SMU at North Texas
  • Northern Arizona at UTEP
  • Middle Tennesse at Vanderbilt
  • UTSA at Arizona State

Week 1 storylines to follow

FAU’s upset bid

Devin Singletary and FAU against the might Oklahoma Sooners will be a game watched well beyond the typical Conference USA spectrum of fans. Oklahoma starts MLB Draft pick and $5 Million man against Lane Kiffin and the upset-minded Owls. FAU enters as a hefty underdog (21.5 points) but there’s always a chance things could get weird.

UTEP’s quest for No. 1

UTEP went winless in 2017, falling to Rice in a battle of cellar dwellers. The Miners host Northern Arizona this weekend. If they can’t beat NAU, it could set up another tough season in El Paso. ESPN FPI currently has the odds dead even at 50-50.

FIU has the potential to surprise

Butch Davis led his FIU squad to eight wins last season and hosts an Indiana squad that won’t be very good this year. If Conference USA is going to get an upset over a Power 5 program in Week 1 the Panthers have the best chance to make that happen.

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