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2018 UTEP Miners Season Preview

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Rice football’s lone victory of the 2017 season came against the UTEP Miners who have also moved on to a new coach. What can Dana Dimel accomplish in his first year in El Paso?

As Mike Bloomgren ushers in a new era at South Main, Dana Dimel hopes to bring an injection of new life into a UTEP program that finds themselves, with Rice, working their way up from the bottom of Conference USA. The UTEP Miners were the only winless team in the FBS last season, making the bar for improvement manageable in Dimel’s first season. It just might take some time.

Rice would have been in the cellar themselves, had it not been for a 31-14 victory over the Miners last season. The Owls and Miners have met 21 times; the Owls lead the series 14-7. The two squads will square off next on Nov. 3 in a game will serve as a benchmark for the rebuild being undertaken by each program.

UTEP has the fortune (or perhaps misfortune given 2017’s results) of returning a fair amount of starters on both sides of the ball. That puts the onus on Dimel to coach up a group of largely veteran players who he hopes have learned a lot over an extremely challenging season that led to the dismissal of his predecessor, Sean Kugler.

Here’s how UTEP stacks up on both sides of the ball in 2018:

Offense

Dimel will have to start from scratch in more ways than one. Last year’s starting quarterback Zach Greenlee is gone, so is leading receiving Tyler Batson. Those are two significant holes that will need to be filled, quickly.

At quarterback, the Miners will choose between two distinctly different commodities. Dual-threat Kai Locksley, the 2017 NJCAA Offensive Player of the Year put up 2,238 passing yards, 705 rushing yards and 40 combined touchdowns for Iowa Western. He’ll battle it out with returning senior pocket passer Ryan Metz. Metz was less impressive a year ago, throwing three touchdowns and six interceptions in eight appearances.

UTEP opens against Northern Arizona. ESPN FPI projections give UTEP a 49.9 percent chance of winning their season opener against NAU, a decidedly more lenient opponent than last year in which they fell to eventual College Football Playoff participant Oklahoma, 56-7.

There are no “sure things” after the 0-fer campaign in 2017, but there won’t be another contest this winnable for the Miners, who could choose to put both guys through some live game action to finalize the quarterback battle if that’s the route Dimel chooses.

Whoever wins the starting job will have the benefit of an experienced offensive line in front of them. The Miners bring back four of their five starters from a year ago, led by 6-foot-2, 305-pound center Derron Gatewood.

The Miners are fairly well set up at the skill positions as well. Senior wideout Kavika Johnson (15 receptions, 178 yards and two touchdowns in 2017) leads the receiving corps and Quardraiz Wadley and Treyvon Hughes will battle for the starting job in the backfield.

Defense

Similar to the offense, the defense is also filled with returning players at several key positions. Again, not necessarily a good thing. The UTEP secondary was one of their stronger units last season, surrendering 212.3 passing yards per game, the 48th best mark in the country. Outside of the 496-yard thrashing from Baker Mayfield, UTEP allowed just one other opponent top 230 yards through the air against them in 2017. The Miners return almost the entirety of that unit, which should see a step up in production immediately if the front seven can give them more help.

UTEP registered 11 sacks in 2017, one more than Air Force who finished last in the entire nation in the metric. The Miners couldn’t figure out how to get the quarterback, no matter how hard they tried. If the upperclassmen tandem of C.J. Reese and Denzel Chukwukelu can be even the slightest bit more disruptive this year they could make an already strong secondary that much better.

The linebackers are where the optimism fades. Gone are Alvin Jones, Dante Lovilotte and Julian Jackson. That leaves Jayson Vanhook as the only member of the 2018 unit with meaningful playing experience. The youth infusion leaves the position group wide open. Players like incoming freshman Cal Wallerstedt and returning juniors Jamar Smith (34 tackles, four for a loss) and Dylan Parsee (26 tackles, two for a loss) will be thrust into starting roles. If this unit can anchor the middle of the field the Miners have a chance to make significant strides on this side of the ball in 2018. That’s a big if.

Schedule

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22 Days: Owls’ staff excited about the 2018 recruiting class

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22 freshman joined the Rice football team as members of the 2018 recruiting class with several others walking on. The new staff is thrilled by their early results.

