The source for Rice sports news

UNT review and UTEP preview, press conference notes (10/30)

By

Head coach Mike Bloomgren broken down Rice football‘s performance against North Texas and preview the UTEP game.

On learning how to start strong and finish games

We played well enough to win for about 47 minutes, but that’s not how long a football game is.

Our football team plays much better… when we get that early score. It carries over to all the other phases of our football team.

On Wiley Green‘s performance

He played a really solid game. He did a lot of things with his feet, he improvised on a couple and protected the ball to the best of his ability.

On the involvement of Juma Otoviano

It was not the intention for him to have 19 carries, but he ended up having a really hot hand. We saw him play physical. We saw him break tackles… He’s also somebody we know can be in that wildcat package, but he has the ability to throw the ball down the field as well. We could see more from Juma as this season continues.

On the play of Anthony Ekpe

Mason Fine is an outstanding quarterback and we hit him 10 times and sacked him three. Anthony Ekpe had those three sacks. I thought he was pretty unstoppable on some of those third downs. It was really exciting to see him dominate a game like that and I thought those hits paid dividends as the game went on.

On “Jack Fox doing Jack Fox things”

Jack Fox Had a career-long 76-yard punt against North Texas, averaging 47.3 yards on seven punts with five punts downed inside the 20.

For the fourth time this season he’s on the Ray Guy Award’s Eight List this week. We think he’s a deserving candidate of that award.

On the UTEP game and Homecoming

It’s a huge game for our football team, a huge game for our program and we’re working as such. We are attacking this week no different than we have other weeks. We’re putting in the work.

It’s our homecoming. We hope to have all our letterman and alumni back. We want our letterman to know how important they are to this program, so we hope they all come back and watch it and I hope we put on a show for them.

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

Recent Posts

Injury updates, healthy quarterbacks, practice notes (10/29)

By

Rice football returned to the practice field with a few new faces in the mix on Monday. Here’s the latest from Mike Bloomgren and the Owls.

Quarterback depth chart

There seems to be a bit more clarity at the quarterback position. Wiley Green is the new starter. Behind him, Jackson Tyner saw reps with the second team and Parker Towns threw behind him.

Juma Otoviano and the wildcat package were effective against North Texas. He’ll be in the mix for some reps, but barring an injury, it doesn’t appear that Austin Trammell will see any snaps at quarterback.

Injury update

Wiley Green is healthy. After back-to-back weeks with a banged up signal caller that seemed worth mentioning here. Joining Green in the offensive backfield next week will be Emmanuel Esukpa, who should be 100 percent against UTEP after missing the last two games.

Two faces the Owls’ haven’t seen on the field yet this year were back in action on practice on Monday. Cornerback Isaiah Richardson participated in individual drills and continues to progress. He’s day to day, as is freshman wide receiver August Pitre. He did individual drills and is scheduled to participate in 7-on-7 drills tomorrow. Both these players are on track to available soon but haven’t been ruled in or out against UTEP quite yet.

Running back platoon in full effect

In addition to Esukpa at practice, there were plenty of mouths to feed in the backfield. Aston Walter, Nashon Ellerbee, Austin Walter and Otoviano all saw some touches during practice. They won’t be able to get each guy a ton of volume every week, but the backfield will have plenty of fresh legs whenever Esukpa or Austin Walter need a breather.

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

Recent Posts

Owls’ need to turn three-quarter performance into full game

By

Head coach Mike Bloomgen and Rice football were close for most of their loss to North Texas, right up until the fourth quarter.

Four. There are four quarters in a college football game. That’s what put head coach Mike Bloomgren’s analysis of the Owls’ play on Saturday into the proper context. “For three quarters I couldn’t have been prouder of how we played,” Bloomgren remarked following the loss. “We started off the game the way we wanted to,” he said, “but when the game is on the line… their guys made more plays than we did.”

That’s not the first time Bloomgren has sung that tune following a Rice loss this season. Hopefully, it is the last.

Remedying those woes is an objective shared by the Owls’ new starting quarterback, Wiley Green. “That fourth quarter is definitely something we gotta to work on,” Green said, “We just gotta learn how to finish. At the end of the day that’s what matters and that’s how you win football games.”

Winning football games is something Rice hasn’t done in eight consecutive tries. More often than not, this team shows progress. But they haven’t reached the point where they can overcome their own mistakes. As good as the Owls’ opponents have played of late, there’s been a steady undercurrent of Rice beating themselves. The coaching staff has seen it, too.

“From a mental standpoint, we’re not able to overcome those things,” Bloomgren admitted, “When we make a mistake or have something go against us like that we fold instead of poking out our chest and finding a way to get over it.”

