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2024 Rice Football Season Preview: Running Back

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Next up in our 2024 Rice Football Season Preview: running back. Here’s our breakdown of the Owls’ plans for the group this season.

Rice football has a bonafide star in the running back room, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be a one-man show in the Owls’ backfield this fall. How will the coaching staff piece together a rotation that maximizes the strengths of several different backs and enables the entire offense to flourish?

Rice Football Preseason Preview: Check out the rest of the series here.

This piece is part of our 2024 Rice Football Season Preview. Get access to it, as well as all other preview posts such as positional breakdowns, depth chart and schedule analysis and more when you subscribe on Patreon today. 

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Breaking down the running back position

While Bloomgren was at Stanford, he frequently trusted a bellow back, allowing one man to carry the rock a disproportionate amount of times. However, Rice football has not operated with a true bellcow since head coach Mike Bloomgren arrived on South Main.

That dichotomy is true for multiple reasons. First, while the Owls have had some talented runners, Bloomgren had the privilege of coaching players like Christian McCaffrey and Bryce Love. NFL-caliber backs don’t grow on trees. Beyond that, the offensive evolution hasn’t lent itself to the ground-and-pound scheme Bloomgren might have envisioned existing.

As the offense has grown and the talent in the running back room has continued to improve, this question has started to crop up more and more. Will 2024 be that year? Perhaps to some extent. Dean Connors has the potential to be the most talented and productive Rice running back in quite some time.

Even still, expect the Owls to treat this room as a committee, differing the bulk of the work to Connors while carving out roles for the rest of the backs. That will help keep Connors fresh and take advantage of a vast array of body types and skill sets the staff has brought into that room for this very purpose.

Projected Starter – Dean Connors

From the day he arrived on campus, Dean Connors has worked to better himself as a football player. His dedication to understanding the scheme and commitment to soaking up concepts and teachings from the veteran players around him has turned him into one of the most dependable players on the entire roster. That knowledge and ability armed with his willingness to compete has made him a force the Rice coaching staff has only begun to unleash.

“If you just give me the ball, I was gonna score coach.” That’s how offensive coordinator Marques Tuiasopopo described Connors’ mindset on the field. “That’s his mentality. I think all the great ones do, they believe they’re going to affect the game.”

Connors did that on multiple occasions last fall, rushing for a career-best 184 yards against Charlotte on one night, scoring three times and passing the century mark again on a separate occasion against Tulsa. Rice won both games.

The 6-foot, 205-pound back can do it all. He’s a dynamic receiver, hauling in the longest receiving touchdown on the team last season, an 80-yard scamper caught from a route that started in the backfield. He’s worked in the goal line package during the spring and is the most trusted option on third down. He’s going to be on the field a ton and he’s going to make an impact. It would be a disappointment for Connors not to be named to an All-Conference team by season’s end.

Rest of the Room

Making sure Rice gets the best of Dean Connors is going to necessitate occasionally getting him off the field. “With a guy like Dean, that’s the one concern as a coach,” Tuiasosopo mentioned. “You always want to keep him fresh because he’s like the energizer bunny. He doesn’t have an off switch. It’s the same speed all the time. So we’re always conscious of that.”

When it comes to spelling Connors, Rice will have several options at their disposal. The first will likely be Daelen Alexander. A redshirt freshman, Alexander became the team’s goal line back last season after dominating in practice following an injury that thrust him in with the starters. It was only when he went down midseason with an injury of his own that he was stymied. On the field, he was one of the most productive runners between the tackles Rice has had in some time.

This is a staff that has always valued production at Rice. Although Alexander missed the spring, he’ll be right at the front of the pecking order come fall camp and ready to contribute. Next up behind him could be Bucknell transfer Coleman Bennett, who also missed the entirety of the spring. Bennett could fill in as that third back role the Owls have utilized over the past few years. Think Ari Broussard, Uriah West, Cameron Booker, etc.

Quinton Jackson is the other name to keep in mind here. Jackson was the standout performer of the spring, which should keep him in the mix to some degree. Spring stardom hasn’t played a significant role in field time in the fall, but Jackson has established himself as a change-of-pace option and a receiving threat. If he can stay productive as a blocker, a role as a pass catcher and third down option after Connors is within reason.

There won’t be much ball left to go around much further outside of that trio, but Christian Francisco has consistently proved himself to be trustworthy and reliable when he gets the ball. After him, Michael Amico and Trey Kibbles profile as scout team options.

