The source for Rice sports news

Rice Football: 2021 Spring Practice Depth Chart takeaways

By

The first Rice football practices are in the books. This is the first of several updates of how the Owls are looking on the grass.

Rice football announced its spring roster in mid-February. Two new coaches, including new offensive coordinator Marques Tuiasosopo, were introduced on Tuesday. In between those events, the Owls kicked off spring practice.

The 15 sessions are scheduled to run throughout the month of March with the spring game set for April 2. Last year’s practices were halted abrupted when COVID-19 restrictions thrust all sports into an unexpected halt. With precautions in place, Rice expects to not only finish but continue to improve during this year’s spring practices.

Subscriber content.<br /> Please login to see the full post or visit our Patreon page.

The Roost will have you covered every step of the way. Subscribers get access to all spring practice notes, recruiting updates and special features. Subscribe on Patreon and get access to it all today.

2021 Rice Football initial spring depth chart

Rice Football

There’s a lot to unpack here. How those players look on the field and what sort of movement we could see over the next few weeks will be covered in the next post. On this occasion, we’ll dive into the most important takeaways from the initial layout of the depth chart.

Sorry! This part of content is hidden behind this box because it requires a higher contribution level ($10) at Patreon. Why not take this chance to increase your contribution?
Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Football: 5 Observations on Owls’ Spring Roster

By

The 2021 Rice Football spring roster has been released. From thoughts on newcomers to departing names, here are five initial observations.

There has been a lot of movement on the coaching staff, but that hasn’t been the only interesting development for the Owls in the past few days. The 2021 Rice Football spring roster was posted over the weekend. You can find the full list here, but we’ve gone a step further and broken down some things that stood out from the initial list.

Subscriber content.<br /> Please login to see the full post or visit our Patreon page.

We’ll start with the most important note, with more observations to follow. We’ll also have all the latest updates on spring practice when it gets underway in March. From position battles to early depth chart projections, you won’t want to miss it. If you’re not a subscriber, now is a great time to jump on board.

Become a Patron!

1. No Mike Collins

This shouldn’t come as a shock to those who have been following along this winter, but quarterback Mike Collins was not listed on the initial spring roster. We’ve still not had any clarification from head coach Mike Bloomgren as to what transpired last fall — hopefully, we get some answers when practices begin — but for now, it looks like Rice will be starting over at the quarterback position once again.

Collins was only expected to be a one-year solution when he was signed. He would have been out of eligibility entering 2021 had it not been for COVID-19 and revised eligibility standards.

As was the case last fall, the Owls will enter spring practice with their future quarterback on the roster. JoVoni Johnson and incoming grad transfer Jake Constantine will be the presumptive favorites to win the job for the upcoming season. It should be an interesting battle to watch this spring.

Sorry! This part of content is hidden behind this box because it requires a higher contribution level ($10) at Patreon. Why not take this chance to increase your contribution?
Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Football: 10 Takeaways from 2020 season

By

The 2020 Rice football season was filled with highs and lows. After time to reflect, what can we take away from the Owls’ five-game campaign?

From rocky beginnings to the National Championship Game, the 2020 season is finally in the books. Rice football participated in five games, experiencing the full range of emotions. There was the quadruple-doink and an upset for the ages.

For those that haven’t relive some of the highpoints in the season with The Roosties, an annual Rice football awards show from The Roost Podcast. You can also check out our 2020 Rice Football Team Superlatives, featuring more traditional awards like Team MVP, Offense and Defensive Player of the Year and more.

And with that, a few final thoughts on the 2020 season with some forward-thinking questions about how the Owls’ former season will impact the ones to come.

1. Rice proved they can score

Rice football played 24 games against FBS opponents in Bloomgren’s first two seasons at South Main. The Owl reached 30 points in just two of those contests. Those two occasions came in the midst of their three game winning streak that capped off the 2019 season. Rice opened 2020 with back-to-back 30-point performances. That marks five outings of 30 or more points in the Owls’ most recent eight games compared to zero in the first 21. That’s a pretty stark difference.

2. Rice has some weapons on offense

Part of the reason for further optimism with the offense is the playmakers Rice will return in 2020. Even if they do lose senior Austin Trammell, wideout Jake Bailey proved to be a chain mover and a big play threat this season. Andrew Mason showed sparks. Running backs Juma Otoviano and Khalan Griffin were both productive. And more talent is on the way, especially in the wide receiving corps.

