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Buy Now: The Roost’s 2020 Rice Football Season Preview and C-USA Preview

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The Roost is pleased to announce the release of the 2020 Rice Football Season Preview and the Conference USA Football Season Preview. These digital magazines are the one-stop-shop for every Rice and Conference USA Fan.

Buy Rice Preview
Buy C-USA Preview

The 2020 Rice Football Season Preview

This 160-page publication details everything you could imagine about Rice Football. It includes insight on the entire Rice roster as well with commentary on all 110 players on the active roster. From there the scope widens to breakdowns of every Conference USA team and all four of the Owls’ non-conference opponents. Each profile was compiled with the help from local experts who cover that beat on a daily basis with timely transfer information and any available spring updates.

As one Rice administrator dubbed it:
it’s the bible for Rice Football fans.

Get answers to questions like “Who has the leg up in the Rice quarterback battle?” or “Which incoming players could make the biggest impact?” or “Who are the top returning players Rice will face in Conference USA?”

This year’s edition included a feature story based on an interview with Athletic Director Joe Karlgaard. In the piece, we discuss how he evaluates head coach Mike Bloomgren’s coaching tenure.

The 2020 Conference USA Football Season Preview

The complete contents of the Conference USA Preview are contained within the Rice Preview. This 72-page guide includes everything Conference USA fans need to know for the upcoming season. Every team in the conference has a four-page profile. These profiles including coaching notes, pressing questions and the major storylines each squad faces this season. It also includes roster breakdowns with profiles on the biggest incoming and outgoing players.

No preview would be complete without the numbers, and this one has those in bunches. Each team section includes Conference USA metrics, returning production notes and analysis as well as stat lines for every returning player. There’s also a more detailed review of the conference’s top returning players for each major statistic. And it’s all at your fingertips rather than a dozen google searches away.

The Conference USA Preview omits the Rice-specific content like the position and player breakdowns, rising stars and more. Most Rice fans would prefer the Rice Preview whereas fans of other C-USA schools might prefer this version.

What are people saying about the Previews?

Don’t just take our word for it. Here’s what people are saying:

  • “The Roost’s C-USA preview has been an indispensable resource for me as I make my preparations for this season.”
  • “I just spent 30 minutes going through it, but barely skimmed the surface. It’s a great way to learn the new players.
  • “I don’t know any preview that could be more detailed than that.”
  • “This is worth spending the money on. Best you will get for CUSA”
  • “I liked everything.”

Want more?

You can always find additional Rice Football and Conference USA Football content on the website. If you enjoy the Preview and want to get further involved, consider supporting us on Patreon or check out The Roost Shop. Our subscribers get exclusive content ranging from recruiting and practice updates to special analysis. For starters, they got a copy of the Preview for free!

Buy Rice Preview
Buy C-USA Preview
Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

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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.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

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2019 Rice Football Season Preview by The Roost

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The staff of The Roost is pleased to announce the release of the 2019 Rice Football Season Preview, a 143-page digital magazine detailing everything you could imagine about the Owls’ upcoming season.

This preview is the culmination of months of research, interviews and analysis. Consider it your one-stop-shop as you prepare for the Owls’ 2019 season.

Available as a downloadable PDF for on-the-go access, this preview contains the following:

1. A breakdown of every position group on the team

Who are the favorites to start entering fall camp? What sort of production should you expect from returning starters? Which of the incoming transfer players should make their mark the quickest? Answers to all of those questions are included, as well as notes on every single player on the 102-man roster.

2. An exclusive interview with head coach Mike Bloomgren

We sat down with coach to get his honest evaluation of where the Rice football program is right now and how he views the progress the team is making as they approach 2019. He’s sticking to a process, one which he remains confident will bring success to South Main.

3. Previews of each 2019 opponent and all 14 CUSA Teams

Supported by local beat writers and experts who cover each team, this section has a wealth of knowledge about every CUSA Team and all the Owls’ 2019 opponents.

Rice fans will want to familiarize themselves with the teams they’ll be facing this year. Get to know which players each squad will have to replace, which newcomers could make noise in 2019 and what outstanding questions those in the know have about their respective squads.

4. A complete 2019 Conference USA Football Preview

Available separately to purchase, everyone who purchases the 2019 Rice Football Season Preview will also get The Roost’s 2019 Conference USA Football Preview. We made our picks for preseason honors, top games to watch in 2019 and a closer look at how every team in the conference stacks up.

Don’t need any more convincing? Get a copy for yourself today

Buy Now

 

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

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