Player to Watch

True freshman Taji Atkins is perhaps the most intriguing wild card on the roster this year. As a pure rusher of the football, he might be one of the best true running backs on the roster. Athletically, he’s incredible and his future at Rice is extremely bright. Once he gets a year or two in the system, it’s going to be hard to envision a scenario where he’s not on the field a ton.

But can he get on the field as a freshman? That’s the real question.

Alexander did so, and wouldn’t have ceded his job had it not been for injury. If Atkins can get the opportunity, it’s hard to envision him losing snaps.

The Rice offense was at its best last season when it was able to trade punches between Connors and veteran back Juma Otoviano who has since graduated. In a perfect world, finding a 60-40 split between Connors and someone else is conceivable. It’s hard to make any freshman the favorite to win that secondary role in this pro-style offense, but if anyone has the raw ability to make a serious bid for that job, it might just be Atkins.

** Photo credit Maria Lysaker **
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Rice Football 2024 Spring Notebook 10: Unanswered Questions

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A few outstanding questions remain for Rice football after the conclusion of spring practice. Let’s address a few unknowns and potential concerns.

It was largely an encouraging spring for Rice football. Both sides of the ball had their moments. New quarterback EJ Warner looked poised and productive in just a few short weeks. The coaching staff walked away happy, for the most part. But no football team is ever perfect after spring practices and they’ll have a few months to address the concerns that remain as best they can. What are those potential pain points? We highlight a few from the totality of spring practices below.

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A wide receiver room in transition

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Rice Football 2024 Spring Notebook 9: Offensive Takeaways

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A new Rice football quarterback debuted and a host of pass catchers made their marks. Here’s what we learned from that side of the ball during spring practices.

EJ Warner looked the part in his first-ever snaps in a Rice football uniform, but he wasn’t the only standout from the offense this spring. Without the veteran hands of Luke McCaffrey to lean on, new faces stepped up and some veterans reestablished themselves as potential options moving forward. Who made the biggest strides on this side of the ball this spring?

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It’s EJ Warner SZN

Bloomgren opened his press conference following the Rice football spring game with praise for Joshua Pearcy who, in Bloomgren’s own words, had “made me a believer”. In an open-ended follow-up question, I asked him who else had “made him a believer” this spring.

Without missing a beat, Bloomgren said “The easy one, the low-hanging fruit,” was quarterback EJ Warner.

“He came into a very, very complicated offense and was able to execute it at a very high level. There’s not a lot of ‘can’t get out of the huddle’, calling plays wrong, forgetting motions, things like that. He’s out there like he’s been in an offense like this forever,” Bloomgren said. “His comfort and ability to come in and execute, the touch that he has, the ability to get balls pushed really quickly in his progression because of his pre-snap reads, I just think he’s done some really cool things.”

More: Rice Football Spring Game Takeaways

Those all seem like well-meaning platitudes given to a new transfer quarterback, but if you remember back to late last season, the specific details Bloomgren mentioned here are important.

AJ Padgett, with whom Warner is competing for the starting job, struggled with those very things. Bloomgren noted instances when he called the wrong play and had issues in the huddle despite being a veteran in this system. Meanwhile Warner, in the span of a few weeks, appears to have mastered those crucial operational functions.

When asked to name a starter, Bloomgren deflected but made his current position clear. “I’m glad we don’t have to decide it today,” he said, before adding on his own volition, “but there’s certainly times this spring where you felt EJ really had the upper hand really because of the command, his ability to control the passes and throw the ball where he wants it with pretty good precision.”

A starter might not be named for some time, but it’s abundantly clear EJ Warner has positioned himself to be QB1 when Rice football takes the field against Sam Houston in Week 1.

Raising the floor

Bloomgren has a favorite saying that he tends to bring out at the start of spring practice every year. The wording has varied over the years, but the gist of it goes something like this.

Defense is a destructive process. Everyone can fall down and one guy can make a big play on his own. Offense is a constructive process. All 11 guys have to do their job for a play to be successful.

And because it’s generally assumed that it’s harder to get 11 guys to execute in sync on Day 1, the defense has always started faster than the offense in spring practice. That wasn’t the case this year.

The offense stole the show in Scrimmage 1 and had another practice heading into the second scrimmage in which they swept the defense in all the major team drills of the day. For the first three or four weeks of camp, the offense led the way, a definitive first for this team since Bloomgren arrived.

Now the defense did catch up because they have lots of talented players too, but most had fewer question marks about that side of the ball which returns so much productivity from a season ago. To see the less established unit, breaking in a new quarterback and without their top playmaking option at wide receiver, do what they did is extremely encouraging.

