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Rice Football Film Room 2019: UTEP Review

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Rice football finished out the season on a three-game winning streak, making for an exciting finale in our 2019 film room series.

Hey y’all! Welcome back to the final Rice Football Film Room of the 2019 season. We’ll highlight one play to Austin Trammell that I just enjoyed, and two plays by redshirt freshmen that show how bright the future is for the Rice offense.

Texas Flood

Setup

About midway through the third quarter, Rice is down 16–14. The Owls have the ball 1st & 10 at the UTEP 34. They’re in 12 personnel from the shotgun: Aston Walter is the back, Jaeger Bull is the inline TE to the left, Jordan Myers is at H-back to the right, and Trammell and Bradley Rozner are wide to the right with Trammell in the slot. UTEP’s in a 3-3-5 look with one deep safety on defense.

The Play

Rice goes max protect, keeping 7 guys (the OL, Walter, and Bull) in to protect. That’s more than enough, because UTEP drops all the linebackers and DBs, leaving only the three DL to rush. Eight in coverage vs three guys running routes should make things easy on UTEP in coverage here.

Rice is running a route combination commonly referred to as a Flood concept, which involves running three routes of different depths all to the same side of the field. The idea is to stretch the defense vertically, and it’s particularly effective against a zone coverage like this one (which appears to be a variation on Cover 3). For the QB, the reads go high to low: first the go route from the outside receiver; next the out route from the slot; and finally the flat route from (in this case) the H-back.

Here, the outside corner sinks into his deep zone and stays over the top of Rozner, taking that read away. So Stewart’s next read is Trammell, who runs a double move, faking a post route before breaking back into a deep out. Both inside DBs to that side are preoccupied watching Myers in the flat (the apex guy falls over, but Trammell is long past him by the time that happens), and the deep safety is in no position to get over in time to defend an out route. So Austin finds a nice open spot in the zone, and the ball should go to him

Stewart does a great job of reading this play. He’s got the ball out right as Trammell is breaking back toward the sideline. His ball placement isn’t perfect; ideally you’d lead Trammell to the sideline with this throw. But Trammell shows fantastic body control, smoothly turning back to the ball and then continuing the spin to carry himself upfield without ever really breaking stride. Nothing special about this play. Just a well-run concept, a good read by Stewart, and a great play by Trammell.

The Need for Speed

Setup

Having kicked a field goal on the prior possession, Rice has the lead 17-16 and has the ball 1st & 10 at its own 48. The Owls are in 11 personnel, with Walter next to Stewart in the shotgun. Rozner is the X receiver to the boundary, and Trammell, Myers, and true freshman speedster Zane Knipe are in a bunch trips set, tight to the formation. UTEP is again in a 3-3-5 type look with a single deep safety.

The Play

Rice shows play action. Stewart fakes a handoff and Myers comes across the formation to sell split zone action. But ultimately we again end up with three rushers against seven blockers, though this time, with Myers charged with coming all the way across to block the edge rusher, the rush nearly gets home anyway. Walter helps out, though, and the two of them divert the rusher upfield in time for Stewart to step up and make the throw.

I can’t get a full picture of this concept since the camera doesn’t go wide enough, but it looks like Stewart’s first read may have been Trammell, because he looks that way for a while before coming back to Knipe. Here, since Rozner was the only receiver to the boundary, his go route completely clears out his side of the field.

With Knipe darting across the field on a dig route, he ends up wide open, with nobody even in his ZIP code by the time the ball arrives. The throw’s a bit late, but we can forgive Tom for that, because it’s not easy to get the ball out in time for a guy with Knipe’s raw speed. In any case, the placement’s a little better, and Zane turns it smoothly upfield for a big gain. The gif cuts off there (sorry, it was long already), but Knipe nearly manages to stiff arm the safety and get to the end zone. An offseason in the weight room might just fix that!

JoVoni on the Rise

Setup

Just one play later, Rice has it 2nd & Goal at the 8. The Owls are in a shotgun 12 personnel look, with Rozner and Trammell wide, Myers and Bull both inline to the left, and JoVoni Johnson and Walter in the backfield. UTEP responds with what’s basically a nine-man box and man coverage on the two receivers.

