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3 Big questions entering the offseason

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Rice football proved they’re on the right track, closing out the 2018 season with a win. What questions remain entering a long offseason for the Owls?

1. Can the coaching staff produce back to back stud recruiting classes?

Mike Bloomgren couldn’t stop raving about the freshman class during fall camp prior to the season. He said the hit rate on these guys was tremendous and he wasn’t wrong. Wiley Green, Juma Otoviano, Cole Garcia, Antonio Montero, Prudy Calderon, Tyrae Thornton and several others played significant roles for this team in their first years of college ball.

The trajectory of this program will be set by how well Bloomgren and his staff build on that first successful class. If they can find a few more gems in the 2019 group they’ll take the talent level at Rice through a step change. More talent creates more competition which leads to better players and better results. The recruiting formula starts with talent.

Don’t mistake the need for a second strong class with a search for stars. Just because a signee or recruit doesn’t have the best grades on 247 or Rivals doesn’t mean he’s not the right fit for this system and this scheme. Trust the process. Through one abbreviated cycle the staff has proven they can find the guys they need.

2. What will the offensive line look like in Year 2 under Mike Bloomgren?

It took the Rice offensive line much longer to gel than anyone on the staff would have hoped. The constant flurry of changing parts and shaky play prompted the insertion of young players down the line, eventually solidifying into a starting five of Uzoma Osuji, Cole Garcia, Shea Baker, Joseph Dill and Sam Pierce.

Pierce and Dill won’t return next year and Osuji will see competition at the left tackle position from freshman Clay Servin who started while Osuji was out with injury. That leaves Garcia and Baker as two relatively sure-things in another mix of players and combinations.

The inconsistency of the offensive line was a major inhibitor to the offense in 2018. The way this unit gels in the spring and continues to develop this fall will be an important barometer for how quickly the offense can continue to progress in Year 2.

3. Who will be the playmakers on offense in 2019?

Entering the 2018 season Emmanuel Esukpa and Aaron Cephus were tabbed by most as the most likely playmakers on the offense. Both had their moments and were instrumental in the development of the offense throughout the year, but by the end of the season, there were different faces carrying the load.

Wiley Green, Austin Walter, Austin Trammell and Juma Otoviano became fixtures and various points of the season, ending the year as go-to players to a much greater degree than even some of the coaching staff might have expected.

Who steps up in 2019? It could be some of those same leaders. Green and Otoviano will both be sophomore and Trammell will be back for his junior season, too. But there are also players like Brendan Harmon, August Pitre and D’Angelo Ellis who saw their roles severely limited by injury as well as incoming recruits like running back Jawan King and wide receiver Zane Knipe. There are a lot of options. It will be interesting to see who emerges to move this offense forward.

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Rice Football: Owls soar over Old Dominion for first CUSA win

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Rice football ended the 2018 season with an exclamation point, taking down Old Dominion on Senior Day for Mike Bloomgren’s first Conference USA win.

Rice scored two touchdowns in the first half. Old Dominion didn’t crack the endzone until the third quarter. Another stout defensive performance by the Owls parlayed with a few big-time plays from surprise starter Wiley Green sent the Owls into halftime with a 13-6 lead. They never looked back.

After falling behind 3-0 in the first quarter Rice rallied to outscore Old Dominion 20-7 over the remainder of the contest. On Senior Day with the weight of a potential second consecutive 1-win season overhead, Rice responded with their most complete performance of 2018.

1. Winner, winner

Rice started and ended the season with wins, the first time the Owls have bookended a year with victories since 2015. It was the Owls’ first conference win since they defeated UTEP on Sep. 9, 2017, their first home conference win since beating UTEP in 2016 and their first win over a CUSA East opponent since defeating Charlotte in 2016.

For Mike Bloomgren, the victory represents his second as a head coach and his first conference win with the Rice Owls. It was a long time coming, but the Owls can hold their heads high entering the offseason.

2. Let’s get big

There were more than a few naysayers when newly named head coach Mike Bloomgren advocated for Intellectual Brutality on South Main. The Owls were going to bring back the old days of power football in a sport dominated by the spread passing attack.