Through all the bad, glimmers of hope still remain. On Saturday it was three quarters. Prior to that the Owls had been looking for a full half, or even a single touchdown at all. The effort is there. It’s the execution that’s lacking. Execution can be coached; effort can’t.

Bloomgren summarized his session with one reassuring comment, “As long as the coaches and the players are going to give everything they have to this program we’re going to find a way. The wins are going to come. We just gotta keep working.”

The Owls’ next game is against UTEP at home for Homecoming. There’s no better time to pick up their first conference win like the present.

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

Recent Posts

Owls on pace to improve passing stats amidst quarterback shuffle

By

Rice football played four quarterbacks last season and four quarterbacks in 2018. Even in challenging circumstances, the Owls are finding positive results.

In fall camp head coach Mike Bloomgren said he’d love to see one guy grab control of the starting quarterback job and carry it through the season. Vanderbilt transfer Shawn Stankavage looked to be that guy early on, but an injury suffered against UAB forced Bloomgren and the offensive staff to go further down the depth chart.

Evan Marshman started against FIU. Wiley Green will start against North Texas. Jackson Tyner’s turnover concerns have kept him as a reserve player for the time being, but he’ll be in the mix alongside some former high school quarterbacks that have played various other skills positions for the Owls.

Here’s how the Owls’ passers have faired thus far in 2018:

Player Cmp Att Pct Yds TD Int
Shawn Stankavage 99 174 56.9 1011 9 7
Jackson Tyner 9 19 47.4 132 0 1
Evan Marshman 17 31 54.8 164 0 1
Wiley Green 1 6 16.7 8 0 2

That’s a mixed bag, especially considering the various different scenarios and game situations each of those quarterbacks experienced. All told, though, Rice is actually on pace to produce better numbers from the quarterback position in 2018 than 2017, even with another lengthy list of participants.

Year Cmp Att Pct Yds TD Int
’17 Rice QBs 121 244 49.6 1721 6 16
’18 Rice QBs 126 230 54.8 1315 9 11
’18 Projected 205 374 54.8 2137 15 18

At a bare minimum, the improved passing numbers in such challenging circumstances has to be encouraging. Preparing an offense for “three vastly different quarterbacks in three different weeks” isn’t easy, and what the offensive staff has been able to do this month has been nothing short of incredible.

Bloomgren detailed the team’s mental processing that has to go on with they insert yet another new face under center against North Texas on Saturday. “It’s always going to be next man up,” Bloomgren said, “but anytime you have a next man up, especially at that position, everybody has to tighten their belts. Everyone has to play better and do your job that much better to make that person comfortable so they can do their job.”

The job on Saturday will be to get true freshman Wiley Green plenty of space in the pocket to deliver a calm, accurate throw. Green has an arm that can get the ball anywhere, but as we saw against FIU, that can include the wrong hands if he’s pressing. He has the talent and the coaching that’s produced encouraging results from a few passers already for Rice this season. Now it’s his turn to take the reigns.

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

Recent Posts

Owls to start Wiley Green vs North Texas

By

Rice football has been forced to dig deep into the quarterback depth chart. Wiley Green will start for the Owls in lieu of an injured Evan Marshman.

Wiley Green started the fall as the fifth quarterback on the Owls’ roster. On Saturday he will start against North Texas because of injuries suffered by Shawn Stankavage and Evan Marshman in successive games.

Marshman started the Owls’ Week 8 game against FIU and played well. He completed 11-of-15 passes for 107 yards and threw one interception. He was even more productive on the ground, rushing for 68 yards and two scores. Unfortunately for Marshman and the Owls, his final run proved to be dangerous.

Marshman took off, found space and was greeted with a flurry of opposing jerseys at the goal line. He plunged through the scrum for the touchdown, landing awkwardly before being immediately rushed to the medical tent. He did not return to the game, and he won’t suit up again for the Owls any time soon. Precise details of his injury have not yet been made public, but like Stankavage, this injury will cause him to miss multiple weeks if not longer.

That makes Green, the former scout team quarterback, the next man up for the Owls against North Texas. After him, the depth chart gets murky. Jackson Tyner is one of the few men standing at the position which has prompted the coaching staff to dig deeper for possible solutions. In addition to Tyner, wide receiver Austin Trammell and running back Juma Otaviano will take reps at quarterback this week.

Rice will play its third different starting quarterback in three weeks against North Texas. That’s not what any coach would hope for, but the raw talent Green possesses makes Bloomgren hopeful. “He can spin it,” Bloomgren said, adding that he’s been impressed with his progression this fall.

Green understands the gravity of the situation, but say’s his preparation remains the same.  “At the end of the day, it’s football. No matter if it’s the ones or the threes it’s football and I’ve been playing it since elementary school.” That may be true, but this weekend won’t be just another game. It will be his first collegiate start.

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

Recent Posts