The Play

I picked this one because it’s the first of Johnson’s two TD runs and they were both the same play: QB power. This is exactly the same blocking scheme as the numerous big plays we’ve seen Rice get from that 22 personnel power toss play, but by having the QB carry the ball, the RB act as lead blocker, and subbing in another receiver, we now have one less guy in the box for the same number of blockers.

And y’all this one is blocked perfectly. From Myers inward, the TEs and OL completely wall off the defense inside, and there are basically two guys who can make the play. One gets erased by Shea Baker, the pulling guard. The other is expertly cut blocked by Walter. Johnson waltzes into the end zone.

Two plays by two freshmen who, eligibility-wise, will still be freshmen next year. Big things are coming for this Rice offense.

And finally, I just wanted to thank y’all for sticking with me and this column for the year. It’s been a blast doing it, and the work I’ve put in has made me a smarter football fan. I hope y’all have enjoyed it as well.

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Rice Football 2019: Quarterbacks, redshirts and UTEP practice notes 🔒

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Rice football wants to close out its 2019 season on a high note. The Owls haven’t slowed down as the work through Thanksgiving week to prepare for UTEP.

It’s hard to believe we’ve almost reached the end of the Rice football regular season. Be sure to check out the game preview and this week’s podcast. Here are some of the most notable takeaways from practice this week.

Development of the offense and game-planning for the second half

The emergence of Bradley Rozner has been crucial over the last month of the season. Being able to throw the ball up to him on third down and watch him win one-on-one battles has changed the Rice offense. “[Rozner has] really given our offense another threat that we didn’t really know we had early,” wide receivers coach Mike Kershaw admitted. “[Rozner has] really helped us … stretch the ball down the field, flip the field.”

Rozner’s growth has been a boon to the rest of the receiving corps as well. Austin Trammell had more than six receptions for just the second time this season in the win over North Texas, including a wide-open 31-yard gain on third down in the second half.

The Roost Podcast | Episode 19 — North Texas recap and UTEP Preview

Trammell has noticed the added space, saying “It’s nice having more options and be able to make plays down the field.” Even still, the team captain has higher aspirations for himself and this offense. “We just can’t get complacent,” he said of the second half scoring droughts, which by the time the team takes the field against UTEP, will have grown to 35 days without a point scored after halftime.

As for new wrinkles, we might see against UTEP, the speed of Zane Knipe should get more opportunities to flash. Kershaw called him “a different type of weapon,” adding that, “that’s rare to have a guy that has that type of speed [at Rice].”

Quarterback

Bloomgren confirmed during his Tuesday press conference that Tom Stewart would remain the starter for the final week of the regular season. He has taken the majority of the reps with the first team early in the week and performed well. His deep ball continues to be an asset to his game and he’s proven comfortable in the offense.

As good as Stewart has been, there’s a good chance we still see JoVoni Johnson on Saturday. The reps Stewart hasn’t gotten with the one’s have been held for Johnson, who’s worked primarily with a read-option and more run-centric packages.

The running game with Johnson seemed to be the best thing the offense had going for it before the bye. Instituting some of those plays, particularly during any second half stalls could be extremely beneficial. Two quarterbacks shouldn’t be the norm, and I think Bloomgren and his staff will be judicious about how and when they employ their second signal caller against UTEP. They’ve had plenty of learning opportunities.

Redshirt watch

Rice has already begun to shuffle in some of their younger players as the season has progressed. There wasn’t a sudden deluge of new faces when Rice reached the last four games of the year, rather the staff has done a good job of getting many of the freshmen experience in meaningful moments.

These players have played in their allotted four games. I wouldn’t expect we see any of them on Saturday: Jacob Grams, Kebreyun Page, Cole Garcia, Josh Pearcy, Joshua Landrum, Miles McCord, and Brandt Peterson.

Black Friday

As for those who have played in fewer than four games, there should be several players who get into the game in some form or fashion.

On offense, keep an eye on the aforementioned JoVoni Johnson as well as running back Juma Otoviano (game time decision), wide receiver Zane Knipe and walk-on offensive lineman Isaac Klarkowski. On defense, Chike Anigbogu and Izeya Floyd were both singled out by members of the coaching staff this week as players who could see bigger roles.