It suggests that the talent level as a whole has moved closer toward being more “quarterback-proof” than it has been in years past. This offense has enough talented pieces that it doesn’t need a hard reset in March to start from scratch and rebuild from square one. Even the younger faces can pick up where they left off and keep moving. That’s an extremely encouraging sign for the future.

The O-Line will be alright

Despite an inauspicious showing in the spring game, the offensive line has been largely impressive through the duration of spring practices. Ethan Onianwa looks right at home at left tackle and the rest of the line has gelled well. Having to cycle through multiple third-string options in the second scrimmage and spring game made the optics look less than ideal, but the body of work was encouraging on the whole.

Run blocking has been a massive struggle for this unit over the last several seasons. Protection has largely been alright. The line excelled in protection throughout the spring and regularly opened up lanes for the backs. A defense that made some big plays and stymied the passing game did allow 5.4 yards per carry on the ground, primarily to Quinton Jackson and Christian Francisco.

Beyond getting healthier by the fall, Bloomgren divulged afterward they are getting reinforcements on that front. Days later, Chad Lindberg a former Georgia offensive lineman and blue-chip offensive tackle recruit from League City, Texas, announced his commitment. He’ll join the Owls this coming season with two years of eligibility remaining.

The starting five from left to right, hypothetically, could now be Ethan Onianwa, Brant Banks, Braedon Nutter, John Long and Chad Lindberg.

Then there’s Brad Baur, Miguel Cedeno, Weston Kropp, Lavel Dumont and Spencer Cassell as potential backups. That could be a solid unit on its own. That’s a fantastic starting point, especially considering where this team has come from in years past.

Just wait until we see a full complement of touches for Dean Connors behind this unit. Which brings us to the next takeaway…

Dean Connors breakout incoming

Dean Connors only carried the ball six times in the spring game. He caught three passes. The only surprising result from those nine touches, honestly, was that he did not score. It’s been that kind of spring for the standout running back, who continues to get praise after praise from his teammates and coaches.

For example, when asked to identify the hardest offensive player to tackle on the team, both rush end Joshua Pearcy and linebacker Ty Morris pointed to Connors. “He’s a dawg,” Pearcy said with a grin, fresh from a head on collision with Connors in practice in which the elusive running back had somehow evaded Pearcy’s grasp and burst away for additional yardage.

It was that kind of spring for Connors. He’d get a handful of snaps and still leave the field with a highlight play or two, utilizing his vision and agility to score touchdowns from all areas of the field.

“Just trying to figure out more ways to get better and more ways to learn,” was Connors’ assessment of his spring. “Trying to learn more of a holistic view of the offense, learn different positions, more of the scheme, and dive deeper into some of the things I didn’t know.”

Boden Groen is the pass catcher to know

When flipping through my notebook of reactions and thoughts from the spring, few names showed up more times among offensive players than tight end Boden Groen. As the wide receivers cycled through so many different names and faces, Groen stepped into the unquestioned TE1 role. Although he shared snaps with Elijah Mojarro and others, it was Groen that became a visible factor in the passing game.

The offense’s only passing touchdown in the second scrimmage came in the redzone on a crossing route to Groen, who caught the pass from Warner in stride and made a beeline to the pylon, outracing the defense and finding paydirt, one of their lone blemishes on another otherwise exemplary afternoon.

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Among all receivers and tight ends, Groen trailed only Luke McCaffrey in receptions and receiving yards for the Owls last season, and that came while serving as the backup to Jack Bradley for most of the year. Now given more snaps and responsibilities as the starter, those numbers — 39 receptions for 383 yards — are only going to rise.

The rest of the pass-catching hierarchy still has to sort itself out. No matter how the targets to the receivers bear themselves out, Groen is going to be a focal point of this offense, particularly in the redzone.

Odds and Ends

  • We’ve seen so many running backs have big spring games only to fade back into the rotation come the fall. I think Quinton Jackson’s explosiveness is real and he’ll carve out a meaningful role in the offense, but his frame and skillset probably lends itself to a more stylized role that leaves the bulk of the rushing work to others like Daelen Alexander, Bucknell transfer Coleman Bennett and freshman signee Taji Atkins.
  • Rawson MacNeill and Landon Ransom were both solid this spring, but no wide receiver really separated themselves as a clear frontrunner just yet. Expect a much wider target distribution at the position this coming season, pending big changes in fall camp. Kobie Campbell is probably the wideout who made the best case for a bigger role in 2024.
  • There are moments when AJ Padgett looks really, really good. Physically he has the talent to play the position, it’s just been the mental lapses that have kept him from becoming a true challenge for the job. If he does settle in as the backup, which would be expected as of now, Rice fans should feel very comfortable with that outcome. He’s won games for the Owls in the past.
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Rice Football 2024 Spring Practice Notebook 1: Spring Intros

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The 2024 Rice Football spring practices are officially underway. Here’s the latest on the roster and their plans this spring.