Mike Bloomgren was introduced as the new head football coach at Rice University on Dec. 6, 2017. Two weeks later the Owls went through the inaugural early signing period, which was admittedly challenging for the Owls’ new staff. 

Rice earned five signatures on the short turnaround and added another 17 members before all was said and done, giving them 22 members in the 2018 class. Others would join the Owls during the summer, bringing the final tally closer to 30 first-year players this season.

A little more than five months after National Signing Day in February, the entirety of that class has finally arrived on campus and is participating in regular practice with the rest of the team. Bloomgren and his staff could not be more complimentary of the fresh faces on campus, glowing about their on-field performances during practices and in the weight room this summer.

There have been moments of frustration, but by and large, the staff is impressed with the performance of the “young bucks” early on. Special teams coach Josh Lembo acknowledged several hard workers that had impressed early: Jacob Doddridge, Prudy Calderon, Juma Ocotviano and Miles Adams, among others. On the whole, there doesn’t seem to be a wink link, at least not yet.

Judging from what Bloomgren has already said about the fluidity of the depth chart and the progress being shown by the 2018 class there could be a few newcomers that crack their way into the starting lineups early on in the season. The effort of the young guns is unmistakable and it’s already feeding through to the rest of the team. So far, the freshmen are putting in the work it takes to be successful. Those dividends will pay off in the fall.

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2018 LSU Tigers Season Preview

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A road trip to Death Valley awaits Rice Football at the tail end of the 2018 season. How will the Owls stack up against the LSU Tigers in 2018?

The toughest test for Rice Football in 2018 will come on Nov. 17 when the Owls travel to Death Valley to take on the LSU Tigers. The SEC heavyweight has been in a state of flux since the firing on long-time head coach Les Miles and the start of the Ed Orgeron era.

After taking over as the interim coach midway through 2016, Oregon’s first full season came in 2017 and it was a bumpy ride. The Tigers started out 2-2 losing at home to eventual Sun Belt champions, Troy. The pressure on Coach O continued to mount, but a 7-1 end to the regular season quelled those calling for his job, at least for the time being.

The Tigers will be talented in 2018 thanks to an ever-abundant pool of talent in the south. Their success (or lack thereof) will depend entirely on their level of coaching and quarterback play. The 2018 game with Rice marks the first time these two teams will meet on the football field in 23 years.

It would take an upset for the ages for this Rice team to beat this LSU team, but there’s always the chance Rice is aided by chaos in the LSU camp. If the wheels fall off and Coach O struggles out of the gate again the team could elect to give him the boot before LSU meets Rice the weekend prior to Thanksgiving. If that does happen, all bets are off.

Here’s what to expect from LSU in 2018.

Offense

The Tigers primary objective of the offseason will be deciding on Danny Etling‘s successor under center. The former starting quarterback was selected in the NFL Draft this spring, which at the time seemed to open the door for sophomore quarterback Myles Brennan. The latter was uninspiring in limited action last season.

Brennan appeared in six games, completing 14 of 24 passes for 182 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. It was Brennan that replaced Etling midway through the Tigers home loss to Troy, only to be benched in favor of Etling later on in the game.

The starting job was between him and redshirt freshman Lowell Narcisse until Coach Oregon landed what he hopes will be an impactful grad transfer in former Ohio State backup quarterback Joe Burrow. He, presumably, will be handed the starting job at LSU after failing to beat out Dwayne Haskins at Ohio State.

Along with a new name at quarterback, LSU will have to break in several skill players. Texas Tech transfer Jonathan Giles should take over for DJ Chark as the No. 1 receiver while the running back position is completely wide open. There is no Derrius Guice waiting in the wings to replace a departing superstar. This year the Tigers will be forced to rely on a committee with the load shared between Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Nick Brossette.

LSU has a few new faces along the offensive line as well, but the Tigers depth and experience should enable them to plug and play. Don’t expect any major gaps on that front.

Defense

Only in the SEC West can a team lose their top three tacklers and not miss a beat. Arden Key, Donnie Alexander and Corey Thompson are all gone.  Still, potential first-round pick Devin White leads will lead the front seven from the linebacker position. White led the Tigers with 133 tackles, a mark which ranked 11th in the nation.