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Rice Football 2019: Week 14 UTEP Press Conference quotes

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Rice football head coach Mike Bloomgren discussed the Owls’ Senior Day win over North Texas and the upcoming game against UTEP in Week 14.

More: Rice Football game preview for Week 14 vs UTEP

Defensive tackle Myles Adams and wide receiver Bradley Rozner joined Rice football head coach Mike Bloomgren at the podium on Tuesday. The trio discussed their second-straight win, which came last Saturday over North Texas, and previewed their upcoming season finale against UTEP.

From Mike Bloomgren

On the win over North Texas…

“Saturday’s win was a really big deal for our team. It was just huge and as we continue to build the culture around this program, it takes wins like we had on Saturday to continue to advance it. To continue to build the confidence in these coaches and this program. So, I’m really happy that we were able to do that. We talked all week about starting fast. As we always say, start fast, stay focused and finish strong. I thought for the most part, we did that in all three phases. We didn’t get the production that we wanted out of the offense in the second half. But we had a really good first half.”

On the impact a third-straight win would have on the program…

“The last thing we looked at when we challenged them in the bye week to win the last three [games] and to really get some momentum going. For the seniors to leave their mark and end with a winning streak, something that hasn’t happened here since 2014. To leave this place better than they found it for the seniors.

For the people who are coming back, it sets the tone for the offseason. It’s going to be a grind. It’s going to be a grind every day with Hans Straub. So why not go into it with a three-game winning streak and all of the optimism in the world for the 2020 season? Not to look ahead at all but the reality is that anytime you win your last game, everything feels better. You have momentum in recruiting. There’s some great graduate transfer targets that we’re after right now. Every little bit helps. So that’s what we can control. We can control going 1-0 this week by preparing like crazy.”

On injuries and the plan at quarterback this week…

“Good news from an injury standpoint — everybody who played in the last game is still available in this one. Nobody has been ruled out and JoVoni [Johnson] and Juma [Otoviano] have not been ruled out either so we could have both of them available as well. Tom Stewart will be the starting quarterback.”

On true freshman walk-on center Isaac Klarkowski…

“At the very least, he’s going to be a backup in our program. He has earned our trust. I don’t see any time where we would ever say that we don’t trust Issac. The news came at 11:30 on Friday morning that we may not have Shea Baker available. It would be a game-time decision… We were really low on options. We got to a point where we all thought that (Issac) was our best one because of how smart he is, how well he’s done in the crossover work in the scrimmages in the bye week. By the end of practice on Friday, I looked at Coach (Jerry) Mack and said that I’ll be able to sleep tonight. I know he’s going to do fine.”

From DT Myles Adams

On the team’s mindset entering their finale against UTEP…

“I’m not focusing on the fact that this is the last game, I’m just focusing on the fact that we need to not try to take the foot off the gas because what we’ve been preaching the last two weeks is going all gas, no breaks. Just because it’s the end of the season [it doesn’t mean] we need to step up our efforts at all. We’ve been putting in work this whole season. It’s just that we got two wins in the last two weeks. So I’m preaching to the young guys to just stay focused.”

From WR Bradley Rozner

On the team’s mindset entering their finale against UTEP…

“The challenge is to finish strong. Obviously we need to stay focused. We really haven’t done much. All we’ve done really is win two games, so what this game really means is [we can be] headed into the offseason with the right mindset, that we can win games, that we can have a winning streak and this program really can be successful.”

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Rice Football Film Room 2019: Middle Tennessee Review

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Rice Football went 1-0 last week, topping Middle Tennessee behind a fantastic offensive performance, highlighted in this week’s film room.

Hey everybody, and welcome back to the Rice Football Film Room. Sure feels good to be coming off a win, doesn’t it? So in honor of Rice’s best offensive performance of the year (even if almost all of it was in the first half), we’ll focus on that side of the ball this week.

Rozner’s Rebounds

Setup

It’s late in the first quarter, with Rice holding a 3-0 lead. The Owls have the ball at the MTSU 30. They’re in the I-formation with 21 personnel (presumably—the camera angle is too tight to see the receiver to the top but I’m guessing it’s Trammell) with Brendan Suckley as the fullback. Aston Walter is the running back and Jaeger Bull is the inline tight end to the left.