Rice football was back on the grass for the first week of spring practices this week. The Owls will have a short hiatus for spring break, then return to finish the final four weeks of camp and conclude with their spring game on April 13. That’s a short window to accomplish a lot. Stay tuned here for updates throughout the weeks ahead, starting right now with more on their starting point, some news faces, a notable position change and more.

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Quarterback-to-wideout conversion continues

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Rice Football Recruiting: Breaking Down the 2024 Signees – Offense

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The 2024 Rice Football Recruiting class is loaded with a top-flight quarterback and lots of skill talent. Here’s how this side of the ball stacks up.

With the addition of 10 players on National Signing Day, the 2024 Rice football recruiting class has grown to 23 players. Of those players, 16 are current high school seniors and 13 play on the offensive side of the ball.

This group now includes walk-on players in addition to scholarship athletes, but as head coach Mike Bloomgren was quick to point out, “All these kids are suited to come in here, play college football and compete and help the Owls.” We’ve gone position by position breaking down each of the new Owls and how they’ll help the program on the field.

* designate early enrollees

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Quarterback (2) – Drew Devillier, EJ Warner*

Now signing the first members of his seventh recruiting class, Mike Bloomgren has brought a host of quarterbacks to South Main. He’s landed a few prominent transfers that did well, most notably JT Daniels this past season before injuries cut his time with Rice football short. But Bloomgren also found success with players like Mike Collins and Jake Constantine, among others.

Meanwhile, the high school products at the position are only just now beginning to get their feet wet. AJ Padgett and Chase Jenkins have each flashed in moments and represent the most talented freshman passers Rice has had under Bloomgren. But the Owls’ 2024 quarterback signee Drew Devillier holds an even more prominent distinction. He’s the highest-rated high school quarterback Bloomgren has signed at Rice.

Devillier had originally committed to TCU to play baseball. His sport-of-choice switch benefited Rice, who was ready to scoop him up as soon as he became available. Devillier picked Rice over offers from Pitt and North Texas, among others.

Bloomgren reiterated this week Devillier that “he’s a football player first,” but the staff will do everything they can to support him as he plays baseball, too. Devillier does intend to play both sports at Rice.

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As a passer, Devillier’s arm is exciting. Combining his level of arm talent with an ability to create on the move has the potential to make him a fantastic find passed over because of his earlier baseball aspirations. Signing Devillier would have made for a solid return at the position, but Rice upped the ante with another marquee transfer at the position: Temple’s EJ Warner.

The son of former NFL MVP Kurt Warner, EJ has spent the past two seasons breaking just about every passing record that exists at Temple. Playing with a shaky line and a shortage of skill talent, he almost singlehandedly kept the Owls competitive. Looking for a better opportunity, he hit the transfer portal and the Rice Owls scooped him up.

When Warner hit the portal and the coaching staff started studying his game in earnest, Bloomgren said he and offensive coordinator Marques Tuiasosopo saw “a guy who has unbelievable anticipation and unbelievable knowledge of where the ball needs to go.”

More directly still: “We think he can step in and do some of the things we were able to with JT.”

Warner has two seasons of eligibility remaining. If he finds his footing quickly and establishes himself as the starter, Rice could have found a multi-year solution at the position, something they’ve been seeking for quite some time. Regardless, the athleticism and arm talent Warner possesses are irrefutable. This is exactly the type of player you look to add to your program. The NFL bloodlines are just the cherry on top.

Wide Receiver (3#) – Owen Carter, Jackson Ranucci, # Graham Walker #

Carter was a human highlight reel throughout high school. Paired with quarterback Trey Owens, a Texas commit, he lit up scoreboards across the state, surpassing 1,000 receiving yards during his senior season and hauling in a team-leading 15 touchdowns. One of the highest-rated wide receiver commitments in the Bloomgren era, Carter should pair nicely with the quarterbacks signed in this class.

It’s worth noting here that Carter is the only true pass catcher in the 2024 Rice football recruiting class thus far. And while it’s entirely possible the Owls add a player out of the portal in the coming weeks ahead or during the spring, signing just Carter is a testament to how much the staff believes in him and the core of receivers that are currently on campus.

