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Rice Football 2019: Week 6 UAB Press Conference quotes

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Rice Football head coach Mike Bloomgren made his final comments on the Louisiana Tech game as the Owls move onward to UAB in Week 6.

More: Rice Football game preview for Week 6 vs UAB

Defensive tackle Elijah Garcia and newly minted placekicker and team captain Chris Barnes joined head coach Mike Bloomgren at the podium on Tuesday. The trio made closing comments on the Louisiana Tech game and looked ahead to their Week 6 game against UAB.

From Mike Bloomgren

On the leadership of Aston Walter…

“I thought Aston Walter had a heck of a day. He ran for a career-high 112 yards on 20 carries. He scored our first two touchdowns and I noticed that he was the leading rusher in the conference. As I’ve talked about Aston before, he’s so good right now in his role. The things that he does without the ball are phenomenal. The leadership he is providing for our team as a sixth-year senior has been great. So, I’m really pleased with how Aston’s performing.”

On the play of the defense…

“Defensively, we’re playing at a really high level right now. That’s the bottom line. We’ve given ourselves a chance to be in those games in the fourth quarter because of the ferocious way that our defense is playing. I think that they are really playing in a relentless manner; swarming to the ball and you know what? We’re still going to ask them for more.”

On UAB and Bill Clark…

“Bill Clark is a heck of a football coach. I’ve known him since 1997. I respect everything that he has done at every stop along the way. But, what he’s done since taking that program back from the ashes has been phenomenal. Nothing short of phenomenal. Winning the conference last year. This year they are still a very, very good football team and I just appreciate the way that he coaches. I appreciate the way he pushes his guys. I appreciate that when you watch their defense –the effort that they play with.”

On the team’s belief right now…

“I know what Las Vegas said. I know we were an 8.5-point underdog. I know people say that LA Tech’s the number one team in Conference USA. But, our team feels like that was an upset because we knew we could play with them. We knew that we could win that game.”

From DT Elijah Garcia

On responding from the shutout at home against UAB last season..

“It’s a payback man. I mean, they shut us out here and it would be a treat to go and do that over there on their home field. So that’s, that’s the mindset this weekend. We want to get after it just like we did last week.”

From P/K Chris Barnes

On how he’s handled the transition to punting and kicking duties…

“[It’s] Just focusing on what you’re doing at that point, whether its kicking field goals or punting, just focusing on your technique and trusting the guys in front of you. Campbell Riddle is a fantastic snapper, he’s been giving us great snaps all year so I trust him. I trust all the blocking. And Adam [Nunez] is a great holder, too. I just trust those guys and it kinda makes things a little easier.”

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Rice Football: Owls rally falls short against Baylor Bears

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Another hard-fought nonconference game ended in defeat for Rice football who couldn’t rally from an early deficit against the Baylor Bears.

Rice football concluded their nonconference slate with their second straight bout with an in-state opponent. Baylor struck first but the Owls mounted a comeback which fell just short. Here are a few immediate takeaways from the game:

1. Shortening the game worked

When the first quarter ended Rice and Baylor were locked in a one-score game and the sun was still hanging in the sky. Despite the 6:00 p.m. kick, the Owls were able to fit an entire quarter in, and then some, before the stadium lights were needed. This is a theme we’ll see throughout this season.

The offense picked up three first downs in the first quarter and possessed the ball for a little more than five minutes. The defense bent, but only allowed the one touchdown. The formula in the second quarter was the same, with the Owls finding more success on offense — including their first successful field goal of the season.

Recruiting update | Owls gaining ground on priority targets

A week removed from giving up four consecutive touchdown drives against Texas with zero offensive points, Rice put a much more competitive product on the field and kept the score close, so close in fact that the Owls found themselves in a one-score game in the fourth quarter against a team most expected to run away from them.

2. Ground game goes quietly, again

Rice averaged 6.0 yards per carry in their season opener against Army. That included a long touchdown run by Nahshon Ellerbe, but even without the big gain, the Owls had success moving the ball on the ground. Since that Friday night, it’s been more than tough sledding.