MTSU is in a base 4-3 look with two deep safeties. The boundary corner (remember, the short side is the “boundary”, the wide side is the “field”) is showing press coverage on Bradley Rozner, who is the wide receiver to that side.

The Play

MTSU brings five rushers, with the weakside linebacker blitzing. Both backs stay in for Rice. So even with Bull running a stick route the Owls have numbers in pass protection and manage keep Tom Stewart clean.

Rozner stutter steps at the line, preventing the corner from jamming him and getting a clean outside release. From there, he runs a simple go route (or “fly route” or “streak” or whatever you prefer—football coaches have an annoyingly large number of terms for “run straight down the field toward the end zone”). With the free safety stepping up (I assume he has responsibility for one of the backs if they leak out on a delayed screen to his side), there’s no help over the top. Stewart just lofts the ball into the end zone.

More: Takeaways from Rice Football vs MTSU

From there it’s all on Bradley, who as always, does an excellent job of boxing out like a power forward and coming down with the ball. An MTSU fan watching this play might be screaming for a push-off, and Rozner does extend his arms a little bit to gain separation. But there’s enough contact both ways that I think it’s a good no-call.

We’ve talked a lot lately (here and on the podcast and in numerous other pieces on the site) about the ways Rice is modifying the offense to get more points. But they’re not going to abandon Bloomgren’s base principles entirely, and this play archetype (draw defenders into the box with heavy personnel, throw over the top to big/athletic receivers in single coverage) was working perfectly for the Owls on Saturday. The other two of Rozner’s TDs, while using different formations and personnel groups (the second, for instance, was out of a two-back shotgun spread set with three receivers), were just variations on the same principle.

Walter to the House

Setup

It’s late in the first half and Rice is now clinging to a three-point lead after MTSU clawed its way back from a 17-0 deficit. Rice has the ball 2nd-and-4 from about the MTSU 34. They’re in 22 personnel: Suckley and Walter are the backs again, and Bull and Jordan Myers are the TEs, both lined up inline to the right (Rozner is the single receiver, his feet visible way up at the top). MTSU responds with an appropriately loaded box, with nine guys within seven yards of the line of scrimmage and in or just outside the tackle box.

The Play

This looks like the power toss play that we’ve highlighted (both here and on the podcast) before, but it would more appropriately be called a toss sweep, I think. “Power” runs involve a backside guard pulling. The puller on this play is actually Brian Chaffin, who at RG is the frontside guard.

Some sweep plays involve pulling both guards, but LG Nick Leverett is instead sliding inside to take the 1-tech DT, who knifes into the space vacated by C Shea Baker (who climbs the second level right away). It’s a good job by Leverett, too; if he doesn’t get that block the 1-tech probably catches Walter in the backfield, but he manages to redirect the bull rush and shove him out of the play.

More: For the first time this season, Rice football found a way to finish

Anyway, the run is well-blocked to the playside, but with the strong safety charging hard Rice doesn’t have a numbers advantage, even with Suckley as a lead blocker and Chaffin on the kick-out block executing perfectly. Bull and Myers do a great job sealing the edge as well, which gives Walter two gaps he can work with. When the safety choose to plug the outermost gap (and gets caught in the wash of Suckley’s block), Walter showcases his excellent vision and cuts back inside, slipping between Suckley and Myers.

Now the free safety is in position to make the tackle, but Walter again shows off his vision and savvy. He’s got more green grass to the near side of the field, but he can see the FS has an angle on him to make the play that way. So he cuts back the other way through a tighter window, using the safety’s momentum against him and slipping free into the open field for the score. It’s not even a particularly violent cut—Aston doesn’t have the short-area explosiveness that, say, Juma Otoviano does—but he makes it at just the right time to catch the safety completely off-guard. It’s a really excellent piece of running.

Sealing the Win

Setup

Two minutes to go. Two MTSU timeouts. 3rd-and-11. A three-point lead and the offense has done almost nothing the whole second half. It’s big boy time, y’all.

