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Rice Football: Offense remains a work in progress after Spring Game

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The Rice football offense trudged through a slow spring, leaving plenty of questions after a dismal showing at the Blue and Gray Spring Game.

The defense was two steps ahead of the offense on the first day of spring practices in early March. By the time Rice finished the spring game in mid-April it looked like they’d gained another 10 steps, if not more. That set up the coaching staff with a predicament. Is the defense truly elite? Is the offense that bad? Or is the truth somewhere in between?

Head coach Mike Bloomgren was all smiles when he talked about the defensive side of the ball following the Spring Game, which the defense won 48-14. As he transitioned to discussing the offense, he offered a clarifying statement:

[Defense] is a destructive process by nature. You can have a Blaze Alldredge make a play when all 10 of his teammates fall down. On offense, you need all eleven [guys] to do their job to have a chance to make a play a success, and thus offense is a constructive process.

It’s hard to build something when the individual contributors aren’t on the same page. That’s what we saw during the spring game. Quarterbacks were missing their receivers. Receivers were failing to haul in catchable passes. The offensive line looked disoriented.

Senior running back Aston Walter described the situation as one in where, rather than acting instinctively,  “too many people are thinking about what they should do.” That sluggishness off the ball was why the offense as a whole only drove the length of the field for a touchdown twice, one of which was a 60+ yard bomb from quarterback Wiley Green to receiver Aaron Cephus.

Bloomgren said there are “no magic pills” to transition from the offensive struggles into a fully functioning unit, but he remains optimistic things will get sorted out by the fall. This doesn’t seem to be purely a talent issue. With the possible exception of an unproven stable of young running backs, the talent level across the offense is better this year than it was last spring. The issue is getting all that talent to work together.

Consistency, making plays and understanding the scheme will be the marching orders for this unit from now until the fall. That goes hand and hand with how Walter assessed the summation of the spring. “We’re just not confident,” he said, “not where coach [Bloomgren] wants us to be… We gotta keep working.”

More than once the coaching staff has stressed the team is significantly ahead of where they were at this time last year in terms of understanding the scheme and knowing the playbook. That hasn’t produced positive results yet, but there’s still plenty of time before Rice plays their first game against Army in August.

If the spring struggles truly stem from mental setbacks, a summer studying combined with a strong fall camp should be enough to work through the offensive woes. No, they’re not where they want to be, but that doesn’t mean they can’t get there.

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Rice Football Spring Game Takeaways

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The defense dominated from start to finish during the Rice football spring game, capping off a productive spring for the Owls on the gridiron.

Rather than feature two separate squads, the 2019 Rice football spring game was a battle between the offense and the defense. Modified scoring was put in place, but one didn’t require the scoreboard to notice the defense had the upper hand. The offense scored twice but was more or less held in check, finishing off the spring with one of their most impressive performances.

Here are a few immediate takeaways from the Owls’ spring exhibition:

Ari Broussard is going to be heavily involved in this offense

Broussard has been the story of the spring on the offensive side of the ball, and for good reason. The former walk on linebacker has been the most productive ball carrier for the Owls thus far and had another big day on Saturday. He led the team with 79 yards on the ground, averaging 4.9 yards per carry and scoring the only rushing touchdown.

Rice also showed off a split backfield look with Cam Montgomery and Broussard flanking the quarterback on either side. That’s not a look Rice showed very often last season. Broussard’s power complimented with the speed of the other backs might force the staff to inject more of that into the playbook this fall.

The defensive front seven was superb

The defensive line and linebackers have been two of the brightest groups this spring and they continued their dominance on Saturday. Outside of Broussard running through some bodies, there weren’t many missed tackles. Running up the middle was a no-go, regardless of who was in the backfield.

It wasn’t just a strong presence against the run which gave reason for optimism. Antonio Montero had an interception, as did Dasharm Newsome in the secondary as the quarterbacks were forced to throw with hands in their faces all afternoon. The defense picked up four sacks on the day. Corners weren’t left on islands to fend for themselves and the results were an overwhelming one-sided showing by the defense.

The receiving corps has work to do

The receiving corps did not have a good day. Rhett Cardwell led the team with three catches, but the unit as a whole could not hold on to the football. Aaron Cephus, Brendan Harmon, Austin Conrad, Chris Boudreaux had some frustrating drops. Although the number of players targeted was probably close to a dozen, only four receivers caught a pass.

Austin Trammel was sidelined this spring and several guys were in and out with minor injuries, giving just about every pass catcher time in the offense. This spring it’s looking like Trammel, Cephus and incoming JUCO receiver Bradley Rozner are going to be the trustworthy guys. This unit has work to do.

Moving the chains is a big concern

Drops, combined with the pressure from the defensive line set up a lot of third and long situations. The offense converted a few of those, but there were still more punts than scores. Effective offenses aim to reach third and manageable situations, ones that open up the playbook and create uncertainty for the defense. That wasn’t the case for the Rice offense at the spring game and it’s been an issue all spring.