The Owls tallied 67 rushing yards against Wake Forest, 87 against Texas and 64 against Baylor. For an offense that professes to live and die on pounding the rock, they were considerably less productive with the ground game controlled.

The opponents who were able to quiet the Owls’ rushing attack are all more talented and athletic than Army. They’re also more capable in the trenches than the remaining opponents on the schedule. Prior to Saturday, Rice hasn’t had an answer when the ground game isn’t working. The Owls needed the passing game to rise up, and it did.

3. This defense is going to win something

It might not be a championship (this year) but the Rice defense has proven themselves good enough to win games. Aside from a 50-yard touchdown against busted coverage — something which hasn’t happened as often this year as it did last year — the Rice defense played extremely well. In their previous two first halves, Baylor had scored 35 points against UTSA and 35 against SFA. Rice allowed 21.

Denzel Mims and RJ Sneed tallied 20 receptions for 244 yards and five touchdowns in their first two games. Rice held that duo to 126 yards and no scores on nine receptions.

Rice stopped Baylor on fourth down in this game, forcing a fumble in the process. They picked up another fumble on a botched exchange in the second quarter and should have gotten points off that turnover as well, but Chris Barnes missed the field goal.

Baylor hit a long pass down the sideline on their first possession of the third quarter. The defense responded by shutting down a wide receiver pass and stripping Brewer of the ball for their third forced fumble of the game.

3. Sustained drives make a difference

Getting to third and short has been a challenge for Rice. The Owls faced 18 third downs and converted eight of them. Five of those third downs were four yards or shorter. They converted four of those five. A good portion of that was the lack of effectiveness in the running game, but the passing game wasn’t consistent enough to set the Owls up in third and short often either.

Third down was a problem for this offense last year and a major factor in their inability to control games. Against Baylor, Rice converted three consecutive third downs on two separate occasions. Both possession ended with redzone field goals.

Better still, Rice found ways to move the ball before they found themselves in third down. Tom Stewart’s touchdown run came on the heels of a third and one conversion by Austin Walter.

4. The special teams dilemma

Bloomgren declined to make any public decisions regarding the placekicking entering Saturday’s contest. We saw incumbent Will Harrison come on and convert from 28 yards and 24 yards. Punter and team captain Chris Barnes missed late in the game from 44 yards.

Last year we saw Rice deploy a similar platoon situation. Jack Fox handled long field goals and Hayden Tobola kicked from roughly inside 40 yards.

Zach Hoban handled kickoffs against Baylor. He could be in the mix here as well once he’s fully recovered from an injury which kept him out of the first three games. Bottom line, this situation is still pretty hazy and we might not get clairt for a while.

5. The quarterback dilemma

Here are the final lines for both quarterbacks

Wiley Green | 13-of-23 passing for 128 yards
Tom Stewart | 5-of-8 passing for 50 yards with a 21-yard rushing touchdown

Green didn’t do much with his first two possessions of the game, ceding to Stewart as planned for the third series. Stewart made the most of his opportunity, connecting on two big third down throws, positioning Rice for two field goal attempts. Understandably, Bloomgren rode the hotter hand and kept Stewart in for the remainder of the first half.

Green started out the second half and was noticeably galvanized by the competition. He picked up a first down with his legs and drove the Owls the length of the field into the redzone ore the offense stalled. Stewart didn’t take a snap in the third quarter thanks to Green’s early success. Then Stewart reentered the game after Green got hit and promptly ripped off the 21-yard touchdown run.

Now Bloomgren is in a pickle. Both quarterbacks had their moments. At halftime I would have said Stewart was the better option. Then Green rallied in the second half. Conference play starts next week and it doesn’t look like Rice will have one definitive answer at the quarterback position.