Rice is in 12 personnel, a two-back shotgun look. Walter and Charlie Booker are to either side of Stewart. Rozner is wide to the boundary. Jaeger Bull is in the slot. Austin Trammell is split so wide to the field that you can only barely see him enter the play at the end of the gif. MTSU’s in a three-man front with two stand-up edge defenders, a single off-ball LB, and five DBs (two deep safeties).

The Play

Now here’s one we haven’t broken down before: it’s outside zone! And an uncommon variation, too: you don’t see a lot of two-back shotgun outside zone. Again, I’m not the person to break down the minutiae of blocking schemes, but essentially, in outside zone, the whole line flows one way toward the sideline and the running back follows, looking for a crease to cut through. Like I said, there’s usually not a second back, but here he acts as a lead blocker to help keep the playside edge defender from sealing the edge.

Here, the playside edge guy manages to get upfield pretty far before Clay Servin and Booker can seal him off, so right away Walter knows he’s going to have to cut the run inside. As it happens, the hole opens up (and it’s not a big one!) between Chaffin and RT Justin Gooseberry. Walter shows outstanding vision to see the crease developing—based on the angle of his head there it must have been at the very edges of his peripheral vision—and he stops on a dime and explodes upfield.

He’s into the secondary in a flash. Two MTSU DBs maybe have a chance of stopping him just short of the marker, but one is erased by a beautiful downfield block by Bull and the other simply doesn’t have the angle to counter Walter’s speed.

First down. MTSU does get the ball back, but even a backyard lateral play can’t save them, and Rice football gets its first win of the season!

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Rice Football: After weeks of trying, Owls find a way to finish

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Rice Football has embraced a mantra of going 1-0 every Saturday. In Week 12 against Middle Tennessee, those marching orders turned into reality.

When the clock hit zero in Murfreesboro, TN on Saturday night Rice football fans breathed a sigh of relief, double-checked the scoreboard, then exploded into euphoria that mirrored the celebration currently underway in the Rice locker room.

It wasn’t easy. It came down to the final play — a backyard-style, multi-lateral, heart-stopping play — but Rice football had finally cleansed themselves of their losing streak. They had won.

“I think it’s really a culmination of the way these guys have been working,” head coach Mike Bloomgren said in the moments following his first road win at Rice. He knew, in a way that only those clad in all-white on that sideline knew, how important this win was for this program.

Bloomgren and his staff have been building for almost two years. They’d promised progress and come so close to turning that goodwill into wins so many times this season. On Saturday the dam broke. In a combination of a newly-emphasized spread offense and downhill running, smashmouth football, Rice found a way.

Intellectual Brutality in the flesh

The Owls led by 17 courtesy of three touchdown grabs by Bradley Rozner before halftime. Middle Tennesse fought back. With precious seconds remaining in the game, the Owls turned to sixth-year senior Austin Walter on third and 11.

“We’re going to run this ball and we’re going to find a way to move these sticks,” Bloomgren told offensive coordinator Jerry Mack as the play was relayed into the huddle. Then Walter — who had already left the game with an ankle injury that half — took the handoff, blasted through the line and picked up the most important 24 yards of his entire Rice career.

“Adversity is a part of who we are… I have three more college games left and I’ve always thought I want to be able to leave Rice University and get the program back on track,” Walter said. “If I had to give an ankle, a leg, whatever it took to get this win, I was going to do it.”

The first down was enough for the Owls to bleed the clock, turning the ball over to Middle Tennessee with nothing short of a Hail Mary standing in the way of the Owls’ first victory of the season. Those prayers went unanswered. Rice won.

More: Takeaways from Rice Football vs MTSU

Then, in a response that typifies how Rice navigated themselves to this point, hero Bradley Rozner turned the page. “We’re going to start bright and early, 7 a.m. meeting. We’re going to figure out our mistakes and carry that energy straight through the week and get ready for North Texas.”

A laser focus befitting of a process-driven organization, Rozner’s mindset was shared by his head coach. “I don’t know if there’s anything we have to do very different,” Bloomgren said with a grin. “I just know Monday morning will be a lot more fun.”

True to their spirit, Rice football went 1-0 this week. Now they’d like to do it again.

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