3. This defense could be the best in C-USA

The 20-0 shutout on the road at Marshall will forever be etched among the best wins Rice has seen in this century. The list of accolades and firsts from that game was exhausting (in a good way), but the performance also served as an exclamation point on work Rice was already building. Rice finished third in scoring defense, fourth against the run, sixth against the pass and third in total defense this season. And they have lots of depth returning in 2021.

4. The Transfer Portal has been kind to the Owls

Hitting on more than half of your transfers is a fairly robust number. Rice has batted much closer to 1.000 in Bloomgren’s tenure than many might realize. Mike Collins was tremendous in his three games. Former JUCO addition Miles McCord was a crucial starter for the Rice secondary this year. Jovaun Woolford played well on the offensive line. Once more, Rice filled the holes they needed with talented additions from the portal.

5. Rice is close

Rice won by three scores in both of their wins in 2020. They lost by a touchdown or less in two contests and fell by 10 points in the other. A cruel field goal bounce separated the Owls from a 2-3 season and a possible bowl berth. The Owls’ only 10 point win in 2019 came in their season finale against UTEP. They lost by more than a touchdown five times in nine defeats. The wins are getting better and the losses are getting closer. A few better bounces and the record should come around, too.

Rice Football, postseason survey

Areas of Concern

6. The offense wasn’t nearly as good without Mike Collins

The drop off in production was stark when Mike Collins was not on the field. When JoVoni Johnson and Wiley Green were taking snaps the same offense that averaged 30 points per game with Collins dropped to 14.5 offensive points per game without him. If Collins does not return in 2020, Rice is going to have to find a way to get better production out of the quarterback spot. The addition of another grad transfer quarterback certainly suggests that room may look different in 2021.

7. The running game hasn’t really broken out

Rice averaged 2.8 yards per carry this season, a fair deal below the 3.5 and 3.9 yards per carry they averaged in 2019 and 2018, respectively. For an offense as committed to moving the chains on the ground, coming in below three yards per carry should sound some alarms. That number is skewed to some degree, by a disastrous game against North Texas, but Rice didn’t run the ball particularly well against UAB either.

8. Rice saved all their turnovers for one game

The Rice defense picked off six passes in 12 games in 2019. They had five in one afternoon against Marshall in 2020. Beyond that, Rice only had one other interception in four additional games. They added three fumble recoveries. Turnovers are somewhat of a fluky stat, but Rice has consistently finished in the bottom half of the league in takeaways in recent years.

9. Too many special teams mistakes

Rice has been among the league leaders in special teams over the last three years. NFL Pro Bowler Jack Fox helped the Owls get there, but the rest of the coverage and return units have done their part even with him in the pros. The return units did not deliver this season. Rice fumbled three punts and had a return touchdown called back via penalty.

10. Uncertain 2021 roster makeup

2020 was circled as the year Rice would have all of their proverbial ducks in a row. Then the pandemic hit. Then the injuries came. Rice did the most with what they had, snatching a marquee win, but it wasn’t quite the season anyone expected. The senior class has another free year of eligibility, should they chose to exercise it. The unknown of who will (and won’t) be back, makes it hard to look to far into what rosters will look like in 2021.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Putting an imperfect 2020 Rice football season into perspective

By

The 2020 Rice Football season has come to an end. Putting the up-and-down campaign into perspective will be an ongoing task.

With 49 seconds to play in the fourth quarter, Rice football trailed UAB 21-16. Third-string quarterback Wiley Green lined up alongside third-string running back Ari Broussard, dropped back and threw to Jake Bailey. First down. Three plays later Green found Bailey again. First down. Then, on fourth-and-18, Green uncorked a Hail Mary pass which was intercepted on the 2-yard line. Game over.

“I guess I need to be more prayerful,” head coach Mike Bloomgren said after the game. He was speaking more broadly about the unfortunate injury luck his team had suffered at key positions this season, but his whistful “what if” hung in the air. Just like that last-second pass from the arm of Green.

Green, the backup to the backup quarterback, targeting a tight end in the endzone from 50 yards out was, in many ways, a fitting final play of the Owls’ bizarre 2020 season. Rice almost had to throw it to a tight end because they had run out of wide receivers.