5. No more mulligans. Conference play is here.

Slow starts have maligned the Rice offense through nonconference play. The defense has looked sharp, if not excellent. Next week those early themes will be put to the test in the first conference game of the season. An 0-4 start can fade quickly if Rice can find a way to reinvigorate the offense and keep the defense humming.

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Rice Football 2019: Owls miss chance to upset Army on the road

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Rice Football tussled with the Army Black Knights on Friday night at Michie Stadium, narrowly falling in a one-score game decided in the final minutes.

Rice football entered Friday’s tilt with Army as underdogs. The Knights were coming off an 11-win season and came close to being ranked in the first edition of the AP Poll. Rice had won twice in their past 13 games and was playing far away from home. From the first snap, neither of those converging storylines seemed to matter.

Not once did Rice look out of place or overwhelmed. The Owls went toe to toe with the Black Knights, sparring with their service academy foes and looking every bit their equals. Army sustained one lengthy scoring drive, never finding a rhythm on offense thanks to the swarming white-clad Owls defense.

Here are a few takeaways from the Owls’ season opener.

1. The new-look defense is ready to play

Like Carter and I discussed on The Roost Podcast, Army likes to roll the dice and go for it on fourth down more often than most teams. Coach Jeff Monken put that to the test early, opting to go for it on fourth and one inside their own 10-yard line on the Knights’ first drive. Myles Adams blew up the play in the backfield and Treshawn Chamberlain finished the stop.

The theme of bigger, stronger and faster was talked about throughout the offseason. Still, it was hard to know how much of a difference that would make on the field until Rice hit someone wearing a different colored jersey. Rice opened the Army game with a statement and continued to out-muscle their foes for the duration of the contest.

2. He’s back!

Rice knew their time with the football was going to be disjointed because of the nature of the Army offense. The Knights had limited success with the ball early. The Rice offense missed a golden opportunity to set the tone and force their opponents into an uncomfortable position and were forced to play from behind, just not for long.

Nahshon Ellerbe, who led Rice in rushing in 2017 before injuries kept him on the bench for almost the entirety of the 2018 season, provided the equalizer.

Ellerbe is one of the most physically imposing players on the team. His potential was brought up in a conversation with Bloomgren during fall camp. Bloomgren mentioned he’d seen all the highlight videos of what he could do in the open field but had never watched him run on the field with his own eyes.

Well, Bloomgren has seen Ellerbe now. And so has a packed Michie stadium. Ellerbe’s touchdown run woke the offense up out of their slow start and gave the Rice sideline a much-appreciated confidence boost. He went on to finish the game with nine carries for 103 yards and the aforementioned touchdown run.

3. A mixed bag on special teams

Continuity was the buzzword for the Rice special teams throughout the offseason. The Owls were replacing Ray Guy semifinalist Jack Fox and veteran placekicker Haden Tobola. They hoped to keep things rolling by transitioning former running backs coach Drew Svoboda to special teams coordinator.

Under Svoboda’s direction, the special teams were a mixed bag. Punter Adam Nunez, who transferred to Rice after starting at TCU for three seasons, was phenomenal. His first punt went 61 yards and his second went 51. Both balls pinned Army inside their own 10-yard line, giving Rice a huge edge in field position.

Chris Barnes got a turn to start the third quarter before Nunez came back in, downing two more punts inside the 10-yard line. He was as perfect as you could ask a punter to be.

The placekicking was a different story. Will Harrison missed a 26-yard chip shot and a 44-yard attempt in the first half. Had he converted either of those, Rice could have walked into halftime with the lead. Freshman kicker Zack Hoban was expected to challenge Harrison for the starting job but had a brace on his non-kicking foot during practice this week. Once Hoban is healthy the competition should resume.

4. Offense remains a work in progress

On a night in which the defense dominated, the offense led by quarterback Wiley Green struggled to consistently move the ball. The Owls did not show a noticeable improvement from their third down struggles from a year ago, converting three times in 11 opportunities.

Green completed seven of 15 passes for 62 yards. He had some pretty balls downfield, connecting on a big play to Austin Trammell in the first half but for the most part seemed to leave a lot on the field.