Early returns were frustrating. The offensive line took several games to gel, and it wasn’t until freshman Clay Servin and Cole Garcia won starting jobs that things began to slow down for the front five. It took a full season to work out the kinks, but the end result has been exactly what Bloomgren wanted in the trenches.

Rice lined up in the jumbo package in critical short yardage situations three times against LSU, converting all three attempts. They pulled out the stacked box again twice against Old Dominion and picked up two fourth down conversions on two tries. The Owls also scored their first touchdown of the day without a single receiver split out wide.

https://twitter.com/swcroundup/status/1066400713528483840

They’ve done it with power runs, play action and a variety of creative playcalling. But most importantly, they’ve stacked the box and made one yard an automatic conversion. If this offense can do that consistently, they’re going to burn the clock and start to take over football games.

3. Rice is going to miss Austin Walter, but they have weapons to fill the void

Saturday marked the final time do-it-all playmaker Austin Walter will wear a Rice uniform. The Owls’ leading rusher and 400+ yard receiver capped off his career with a tremendous senior season, ending it with an exclamation point against Old Dominion. Walter finished the game with three receptions for 24 yards and two carries for seven yards.

The hole left by Walter in this offense is massive and will have to be filled by a handful of different players next season. Through the air, the Owls will need someone to step up. Freshman receivers Brendan Harmon and August Pitre were kept off the field for the bulk of the 2018 season with injuries. Both of those players, and a new face or two are going to be asked to play a meaningful role on the offense next season.

On the ground, Austin’s brother Aston Walter plans to return for one more season, pending a petition to the NCAA. The man to watch, though, is freshman running back Juma Otoviano. The Owls’ wildcat quarterback this year, will undoubtedly be given a more prominent role.

Otoviano was given his first career start against Old Dominion. Entering the game with 140 yards rushing in his collegiate career, Otoviano exploded for a career-best 224 yards. His day was highlighted by two breakaway touchdowns — the longest an 80-yard scamper — the longest score for Rice this season. His second touchdown was “only” 62 yards.

4. Wiley Green is the future at the quarterback position

During practice this week Bloomgren hinted we might see a heavy dosage of freshman quarterback Wiley Green. In three appearances this season Green threw for 525 yards and three touchdowns with four interceptions and a touchdown on the ground.

The rationale for Green’s return to the bench was two-fold. First, Bloomgren refused to let his starting quarterback be Wally Pipped. He reinserted Shawn Stankavage back into the lineup as soon as he was healthy enough to play. Stankavage started twice, throwing for 216 yards and one touchdown with three interceptions against Louisiana Tech and 101 yards against LSU.

Second, the newly instituted redshirt rule allows players to play four games and still retain four years of eligibility. After sitting in the Owls’ past two contests Green will keep his redshirt.

All the maneuvering aside, Green doesn’t look to be relinquishing the starting job anytime soon. He threw for 96 yards with a rushing touchdown against Old Dominion before leaving the game with an injury midway through the third quarter. Green gives this offense a downfield threat with surprising mobility, opening up lanes for the Owls’ talented running backs. Green should be the presumptive favorite to be the starter heading into 2019.

5. The team that played ODU on Saturday should have won a few more games

Work in progress has been the tagline for the Rice football team through the 2018 season. Changing a culture and rebuilding from the ground up takes time, something not commonly afforded in today’s sports landscape. This team took several steps forward, a few more steps backward before finally arriving at the end of the road at 2-11.

To some extent there is truth in Bill Parcell’s most infamous one-liner: “You are what your record says you are.” The final line on the 2018 season says Rice is a 2-win football team. That’s a far cry from where this staff wants it to be, but it’s already twice as far as last year’s 1-win squad.

The truth buried in the wins and losses hides a lot of the growing pains it took for this squad to arrive where they’re at today. The team that beat Old Dominion on Saturday had the benefit of a full season of seasoning, experience and growth.

If Rice had the chance to replay this campaign with the knowledge and practice they’ve picked up along the way they probably pick up a few more wins, but that’s not how this game works. You get one shot, then it’s on to the next. Rice is better than their 2-win record and the building blocks are in place for significant improvement in their record going forward — something the Owls hope to bear out on the field in 2019 and beyond.

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Practice notes – Thanksgiving plans and more Wiley Green

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Rice football has one more game left in 2018 against Old Dominion. The Owls are hard at work doing everything they can to make it a victory.

Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate and be with family, but there’s still plenty of football to be played. Coach Mike Bloomgren has found a way to do both. Rice will practice in the morning on Thursday before joining together for a family-style feast. The meat will be catered and the families will bring sides and share the meal together at the Patterson Center.

Bloomgren has spent his tenure at Rice working to build a family. Nothing says family more than a shared Thanksgiving meal together. Culture is built over time — and over food. Now, a few notes on practice from Wednesday.

More quarterback shakeup?

Shawn Stankavage started against Louisiana Tech and LSU after returning from injury, giving freshman Wiley Green enough of a break to ensure he would retain his redshirt this season. Green is eligible to play one more game in 2018 and should be in the mix to see significant minutes on Saturday.

Neither of the other backup quarterbacks are expected to play meaningful roles on Saturday. Jackson Tyner attempted one pass against LSU. Parker Towns has run a spread package which incorporated his legs and saw limited success.

D’Angelo Ellis continues to impress

Ellis led the team in receptions and yardage against LSU with a pair of acrobatic sideline catches. His ball skills might be the best on the team. Combine those with top-flight speed and Rice has a weapon they’ll continue to feature on offense. He had a few more head-turning catches at practice on Wednesday.

Injury update

  • Collin Whitaker suffered a foot injury in the second quarter against LSU and was in a boot during practice on Wednesday. He won’t be available against Old Dominion.
  • Wide receivers August Pitre and Brendan Harmon are both doubtful. Harmon will be evaluated on game day and has the better chance to play of the pair.
  • Prudy Calderon injured his shoulder against LSU but will be available to start and play as usual.
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Quarterback changes take center stage, practice notes (11/8)

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Rice football continues to work on the practice field as they prepare for Louisiana Tech in Week 11. Here are the latest news and notes.

The plan at quarterback behind Stankavage

True freshman quarterback Wiley Green has looked promising so far this season. The Owls’ former fifth stringer racked up 525 yards passing, four total touchdowns (one rushing) and four interceptions across three games. Green can only play in one more contest this year and preserve his redshirt — something Bloomgren indicated was important to the coaching staff during his Tuesday press conference.

Bloomgren is going to get that fourth game in at some point this season, the question is when will that be? If the situation arises where Rice has to turn to the bench late in a winnable game to Louisiana Tech we might see Green over fellow backup Jackson Tyner. Otherwise, Tyner is the probable No. 2 behind Stankavage this week. He took reps with the second team on Thursday. Green ran the scout unit.

D’Angelo Ellis is going to be a thing

The junior defensive back saw limited action as a member of the Owls’ offense in their game against UTEP. He registered one carry for three yards, playing as a wide receiver motioning out of the backfield. That was his first dose of game action this season and his involvement is only going to go up.

Ellis is quick and could provide a jolt to this offense. Him, alongside a guy like Austin Walter, can be spark plugs for a unit that all too often gets stuck. He has the potential to be that kind of big-play guy.

Get a good look at Jack Fox

It’s not often that you get transfixed in practice by special teams, but it’s worth taking every moment remaining to appreciate punter Jack Fox. His punts boomed effortlessly down the field with a subtle thump each time he launched the ball off his foot. He’s going to be playing on Sundays.

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Rally falls short as Owls drop Homecoming game to UTEP

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Rice football missed a golden opportunity for their first Conference USA win, falling to UTEP on Homecoming at Rice Stadium.

This one stung a bit. Neither the Rice offense nor the defense woke up before halftime, putting the team into a 24-point hole that was too deep to overcome. After two promising outings against FIU and North Texas, the Owls’ slow start against previously winless UTEP ruthlessly cut down all goodwill built over the previous weeks only to build it up way too late.

Rice football now sits at 1-9, still winless in conference play with three games remaining on the year. It’s safe to say that’s nowhere close to how many hoped the Mike Bloomgren era would begin at South Main. Here’s a bit more on the good and the bad from Saturday’s performance.

1. The secondary is caught between a rock and a hard place

UTEP came out guns blazing. The Miners went over the top, completing a 42-yard deep shot on the first play of the game. That was the first of several deep passes attempted and completed by the Owls’ opponent on Saturday. The need for help on the back end has been well documented and UTEP did well to expose a known deficiency.

