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Rice Football 2021: Spring Practice Week 1 Notebook

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Rice football returned to the practice field this week. Here are a few initial reactions from the first week of spring ball.

For the first time in three months, Rice football put on the pads and hit the practice field. It was a refreshing sight that seemed almost normal after a winter that was anything but conventional.

There were a few new faces this time, including quarterback Jake Constantine. But there were things to be learned from players head coach Mike Bloomgren would dub “the old heads” as well. We dug into some initial thoughts on the depth charts earlier this week. This edition will focus on what transpired on the grass itself.

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Rice Football 2020 Practice Notes: Breaking down the corners

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It’s been a wild ride for the Rice football corners this fall. Through two games and seven-plus weeks of practice, here’s where the Owls stand.

Last week I wrote in detail about the Rice football wide receivers, including comments on who would be the primary options against Southern Miss. Sure enough, Rice relied on essentially a three-wide receiver set in that game, with only five healthy wideouts making the travel roster.

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The Owls are at home against UTSA this weekend, so counting heads for a bus trip won’t be important. That said, who is healthy enough to participate is a pressing matter, especially in the secondary. I have confirmed Rice expects to get at least one member of their defensive back corps back on the field for the first time when they take on UTSA.

Below I’ve compiled notes from practice this week and some comments from cornerback coach Gerard Wilcher. Our subscribers should also check out our bonus podcast this week with UTSA insider Jared Kalmus of Alamodome Audible.

It’s time for a 2020 debut and a few injury updates

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Rice Football 2020: Post Southern Miss presser and practice notes

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There’s a lot going on in the world of Rice football. Here’s a rundown of the weekly press conference and an update from practice headed into the UTSA game.

The season is back in full swing and we’ve got a full slate of Rice football updates on deck for everyone this week. I’ll include a few snippets from today’s press conference here as well as updates from practice on Monday. The players were off on Tuesday for the Election.

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Press conference notes and quotes

Head coach Mike Bloomgren did note a few players of the week following the victory:

  • Defensive Player of the Game – Chike Anigbogu
  • Offensive Player of the Game – Austin Trammell
  • Special Teams Player of the Game – Charlie Mendes
  • Offense Scout Team Player of the Week – Caleb James
  • Defense Scout Team Player of the Week – TJ McMahon
  • Special Teams Player of the Week – Terreance Ellis

“Anytime you are giving up big plays the way we did in the first game, that’s never a good thing. I think we talked a lot about eliminating the big plays, keeping it in front of us, and I think the guys got the message and we played a lot better in those critical situations at the end of the half and on third down.” – Brian Smith on the what the defense did differently from game one to game two

It felt good to get a win, it really did. It felt great to get a win on Saturday. An incredible effort from start to finish from our guys. I think, really the opening kickoff all the way through the fourth quarter you saw a lot of strain, a lot of physicality. And I can’t say enough about how proud I am of that team for continuing to work the way they did.” – Bloomgren on the Owls’ first win of 2020

“Mike [Collins] is the biggest change. It’s the best play we’ve had out of a quarterback in our time here… Mike is changing the game for our football team. He’s giving everybody a chance to showcase their talent. And it sure doesn’t hurt that the offensive line and the blocking unit is giving him time as well. Everything’s working together, but if I were to identify one change, so far, it would be Mike Collins.” – Bloomgren on the biggest change in the offense from last year to this year

“Two games in, we’re in a good spot… I just don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves I think we’ve got so much we can improve on right now. Yes, we’re better, but that was a pretty low bar. I want to see how good this offense can perform.” – Bloomgren on how the offense meets his expectations

Practice updates and Southern Miss takeaways

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The Roost Podcast | Ep 58 – Rice Football vs MTSU Recap, USM Preview

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Carter and Matthew breakdown the Rice football loss to Middle Tennessee and preview the Owls upcoming game against Southern Miss.

The first game didn’t go how Rice football fans would have hoped, but there’s a lot more to unpack in the Middle Tennessee loss than just the final score. Carter and Matthew work through the refreshingly potent offense and what to take from the defensive struggles.

From there, they discuss how what we learned from that game will impact the Owls’ upcoming road trip to Hattiesburg to face a Southern Miss team on their third head coach of the season.

You can always find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 58.

Episode 58 Notes

  • Housekeeping — Don’t miss this opportunity to subscribe on Patreon. You’ll get practice reports, and new this week, film room sessions from Carter. He breaks down the biggest plays from the Owls’ games. You’ll also get recruiting news and the latest analysis and updates on all things relating to Rice Athletics.
    Become a Patron!
  • Conference USA news and notes
    • Conference USA had no games canceled in Week 8, but already two canceled in Week 9.
    • Marshall is the last remaining unbeaten C-USA squad, ranked No. 19 in the AP Poll
  • Rice Football vs Middle Tennessee game preview
    • Quadruple doink could be a once in a millennium event
    • Mike Collins started slow, but played well in debut game
    • Defense had missteps, but injuries and rust played a big part
    • Despite mistakes, still had a chance to win
  • Rice Football vs Southern Miss game recap
    • Interim coach Scottie Walden is headed to Austin Peay. Southern Miss will turn to its third head coach of the season
    • Jack Abraham is the probable start, but nothing set in stone yet with COVID protocols. Backup Tate Whatley could miss the game.
    • The Southern Miss defense is really bad.

Where can you find us?