His passes had plenty of zip but lacked accuracy. He was off on two screen passes which effectively halted separate drives. The run-focused game plan seemed to inhibit his ability to get into a groove.

The running game was more or less efficient, but there were definitely plays where the offensive line got a better push up front than others. When all the parts were working in concert, big holes appeared, setting up the backs for easy first downs. In addition to Ellerbe’s scamper, Aston Walter had a 24-yard run which was called back by a holding penalty.

5. This is a different team

Rice showed flashes of ability on both sides of the ball last season. In the end, that’s all it was though, flashes. The biggest question mark facing this team this year was always going to be their ability to play for four quarters and finish. One week into the 2019 season and the Owls have mustered some sort of answer.

Every phase isn’t running smoothly, but as a team, the 2019 Rice Owls are better than they were a season ago.

More: Read more about the Owls’ next opponent, Wake Forest, in our 2019 Season Preview

The heavy underdogs played mostly penalty-free football and had a quality opponent on the ropes on the road. Rice isn’t going to play the triple option every weekend, but the kind of defense they displayed on Friday night will travel.

It’s disappointing to leave West Point without a win, particularly with how close the game was from start to finish. Rice played well enough that they should feel scorned by the narrow defeat. That in itself is proof of a marked improvement.

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Rice Football: Week 1 Army Press Conference quotes

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Mike Bloomgren, the Rice Football team captains and the newly minted starting quarterback met with the media in advance of their Week 1 game against Army.

The Owls are ready to hit someone in a different colored jersey. Those who spoke on the Tuesday press conference touched on the key takeaways from fall camp and spent a good amount of time looking forward to the upcoming season, specifically their Friday game against Army. Here are a handful of the most notable quotes:

From Mike Bloomgren

On the mentality of the team as a whole…

“I think this is a team that is hungry for success. You see it in the way they practice. You see it in the way they’ve taken care of their bodies, the way that they’ve really dove into learning these complex NFL systems on both sides of the ball. Really proud of what they’ve done so far… They know that being physical is a non-negotiable trait in our program. And they have certainly answered the bell.”

On why he chose Wiley Green to be the starting quarterback…

“He’s got elite arm talent … but also the way he prepares, the way he lives a quarterback lifestyle. And very simply, I think one of the things that led him to secure this job as our starting quarterback is his experience in the system and his ability to protect the ball consistently throughout training camp. Those are the things that are non-negotiable.

“This time last year, Wiley was taking three or four reps, and he was still struggling at times to call plays in the huddle like all quarterbacks do when they first enter the system. And now he really thinks like a coach.”

On Army…

“It would be extremely hard to prepare for this team in one week, in two days of actual practice. Luckily for us, we started practicing on them in the spring, for last two weeks, our commitment to them defensively has been real.”

“You can’t waste plays against this offense, or against this team, I should say, because it’s all about negative plays, they get you in negative plays and make you go three and out. You may not have the ball for 12 minutes, they’ve proven that time and time again on film.”

“I think Army absolutely feasts on finesse teams. That’s what they want. They want people that don’t want to, that aren’t willing to stand in front of them, and throw punch after punch after punch. And what they’re going to see is, you know, we’re going to be willing, we are willing to come into the fight. And we’re going to fight. I think these guys love each other too much not to do that.”

On the difference from last year’s opener to now…

“It’s the second time around for me. And just understanding more about my staff and this team, and having the comfort and knowing how great the people around the world and the trust in them. I probably tried to do too much as a first year head coach, especially with the experienced guys that I have around me. And I know who I can trust with what and so I can focus on the things that are truly important. I know this team better. I know this group of guys, especially as leaders better. I will sleep well Thursday night.”

From Myles Adams

On his focus during for his senior season…

“Unity and togetherness… that’s what we pushed this summer in our offseason… We’ve really bought into that intellectual brutality, where we have pride in what we do, in perfecting our craft, everybody having a common goal and trying to strive for that together.”