What they did even better though, was balance their deep shots with easy completions. For every long shot quarterback Kai Locksley threw the Miners had two or three dink and dunk passes. It felt like every time the defense had kept the ball in front of them the Miners would go right back over the top. This rhythm kept the Rice defense off balance from the opening whistle.

Justin Bickham and Brandon Douglas-Dotson both struggled to keep pace with receivers on the outside. One on one coverage, even with safety help, remains a problem for this unit. By the time the game ended it was Collin Whitaker and Tyrae Thornton playing most of the snaps. The Miners were trying to bleed the clock and the pass rush had picked up significantly at that point, but its worth noting both played well.

2. If you can’t tackle, you can’t win

The secondary has had their issues, but the biggest bone to pick with the defensive performance on Saturday was the tackling. You can’t boil down a game to one play, but take a look at this UTEP touchdown run midway through the second quarter.

https://twitter.com/swcroundup/status/1058818539694575617

Roe Wilkins has his arms wrapped around Quardraiz Wadley’s waist. A few other Rice defenders get hands on him as well. The initial push from the defensive line could have been enough to force UTEP to kick the field goal on fourth down. Instead, the Miners get the score. Wadley is a talented athlete and he made several big plays on Saturday, but the poor tackling did the Owls no favors.

It’s not a one man problem. If the defensive staff could pinpoint the breakdowns to one man he’d long since have been relegated the bench. It’s a collective issue that has plagued the Owls all season and continued against UTEP. Poor tackling makes even the least talented players look like superstars. The UTEP offense looked to be a well-oiled machine throughout the entirety of the first half.

3. Starting a true freshman quarterback is going to have highs and lows

In a perfect world, Wiley Green probably isn’t the starting quarterback for the Rice Owls, yet. There’s a lot of things to like about Green and the talent and arm strength make him should get Rice fans excited for the future. If the coaching staff is able to develop him and he can add some muscle in the offseason he stands a good chance to be the frontrunner for the starting job in 2019.

In the meantime, he’s still a true freshman playing meaningful D1 football for the first time in his life. The greenness of Green showed Saturday. He wasn’t asked to do too much through the air, but he overthrew way too many receivers. Austin Walter and Austin Trammell were safety nets, ready for short completions to help their young passer. He just couldn’t get them the ball, particularly when faced with pressure.

The upside of Green couldn’t be any clearer than the Owls final drive before halftime. With 19 seconds on the clock Green hit two long passes, each to Austin Walter, driving the offense 50-yards in 16 seconds to set up a field goal as the clock expired.

Green was masterful on his fourth quarter touchdown, delivering a perfect pass over the top of the coverage and into the outstretched arms of Trammell (below). He doubled down, hitting Trammell on a 53-yard bomb for a touchdown on a fourth down scramble.

https://twitter.com/swcroundup/status/1058842310409101313

It took him a while to knock off the dust and get going. He finished 17-of-32 for 313 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. There’s no doubt he has a long way to go, but Green is going to be a very good quarterback. Give him time.

4. Optics matter, to an extent

There were several recruits on campus for this game who were looking to see signs of progress from Rice on Saturday. Letting the clock expire as big losers on your home field would have been a bad look, to say the least. The fact that this ended up being a close game doesn’t impact the box score but does go a long way for those watching.

Simply put, perception is important. The administration that hired Bloomgren and helped put this team together understands and believes in the process. The decision makers are not going to make hasty decisions and bail on this team, nor should they.

But recruiting isn’t a battle for the well-reasoned administrators, it’s a fight for 17-year-old and 18-year-old kids. Thankfully in Rice’s case, the Owls are targetting those who, hopefully, can look past an immediate result and understand the bigger picture. That bigger picture includes an offense which, when the second half rolled around, proved it has the pieces to move the ball effectively.

Several of the priority targets on the Owls’ 2019 and 2020 wish lists could contribute to this team right now. There are depth concerns at a variety of positions and the allure of early playing time and a unified culture are going to get some important signatures on National Signing Day. A loss to UTEP on your home field stings, and it should. Nevertheless, if Rice can make progress on the recruiting front despite the noise, things will get better.

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