The three quarterbacks combined to complete nine of 32 passes with one breakaway touchdown and two interceptions. As effective as Broussard was on the ground, this offense is going to need to become more balanced by the fall.

Cool postgame moment

Ari Broussard was told after the game he was going to be on scholarship. His reaction here:

 

 

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Rice Football: 5 things to look for at Spring Game

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The Rice football spring game will kick off in a few hours. Here are a few key players and position groups to keep an eye on during the exhibition.

Ari Broussard

The departures of Emmanuel Esukpa and Austin Walter left plenty of opportunity for the Rice running backs. The position was wide open, but it was assumed Aston Walter and Juma Otoviano would inherit most of the workload. That might still be the case, but if Broussard has yet another strong showing he could firmly cement himself into an active role in the backfield this fall. He’s an ideal goal line and short yardage guy, but the door is open for more.

The offensive line

This group was expected to take a big leap forward from last year to this year. Clear evidence of improvement has been intermittent this spring. Two additional grad transfers are on their way, making more turnover here possible. Those who do take the field on Saturday need to display fundamentally sound football. They’ve shown they’re capable  They just need to put those moments together for the duration of the scrimmage.

Quarterback

This position hasn’t created many headlines this spring largely because there hasn’t been a ton of movement in either the positive or negative direction. All three guys — Wiley Green, Evan Marshman and Parker Towns — have had their moments, but none has separated themselves from the pack.

At this point, Green is still in the driver’s seat for the starting job, but Saturday’s results could play heavily into that decision. A big game from Green could bring the competition closer to a close whereas a strong outing from Marshman or Towns could stretch the battle into the fall.

The secondary

The back end of the defense was challenged early and often last season. Many of those players who were blown by last season are gone. The secondary as a whole is a lot younger. Andrew Bird, Collin Whitaker and Naeem Smith all figure to he prominent names, can they show the fans and coaches they’re up to the challenge?

Blaze Alldredge

Alldredge has secured his spot at the center of the Rice defense. He’s not fighting for his job like others are this spring, but he’s still going to turn a few heads. Alldredge has been one of the most prolific defensive enforcers over the past few weeks and is turning into a player who could compete for All-CUSA honors this season. He’s going to be special.

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Rice Football 2018 Rising Star: Wiley Green

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Rice football got plenty of production from unexpected sources in 2018, but Wiley Green‘s emergence from the bottom of the depth chart should be a surprise that sticks.

On the first day of fall camp Wiley Green handed the ball off to Juma Otoviano and watched his running back scampered through the hole and take off down the field for a touchdown. There were cheers from the offense, but then everyone went back to business as usual. It was just a normal practice and the scout team had scored a touchdown. Oh, how things change.

Fast forward to mid October. Starting quarterback Shawn Stankavage is out with an injury and Evan Marshman is taking reps with the starters. After a full day of practice head coach Mike Bloomgren calls for the backup quarterback to run a two-minute drill against the first team defense.

In trots Wiley Green who promptly hurls a pass between the shoulder pads of a waiting defender and holds his breath as it falls to the turf, narrowly missing an interception. The true freshman gathers his thoughts quickly and proceeds to march the offense down before firing a touchdown into the back corner of the endzone. The sideline erupted, again.

In those two innocuous moments a young team embrace an unlikely, strong-armed quarterback, implicitly promising their allegiance should he be called upon in a live game. It turns out that time would come sooner rather than later.

We struck gold with this freshman class,” he said, “They’re the kind of people that love football and they’re the ones that are going to help us build this program.

Days after Green engineered the mock comeback he was named Rice football’s starting quarterback. Green, who began the year fifth on the quarterback depth chart, started his first collegiate game in Denton, Tx against North Texas, just miles away from where he played high school football.

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Green didn’t win that game, but he lifted the heavy underdogs into a one-score game in the fourth quarter. He threw for 204 yards, the second most of any Owl quarterback to that point in the season, adding a touchdown through the air and on the ground. His encore performance came a week later, throwing for 313 yards and two touchdowns against UTEP.

After sitting the next two games to preserve his redshirt, Green returned to the starting lineup against Old Dominion, leading the Owls to their first Conference USA victory under Bloomgren.

When asked about it, Bloomgren could only laugh with an unbelieving smile. Who would have known the scout team passer would earn the biggest win of his head coaching career to date? Bloomgren certainly didn’t see it coming himself, but never wavered in his belief of these young men closing his final press conference of the season with confidence. “We struck gold with this freshman class,” he said, “They’re the kind of people that love football and they’re the ones that are going to help us build this program.”

Green ended the season with 621 passing yards passing, three passing touchdowns, two rushing touchdowns and four interceptions. If he has a strong fall camp he’ll likely be in line to start on opening day for Rice football in 2019. Not bad for someone who’s name was printed at the bottom of the depth chart in August.

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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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