From Austin Trammell

On the feeling around the team…

“If you just kind of ask around, you could tell there’s a different energy, a different vibe going around the guys. Because it’s a new feel with how we are together. There’s a bond, that unity that Myles [Adams] is talking about. We just all love each other so much. And we want to succeed for our brothers, not so much for ourselves. And I think that’s what it’s going to create a lot of success for us.”

From Chris Barnes

On being named a team captain as a senior…

“Never thought I would be in this position, but like I said, I’m extremely grateful for it and I just want to do the best thing I can for the team and build this culture we’re trying to establish here and leave a lasting legacy.”

From Wiley Green

On the team’s mindset facing Army’s physicality…

“Army’s a disciplined team, but I feel like we’re gonna come out more physical across the board. The offensive line, fullbacks, running backs, shoot, even at the quarterback position, we’re going to come out more physical than they are. Because that’s that’s what we preach here. And that’s what we’re going after.”

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Rice Football: 5 Position battles to watch in fall camp

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Five position battles have been a focal point of Rice Football fall camp. Here’s where the Owls stand at those key spots after the first week of camp.

1. Wide receiver

The suspension of Aaron Cephus left Rice in a tough spot at the wide receiver position. Austin Trammell will push 100 targets, but the rest of the depth chart is going to be asked to step up. August Pitre and Brad Rozner started camp with the first team.

When the team goes to split squad practice, freshman Zane Knipe works with the veterans. Jake Bailey is with the second team at the moment, but he stands out as the best player at his position in that group.

Projected starters against Army as of today: Trammell, Rozner, Pitre

2. Offensive line

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Three grad transfers in the mix make the offensive line one of the most competitive races of camp. The only position that is definitively set in stone is left tackle, where Clay Servin returns as the team’s top starter. Nick Leverett, Brian Chaffin and Cole Garcia are fighting it out for the two interior guard spots with Shea Baker the presumptive favorite to stick at center.

Learn more about each of these challengers by reading their player profiles in our 2019 Rice Football Season Preview, on sale now.

The most competitive race will come at right tackle where Uzoma Osuji and Ouachita Baptist transfer Justin Gooseberry are dueling for the starting role.

Projected starters against Army as of today: From left to right – Servin, Leverett, Baker, Garcia, Gooseberry

3. Quarterback

Wiley Green has had the inside track on the starting job in 2019 since the end of last season. He performed reasonably well in the spring and has continued to progress through fall camp. But, just like last year, the Owls brought in a grad transfer at the position to push their incumbent starter.

Through the first week of camp, it’s looking like Tom Stewart is the real deal. It was never a given that Green would be the de facto starter against Army, but recent developments make me believe this competition is going to very real and quite contentious. Stewart’s progress, plus the arrival of Jovoni Johnson could see this race draw out til the final days of camp.

Projected starters against Army as of today: Green

4. Special Teams

While the rest of the aforementioned position battles project to be close, each of them features some sort of frontrunner rather by way of seniority or familiarity with the Owls’ schemes. Two of the most prominent special teams jobs are wide open.

Adam Nunez and Chris Barnes have both had strong fall camps at punter. Nunez was a multi-year starter at TCU; Barnes sat behind current-NFLer Jack Fox. There’s probably not a wrong answer here. The kicker spot features more uncertainty. Will Harrison has experience but wasn’t accurate this spring. Incoming freshman Zach Hoban has an impressive highlight reel, but he’s never produced at the college level.

Projected starters against Army as of today: Punter – Adam Nunez, Kicker – Zach Hoban

5. Corner

The emergence of Andrew Bird late last season was huge for the Owls’ secondary which lost several veterans this offseason. Back alongside Bird are D’Angelo Ellis and Tyrae Thornton, both of whom have had their ups and downs. One of the two is going to start opposite Bird out the gate. Who that will be remains to be seen. This is one of the spots where we could see freshmen emerge early to play meaningful snaps.

Projected starters against Army as of today: Bird, Ellis

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