Carter will be joined by Jackson Ranucci, a teammate of fellow Rice signee Cullen Witt, who earned a scholarship after a standout performance at camp this summer. Ranucci missed most of his senior season.

# Walker was not formally announced on National Signing Day as the Owls waited for the appropriate paperwork to process. Much like Matt Sykes last year and others in the past, no signing day announcement won’t keep him from following through on his commitment. Walker brings physicality and size to this room and could vie for a starting spot as soon as he arrives on campus.

Running Back (3) – Rhys Phillips, Coleman Bennett*, Taji Atkins, Trey Kibbles

Rice doubled its haul in the backfield during the early signing period, picking up a pledge from Bucknell transfer Coleman Bennett to compliment high school commit Rhys Phillips. They’re two very different players who will fill very different roles in the Rice offense.

The 6-foot-3, 230-pound Phillips is a versatile, hybrid back with experience operating as an h-back, tight end and everything in between. Most recruiting services still have him listed as a pure tight end and honestly, even the Rice staff hasn’t solidified his role

“We’re not sure how he’s going to fit into our offense yet,” Bloomgren admitted. “Because he does so many things so well.” At 6-foot-3, 225 pounds, he’ll probably do more blocking and receiving work than lining up as a pure rusher in the backfield.

On the other hand, Bennett will operate as a much more traditional runner. NextGen Prospect rated him as one of the fastest players in the Transfer Portal this cycle and that shows through on the field. Adding Bennett to a backfield that already has Dean Connors should keep opposing defensive coordinators up at night.

Taji Atkins is perhaps the most exciting addition to this unit, though. Originally committed to the Owls before the Early Signing Period, he decommitted before since reversing course and signing with Rice on National Signing Day. Bloomgren is ecstatic to have him back in the fold. “This dude is special,” Bloomgren explained.

Atkins is an all-purpose weapon with speed, quickness and vision. In the playoffs alone, he rushed for 1117 yards (four games) including an unbelievable 403-yard performance against Klein Cain. Atkins averaged 14.5 yards per carry this season on 178 rushes. “That’s pretty good,” Bloomgren said with a smile.

The Owls further bolstered their backfield with the addition of Trey Kibbles, who Bloomgren dubbed “a solid runner with great balance.” Kibbles ran track in high school and promises to bring some explosiveness to the backfield.

Tight End (0)

After loading up at the tight end position in the last two cycles, Rice didn’t take a pure tight end from the high school ranks this year, unless you want to count Phillips. The staff loves the room as it’s currently constructed and has high hopes for what Boden Groen, Ethan Powell and others can accomplish this coming season.

Offensive Line (3) – Luke Miller, Lane Jeffcoat, Spencer Cassell*, Jabari McAlmont

The 2023 Rice Football recruiting class included seven scholarship offensive linemen, a year removed from the Owls signing five in the previous class. With so many young, talented trench movers still on the roster, Rice was going to have a much smaller haul in the offensive trenches this haul. Just three: Luke Miller, Lane Jeffcoat and transfer Spencer Cassell.

Miller and Jeffcoat each committed during the same weekend this past summer. The staff got to work out both of them during camps and made sure to offer both, despite their knowledge this would be a tighter class and that they would go over their projected position count if they brought in more players in the portal. It didn’t matter. They had to have these guys.

More: Breaking down the Defensive signees in the 2024 Rice Football recruiting class

Bloomgren said that Miller “plays with a little bit of nastiness,” as glowing of an endorsement as any offensive lineman could dare to receiver. And as for Jeffcoat, Bloomgren was effusive in his praise. “I really think we hit a home run with this kid,” he said. “I think the future is incredibly bright because of the way he bends and the gifts he has from a size standpoint.”

The final addition, Spencer Cassell, was not a new name for this staff. The Owls actually recruited Cassell as a preferred walk on out of high school in 2019. Cassell opted to go the scholarship route and attend Harvard. He has since graduated and matured physically, becoming a talented offensive lineman.

Now Cassell is back at South Main for good this time as a scholarship player, potentially with two seasons of eligibility if a medical redshirt waiver goes through as expected. He’ll start at guard, but has experience at tackle as well.

Jabari McAlmont spent a good portion of this season banged up, which might prove to be a blessing gin disguise for the Owls, who were able to get him to campus without too much fanfare. Bloomgren called him a player with “tremendous upside.” Already blessed with a 6-foor-4, 300-pound frame, McAlmont could have great potential for this program down the line.

Cullen Witt played tackle in high school but projects as a center at the collegiate level. Bloomgren praised his intelligence and movement.

||  UPDATED 2/7/2024 ||
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