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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: Offense dominates their first spring practice

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The Rice football offense had their best offensive showing of the spring, capping off Monday’s practice with a near-perfect redzone performance.

Touchdown. Touchdown. Touchdown. The Rice offense had started to forget what the endzone felt like after a dominant start to the spring by the defensive unit. The offense managed a single field goal in their scrimmage on Saturday, failing to reach the endzone at all. They made up for their absence then, and the rest of the spring, with an impressive showing during Monday’s practice.

Bradley Rozner broke a few ankles, carving up the secondary on his way to six. Aaron Cephus high pointed some passes in the endzone. Ari Broussard was almost impossible to bring down. Evan Marshman took a keeper to the pylon. And all of that happened in the span of 20 minutes.

Breakthrough was coming, it was only a matter of time. Finally, something clicked. Cephus called it “a thin line between regular and great” which the offense had surpassed. There was no secret weapon, rather it was the culmination of weeks of learning and practice finally coming together at once. A slowed down game plus, as Cephus called it, “a lot of nastiness and grit”, gave the entire offense a much-needed confidence boost.

Mike Bloomgren called the sudden onslaught of offense “the spark” that “lit a fire”, setting up a battle between both sides of the ball on Thursday. That will be the last true practice before Rice holds their spring game on Saturday.

Several alumni and letterman will be in attendance then, some of which have already paid visits this spring. Sam Pierce stopped in to check out practice on Monday. Peter Godber, Calvin Anderson, Jack Fox and others have been by over the past week.

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Owls prep for Homecoming vs UTEP, practice notes (11/1)

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Rice football put the finishing touches on their gameplan for their Homecoming game against UTEP, the Owls’ Week 10 opponent.

After a few rough weeks in the middle of the season, the Rice offense is starting to come together. The atmosphere with the unit at practice was extremely positive on Thursday. Injured quarterbacks Shawn Stankavage and Evan Marshman were both there to offer encouragement and participate in the offensive huddle.

They stood by as receivers Austin Trammell and Aaron Cephus flashed in redzone work. Cephus has come a long way from where he started the season and is beginning to understand how to use his large frame to go up and rebound the basketball. His technical skills still need some refinement, but there are few better endzone targets on this offense than him right now. High-pointing the ball was a significant component of these sessions.

Dubbed “Mr. Consistent” by head coach Mike Bloomgren during fall camp, Trammell might have had glue for hands on Thursday. Coming off a career-best 10 reception, 94 yard game against North Texas last weekend, Trammell continues to be the focal point of the passing attack in practice and will continue to absorb targets in the games.

Injury update

The biggest new addition to the Owls’ this weekend will be cornerback D’Angelo Ellis. He’s been close to a return for a few weeks now, but Saturday should be his first action. He credits the strength program with the strides he’s made in recover thus far, saying Hans Straub’s program has helped him gain weight and get bigger and stronger.

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Austin Walter gives Owls’ offense reason for hope

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Rice football had a rough outing against Wake Forest, but senior running back Austin Walter did his part, leaving the game with more than one huge play.

Austin Walter entered Rice football’s Week 5 game against Wake Forest fourth in the country in All-Purpose yards, trailing two players that had already played their fifth game. Pound for pound, there isn’t another athlete that impacts the game as much as he does. That was even more evident after Walter tallied another 256 yards against the Demon Deacons.

Walter had two kickoff returns for 69 yards, led the Owls in receiving with five catches for 32 yards and a touchdown, and led the team in rushing with 18 carries, 165 yards and a score on the ground. When he touches the ball, magic happens. Let’s walk through three of his biggest plays:

https://twitter.com/swcroundup/status/1046152169714536453

1. The 47-yard run

The offensive line had another up and down day, but they guys up front deserve as much credit as Walter for this big run in the third quarter. When Walter got the handoff from quarterback Shawn Stankavage he had a big hole to run through with nearly 15 yards of open space between him and the Wake Forest safety over the top.

The corner over pursued, wide receiver Aaron Cephus made a big block and Walter turned on the jets, nearly outrunning the rest of the secondary completely before he was pushed out of bounds after a big gain. His speed and commitment to his cuts, paired with excellent blocking, set up the Owls’ biggest play of the game.

https://twitter.com/swcroundup/status/1046152594782072832

2. The shovel pass

Offensive coordinator Jerry Mack deserves a pat on the back for this play call. In their hurry to get into the backfield the Wake Forest defensive line creates a pocket for Austin Walter in the middle of the field. Stankavage completes the pitch and catch, but Walter explodes once the ball is secured in his hands.

A Wake Forest linebacker trails Walter, but can’t get a hand on him as Walter disappears up the middle. Somehow a safety is able to split a pair of would-be blockers, but Walter makes a shoe-shaking cut that leaves the defender on the ground as he waltzes into the endzone.

https://twitter.com/swcroundup/status/1046156096396816384

3. The all-effort touchdown

Even though the score was still decidedly one-sided in the Demon Deacons’ favor, Austin Walter’s motor never slowed. The shifty back exploded out of the I-Formation, beating an unblocked linebacker by running through an arm tackle around his shoulders.

Still engaged with the first defender, Walter kept his legs moving and his eyes upfield. That enabled him to pick up his blockers and make one more cut. Then he was off to the races. The Wake Forest safety should have been able to at least force him out of bounds, but by the time he realized what angle he’d need to take, Walter was already past him.

The Rice football offense has work to do before it’s truly functioning at the highest level it’s capable of, but until that happens, Austin Walter is here to smooth out the rough spots. He’s a home run threat waiting to happen and he’s pretty hard to tackle. Give him one block, he’ll get 10 yards. Give him two, and he might just take it to the house — it doesn’t matter if he’s eight-yards away from the endzone or 80, he scores touchdowns..

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