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2023 Rice Football quality control support staff updates

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Rice Football formalized the hiring of their position coaches this spring, but there have been a handful of other moves that went under the radar.

The 2023 Rice Football quality control staff has been revamped in the wake of an offseason that featured a host of changes on the staffing front. Rice hired five new position coaches — Jon Kay (linebackers), Pete Alomar (special teams), Jeremy Modkins (corners), John Settle (running backs) and Lucas Reed (tight ends) — but those weren’t the only changes inside the Patterson Center for the upcoming season.

Zach Werlinger – Quality Control Coordinator / Quarterbacks

Werlinger takes over the QC/Quarterbacks role that was vacated by Lucas Reed after he was promoted to coach tight ends. Werlinger is a former quarterback at Arizona who has had coaching stops as a grad assistant at Northern Arizona and Cal before arriving at Rice this March.

Ahmaad Smith – Quality Control Coordinator / Defense

Smith was a defensive back at Tennesse State in his playing days before stints in the American Indoor Football Association and the CFL. He’s spent the last several years climbing the coaching ranks, working as a defensive backs coach at Tennessee State for three seasons before joining Dartmouth as a defensive assistant and soon after as the assistant secondary coach.

JJ Nelson – Quality Control Coordinator / Wide Receivers

UAB alum and former Conference USA standout receiver JJ Nelson is listed as the Owls’ QC for wide receivers. He played professionally for the Arizona Cardinals from 2015 to 2018 before brief stints with the Raiders, 49ers, Bills and Colts, last being on an NFL roster in 2021. Now he’ll be assisting the Rice wideouts.

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Rice Football: Catching up on coaching changes

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Rice Football has made significant changes to its coaching staff prior to the 2023 season. The Owls are expected to name several new position coaches this spring.

With Rice football set to start spring practices on March 6, time is of the essence as the program undertakes one of its most significant coaching staff changeovers since head coach Mike Bloomgren was brought in prior to the 2018 season and revamped almost the entire staff. Bloomgren has made a significant amount of changes on the position coach front over the past few weeks. Here’s a rundown of the new faces and some notes on what’s still to come.

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Rice Football: CBs coach Gerard Wilcher to Morehouse College

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There has reportedly been some change on the Rice football staff. Corners coach Gerard Wilcher is set to become the head coach at Morehouse College.

First reported by Pete Thamel, Rice corners coach Gerard Wilcher is expected to become the next head coach at Morehouse College. Wilcher is a Morehouse alum and has been on staff at Rice since the beginning of head coach Mike Bloomgren’s tenure.

Wilcher has been instrumental in a resurgence in the corner room including the development of promising young corners Jordan Dunbar and Sean Fresch.

Bloomgren acknowledged the move on Twitter, saying this: “Really happy for G and Ayanna. Thankful for their time and hard work at Rice. Go crush it for the Maroon Tigers! #RFND”

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Rice Football to hire Marques Tuiasosopo as offensive coordinator

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Rice football has found its next offensive coordinator. The Owls are set to hire Cal tight ends coach Marques Tuiasosopo to run the Rice offense.

There have been a few changes to the Rice football coaching staff over the past several weeks. By the time the Owls arrive at spring practice in March they’ll have a new special teams coordinator, tight ends coach and offensive coordinator.

The men would fill those position coach roles were previously known. One, Chris Monfiletto, was already on staff. The other, Jim Jackson, was hired from UMass. We can now confirm head coach Mike Bloomgren has made his selection for the open offensive coordinator role.

Bloomgren is expected to name Cal tight ends coach Marques Tuiasosopo as his next offensive coordinator, replacing Jerry Mack who left the Owls’ staff to coach running backs at Tennessee.

Tuiasosopo played his college ball at Washington before being selected in the second round of the NFL Draft by the Raiders. He would go on to play eight seasons in the NFL before turning to coaching. Tuiasosopo has spent time with Washington, UCLA, USC and Cal. He’s coached quarterbacks and tight ends and served as the passing game coordinator at multiple stops.

Bloomgren and Tuiasosopo has crossed paths before. Tuiasosopo spent the 2007 as a quarterback with the New York Jets where Bloomgren worked as a quality control assistant. Now they’ll be reunited, not as player and coach, but as members of the same staff.

Among his notable achievements to date, Tuiasosopo helped develop Josh Rosen while at UCLA. He was also named Pac-12 Recruiter of the Year in 2015 after helping USC secure the nation’s top recruiting class.

What does this mean for Rice?

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Rice Football: Owls’ OC Jerry Mack headed to Tennessee

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Rice Football offensive coordinator Jerry Mack is headed to Tennessee. How will his departure impact the Owls on offense?

First reported by Pete Thamel, Rice football offensive coordinator Jerry Mack is set to be named the next running backs coach at Tennessee. He will join the staff of newly hired head coach Josh Heupel, who was only recently named to his position,

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Mack is the second Rice coach to move to a new job this offseason. Before his departure, Rice lost special teams coordinator Drew Svoboda to Memphis.

How does Mack’s departure impact Rice?

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