Averaging slightly more than 10 tackles per game, White had more total tackles than any two other defensive players combined. He also had 13.5 tackles for a loss, 4.5 sacks and one interception.

Backing White up in the secondary is another potential first-round pick, Greedy Williams. He nabbed six interceptions last season, accounting for half of the team total of 12 picks. He’s as lock-down as they come and will draw the task of shutting down the No. 1 pass-catching option in each of the Tigers’ games this season.

The defensive line will see some turnover too, most prominently the loss of veteran player Christian Lacouture. Waiting in the wings are a handful of less experienced, but still talented pass rushers including Texas Tech transfer Breiden Fehoko and host of incoming freshman.

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24 Days: Remembering the consistency of Trevor Cobb

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Trevor Cobb is the gold standard for Rice football running backs. His incredible career still reigns atop the majority of the Owls’ record books.

In January Trevor Cobb became the seventh Rice football player to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. When he is formally inducted on Dec. 4, 2018 he will join an illustrious list of former players including Buddy Dial, Weldon Humble, Tommy Kramer, Dicky Maegle, Bill Wallace and Froggy Williams.

Cobb is more than deserving of his place in college football history. What he accomplished at Rice may never be equaled. His 1,091 career rushing attempts are more than the next two closest rushers combined (Chad Richardson and Charles Ross combined for 980 carries). He holds the first, second and third spots in the single-season rushing ranks, topping out at 360 carries in 1991.

Pick whatever statistic you like, Cobb remains one of the most dominant offensive players in Rice football history.

Rushing for 4,948 yards over his four-year career, Cobb’s most impressive statistic is his 24 100-yard games. He played 44 games, meaning he was more likely to top the century mark (54.5 percent) than not.

Not only is that a jaw-dropping feat, it’s something that the Owls haven’t seen anyone come close to since. The official record book doesn’t list any other running backs under the 100-yard game statistic. It appears that Charles Ross came the closest, registering 11 100-yard games over five years.

In 2017 Rice had one 100-yard performance by a running back. Nashon Ellerbe went off for 153 yards on 22 carries with four touchdowns against Southern Miss on Nov. 11. Rice has several options in the backfield this year – even if someone does emerge as the premier back, it’s going to take an astounding effort to come close to Cobb’s highwater mark of nine 100-yard games in a single season (a feat he accomplished in 1991).

 

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25 Days: Aaron Cephus snubbed from Biletnikoff Watch List

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Rice football lays claim to one of the nation’s greatest wide receivers. Can Aaron Cephus put together another jaw-dropping performance in 2018?

Aaron Cephus tallied 25 receptions in 2017. That’s not a herculean amount of catches, but it led the Owls by a good margin. Austin Walter and Kylen Granson were second on the team with 18 receptions each, but Walter is a running back and Granson is no longer with the team. That’s not to say it’s going to be a one-man show in 2018, but Cephus will be the preeminent pass-catching threat for Rice. The numbers he puts up could be extraordinary.

As a freshman, the 6-foot-4, 205-pound Cephus was one of the most impressive receivers in the nation. His 622 yards were modest, but his 24.9 yards per catch topped not only Conference USA, but the entire nation. He averaged more than seven additional yards per catch than anyone else in the conference; Turner Smiley from North Texas was the No. 2 receiver in CUSA and he averaged 17.8 yards per catch.

Inexplicably, Cephas was left off the 2018 Biletnikoff Award Watch List, the award given to the nation’s top pass catcher. Several other CUSA players did make the cut; Teddy Veal (Louisiana Tech), Tyre Brady (Marshall), Ty Lee (Middle Tennessee), Jalen Guyton (North Texas) and Michael Lawrence (North Texas). Those five may very well be deserving but leaving Cephus off the list is short-sighted at best and ignorant at worst.

Like Cephus, the rest of the Rice receiving corps is extremely young. Sophomores Cameron Montgomery and Austin Trammell with line up opposite Cephus with redshirt freshman Rhett Cardwell and Chris Bourdeaux also factoring into the mix.

As long as Cephus takes the bulk of the targets the Owls won’t need to find another top-flight pass catcher, but getting a pair of players with 20+ receptions should be a realistic goal for this offense. That will clear things but for Cephus, providing him with one-on-one matchups he can exploit.

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