Download and subscribe to The Roost Podcast on any of your favorite podcast providers. The show is available on iTunes, GooglePlay, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn and PodBean. Please consider leaving a review wherever you listen.

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Rice Football 2020: Overtime doinks doom Owls’ against MTSU

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Rice football almost rallied from a fourth-quarter deficit to beat Middle Tennessee before an infamous bad bounce soured the Owl’ opener.

Things started off well for Rice football in their season opener against Middle Tennessee. The Owls received the opening kick off, marched down the field and took the lead. The Owls defense was able to hold Asher O’Hara at bay early, but the inexperienced secondary was soon under fire as Rice went into halftime trailing 14-13 courtesy of two long O’Hara touchdown passes.

Middle Tennessee hit some deep passes in the second half, but the Rice defense was able to hold their own and keep the team in the game. The Owls were able to claw back from a two-score deficit and get one more crack at the win in the final minutes. Rice took over trailing 31-26 with 2:24 to play.

The Owls went forwards, then they went backward. Then Mike Collins found Austin Trammell up the middle for 48 yards and again for the go-ahead touchdown. Pushed to the brink, Rice rallied to take the lead. MTSU would force overtime where Rice had the chance to win… then this happened:

This stunk. Here’s what we learned.

Mike Collins is a baller

There was a lot of good things said about Rice quarterback Mike Collins as he progressed through the spring and into fall camp. He’s taken command of the offense well and understands the protection schemes and the system. The biggest question mark going into the year was his accuracy, a problem in the spring which had looked better in fall camp.

Collins completed just two of his first 10 passes against Middle Tennessee. A career 56.6 percent passer across 10 games at TCU, Collins ended his Rice debut completing 51.4 percent of his throws. After the woeful start, he completed 16-of-25, ending the day with 242 passing yards and four touchdowns.

The protection was okay, but Collins did take a few big hits. One of them resulted in a strip-sack and a fumble, shifting all the momentum to the visiting team midway through the third quarter. There will be better days ahead for Collins and this passing attack. Today, they looked a bit rusty, but he came through in key situations down the stretch.

Corner quandary

Middle Tennessee didn’t test the young Rice corners very much in the first quarter, but once they did, they didn’t stop. Starters Miles McCord and Sean Fresch were both making their first D1 starts of their career, and for all the encouraging moments, that lack of experience showed.

O’Hara is not a superb deep-ball passer. There’s a reason that most of his balls stay closer to the line of scrimmage. But even he was unafraid to take his shots.

Both of the Blue Raiders’ first half touchdowns were shots from O’Hara to the endzone daring the Owls’ secondary to make a play. Although there were Rice shirts in the vicinity on both plays, neither reception was contested. That can’t happen in the redzone.

Allowing O’Hara to drive the length of the field in 30 seconds to set up a tying field goal was a sore spot as well.

The depth chart is thin and there doesn’t appear to be an immediate answer on the horizon. The corner play simply has to get better. It will be interesting to see how defensive coordinator Brian Smith adjusts the defense to help minimize the risks on the outside when the Owls take on a much better downfield thrower next week in Southern Miss quarterback Jack Abraham.

New faces

Injuries and exciting moments in fall camp put several younger players on the top of mind entering the season.

Khalan Griffin didn’t see much involvement until the fourth quarter, but it’s hard to fault the coaching staff for relying heavily on Juma Otoviano. Healthy and running well, Otoviano carried the ball 20 times for 84 yards with a long of 16. He was elusive in the open field and made big plays for this offense.

Griffin’s role will grow and his underutilization on Saturday shouldn’t be viewed as a knock on his ability. One needs look no further than his drive to start the fourth quarter. He got on the field and promptly ripped off two big runs, the first for 10-yard and the second a 20-yard scamper up the middle. He’s going to be a key piece of this offense in 2020 and beyond.

Sean Fresch got introduced to the speed of the college game quickly. As a whole, the corners did not hold up well. He was exposed underneath a few times, but that’s going to happen when the secondary is preoccupied with giving up the long ball. From my memory, and I’ll have to look back at the tape on this one, he wasn’t burned as often down the field as some of the Owls’ other options.

Jake Bailey was perhaps the most impactful youngster. He’s not a freshman, but his role is going to be significantly different in his second season on South Main. Bailey was a favorite target of Collins on Saturday but caught only two passes for 26 yards on five targets. He was also active in the return game, leading the team with 76 kick return yards. His 97 all-purpose yards were second most on the most on the team.

Closing thoughts

Rice football made history when they kicked off against Middle Tennessee on Saturday. Never before had a team opened its season against a team that was playing their seventh game. Getting to this point, in spite of all the challenges presented by COVID-19 was huge for the program. Remember, it was only a month ago that we were wondering whether or not there would be a season at all.

No season might sound palatable after that gut-punch. But Rice football fans should take away two things from this game. First, after all the ups and down, Rice could have, and probably should have won. Be upset. For as far as the Owls have gone, there’s plenty of room for improvement.

Second, the fight to rally in the fourth quarter and get to this point was infectious. It’s hard to imagine not paying dividends down the road. Less self-inflicted wounds would have enabled Rice to finish things off. That said, the road will get tougher. The Owls won’t be playing a 1-5 Middle Tennessee team every week.

Digging deeper

Every week we’ll have a stat, storyline or key learning from the game reserved for our subscribers.

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