Bradley Rozner had been injured and opted out before the season. Transfer Christian McStravick never played a down for the Owls. Neither did Zane Knipe. August Pitre caught one pass in the season opener before suffering an injury. Austin Trammell, who set multiple school records when he exploded for five touchdowns and 219 yards in the Owls’ first two games, didn’t suit up in this game either.

Rice was down to Jake Bailey, who had missed practice time during the week with an injury, and freshman Andrew Mason. Converted running back Kobie Campbell, who hadn’t touched the ball this season, was targeted twice.

“We had multiple weeks where we had a practice with one scholarship wide receiver healthy,” Bloomgren admitted, “We just love this game, and we said ‘we’re going to play’.”

Takeaways: Rice Football falls to UAB

At quarterback, Mike Collins was missing his second straight game. Backup JoVoni Johnson had been injured a few drives earlier. And that doesn’t take into account the secondary which had made do all season with players coming in and out of the lineup or the continued absence of lead running back Juma Otaviano.

Bloomgren isn’t one to make excuses, and he acknowledged Rice wasn’t the only team who had to deal with adversity this year. Their opponent on Saturday had more than a dozen key players missing (but they did have their quarterback, something that proved fateful for the Owls). Still, the Owls’ headman did say this: “We’re all better with our ones.”

Instead, that last-second heave fell into the hands of a defensive back and a year of highs and lows came to an unpleasant end. Rice was in the running for a bowl bid with a win. The loss ended the Owls’ season sooner than anyone hoped it would finish.

“We know nothing’s perfect in 2020,” Bloomgren affirmed.

Before he stepped off the stand and began the first steps of the Owls’ sudden offseason, he posed one more “what if”.

“We lost today by one score… we had a double-overtime game. We got to find a way to win those things, and that’s the difference. Think about how different we feel about our season right now, and how jubilant everybody would be if we’d won one or two of those games.”

Rice didn’t win those games. Their final 2020 record will forever be inked at 2-3. But Bloomgren’s hypothetical isn’t too farfetched. It might even have more merit than initially meets the eye. Rice beat the C-USA East champ and was one third-string-quarterback Hail Mary from beating the top team in the West.

A few more favorable bounces wouldn’t have helped the teams Rice defeated. Those victories both came by three scores. But one more bounce, or a prayer, in those losses might very well have been enough. It wasn’t perfect, but in 2020, nothing was.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Football 2020: UAB Presser quotes, practice notes and injury news

By

Rice football seeks to finish strong against UAB on Senior Day. Here are the latest notes and press conference quotes from the week.

It was a great week for Rice football. Although fans are still riding high from the Owls’ historic road win against Marshall, the team has turned the page and has their attention focused squarely on UAB. For the first time this season, there will be fans allowed into Rice Stadium to see the contest in person.

Subscriber content.<br /> Please login to see the full post or visit our Patreon page.

Head coach Mike Bloomgren spoke about the week that was and the task at hand. A few players chimed in as well. Then there’s the depth chart to get to, including some unfortunate injuries at key positions and some notes on what we might see on the field on Saturday.

Press Conference Quotes

“Because it’s such a big win, I probably let myself go an extra day with it. I probably went 48 hours instead of 24 hours enjoying it, because it is an absolutely huge win. But we know that that game, as good as we played, it won’t give us any points on the scoreboard. It won’t have a single stop on defense or a single interception. We have to go earn that this week.” – Mike Bloomgren on switching focus from Marshall to UAB

“UAB has a great offensive line. We’re gonna take the same things that we did last week, change up the scheme, and do the same thing this week. It’s no different. Whoever you put in front of us, that’s who we gotta go hit. So we gotta make it happen.”- Offensive lineman Jovaun Woolford on the UAB defensive front

“Awards come with wins. I think the biggest thing that I see when I see that I won that award is that we had a dominant team because I’ve had better individual performances but it doesn’t mean anything when you don’t get that W. The biggest thing that I’m excited about is that we got such a big team win.” – Linebacker Blaze Alldredge on being named C-USA Defensive Player of the Week

Depth Chart Notes

Here’s an updated depth chart from Rice football heading into the UAB game and some comments on a few notable additions and omissions as well as some injury notes:

Sorry! This part of content is hidden behind this box because it requires a higher contribution level ($10) at Patreon. Why not take this chance to increase your contribution?
Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts