With spring practices in the books, Rice football begins to look ahead at the 2019 season in earnest. Here are five predictions for the Owls this fall.
1. QB1 will be Wiley Green
Mike Bloomgren has options, but none of them look better than Wiley Green right now. The sophomore signal caller had a bit of a slow spring, but so did his offensive line and most of his pass catchers. As the offense progresses his natural talent will come through and he’ll be named the starting quarterback, quite possibly much sooner than Bloomgren made an official statement on the matter last season.
2. The tight ends double their production in 2019
Jordan Myers and Jaeger Bull combined for a pedestrian 20 receptions for 267 yards and two touchdowns last season. That was the totality of the production contributed from the tight end position, something which should change drastically this coming fall. A host of tight ends saw significant run this spring including fresh faces like Jonathan Sanchez, Brendan Suckley and Robert French. Those three, plus Myers and Bull simply must blow the top off last year’s numbers.
3. Blaze Alldredge leads the team in tackles
This one seems like a no-brainer. After watching the entire linebacking corps fly around the field this spring the favorites to lead the team in tackles have to be Antonio Montero and Blaze Alldredge. I flipped a coin.
4. At least one of the starting specialists aren’t on campus yet
The absence of Jack Fox and Haden Tobola was notable this spring. The kicking game got off to a slow start and remained inconsistent during spring ball. A few guys had a crack at the placekicking job, but not did enough to put themselves ahead of the pack. That bodes well for incoming kicker Zach Hoban, who blasted a 60-yard field goal from the star in Dallas Cowboy Stadium following an event this winter.
The starting punting job will be a battle between Chris Barnes and incoming TCU transfer Adam Nunez. Barnes has been solid this spring, and it’s no guarantee he gives up the job. Nunez wasn’t brought in to ride the pine, though. That’s a battle that will take place in fall camp.
5. Rice isn’t done with the Transfer Portal
Depth was a major hurdle for the Owls this spring. Practices were cut short because there weren’t enough guys able to go and those who were still moving around had been worked to the brink of exhaustion. The depth will get better when the bulk of the 2019 recruiting class arrives this summer, but there is still room for a capable veteran or two to balance out what is already an extremely young nucleus.
