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Rice Football: 2022 Spring semester roster notes

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The Rice football roster has seen some significant changes since the Owls last played a game. Here are the most prominent adjustments.

Roster churn impacts every college program in the country and the changes have only been exacerbated by the ever-changing transfer climate. Rice football has experienced a large number of adjustments to its roster from where things left off last season. Some of those shifts can be attributed to transfers, others involve players who have left the program for one reason or another.

This update highlights which key players have been left off the most recently released roster as of the end of January as well as incoming spring enrollees and various notes regarding position shifts, number changes and more.

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For those checking in for the first time, or those returning, a quick programming note. Special updates like this are reserved for our subscribers. Get access to all practice notes, features and more insights like this one when you subscribe on Patreon today.

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Rice Football 2021 Spring Ball Review: Defense

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The Rice football spring practices are complete. What did we learn about the defense and where does it stand entering the summer?

There wasn’t much mystery with the Rice football defense entering spring practices. The Owls finished the 2020 regular season ranked 12th nationally in scoring defense and returned the vast majority of their starters and depth. Beyond filling an open spot at linebacker, spring was about tidying up loose ends and building depth. From the line to the secondary, here’s where each position group ended up.

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The Roost has you covered from the start to end of spring practice and takeaways still to come. Subscribers get access to all spring practice notes, recruiting updates and special features. Subscribe on Patreon and get access to it all today.

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Rice Football 2021: Spring Practice Week 2 Notebook

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Rice football had their first scrimmage of the spring this past week. A few players stood out, including one very notable position switch.

Rice football head coach Mike Bloomgren called spring practice “the lab” during his opening media sessions. The phrase stuck with me as I’ve watched the team go through drills over the last two weeks. Many things seem relatively mundane, but a few things did stand out as decidedly unique. Whether or not those tidbits remain in the fall might depend on how well the experiments go this month.

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For those that might have missed it, you can check out the initial depth chart reactions as well as the Week 1 notebook. Not subscribed? The Roost will have you covered every step of the way this spring and beyond. Subscribers get access to all practice notes, recruiting updates and special features. Subscribe on Patreon and get access to it all today.

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Rice Football 2020 Practice Notes: Presser quotes and o-line growth

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Rice football took advantage of the off week to rest up and get healthy. The Owls are working toward this week’s game at Louisiana Tech.

There was plenty to observe and talk about as Rice football got back to practice after an unexpected free Saturday following the postponement of the UTSA game. Head coach Mike Bloomgren shared his thoughts on the future of that matchup. I recapped those thoughts, shared a few quotes from Tuesday’s press conference and dug into some observations from the Rice o-line at practice this week.

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UTSA postponement

At this point, both UTSA and Rice have made it abundantly clear who they want to be playing on Dec. 5. The Owls were originally free that day before Conference USA slated Marshall into that open weekend only days before the Rice vs UTSA game was postponed.

UTSA head coach Jeff Traylor has gone on record saying he wants to see that game rescheduled. Bloomgren echoed those sentiments on Tuesday, saying “if we had our choice, we’d love to play the team down the road.” Bloomgren reiterated that would ultimately be a conference decision.

Notes and Quotes

“We all love the rhythm of a college football season. We love the routine, but 2020 has been anything but routine, as we all know. And something we’ve asked our players for is flexibility and adaptability … I would love to get into a routine for the next six or seven weeks … but at the same time I think we’re probably going to have more opportunities where we’ve gotta be flexible.” – Mike Bloomgren on the unexpected schedule change

“We’ve been in the system — this is our third year — now it’s just like riding a bike … They’re great young men. They have great balance on and off the field and when we come in here it’s just football.” – Defensive line coach Cedric Calhoun on the improvements this year

I know that we’ve been really efficient on first and second down and then that’s allowed us to be really efficient on third down. I think it’s been a really notable thing from this season. We’ve had a couple third and shorts that we converted on. It’s something we take a lot of pride in. But I also think what you’re seeing is that we’re finding ourselves being pretty dang dynamic, because we’re being so efficient on first and second down… if we do our job up front, this offense is really going to shine.” – Sanders Davis on the overall – on the growth of the offense

Giving some love to the offensive line

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Rice Football 2020 Game Preview: Season opener vs Middle Tennessee

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Rice Football is set to open its 2020 season on Saturday against Middle Tennessee. How to watch, key stats, x-factor picks and more.

After delaying their season of four separate occasions, Rice football intends to play football this coming Saturday. The Owls are the last Conference USA school that intends to play this fall to get underway. Once they kick off, Old Dominion will be the lone C-USA team to forgo football this fall.

The Owls’ first opponent, Middle Tennessee, began their season on Sep. 5, almost two months (49 days to be precise) before Rice begins its campaign. Even given the extra time, Middle Tennessee is only one game up in the win column in seven tries. They beat FIU in Week 6, falling to 1-5 this past weekend with a road loss at North Texas. On the plus side, they’re one of two Conference USA schools that hasn’t had a game postponed by COVID-19 protocols.

Broadcast Info

Kickoff time | 2:30 PM CT
Venu | Rice Stadium – Houston, Tx
TV | ESPN3 (Streaming)
Radio | Sports Map 94.1 (FM) / Stretch Internet (Online)

Audio Preview

We’ll preview Rice football vs Middle Tennessee on this week’s episode of The Roost Podcast which will be released on Thursday. Find us on the podcast page or wherever you like to listen to podcasts. (And consider leaving us a 5-star review while you’re at it.) If you haven’t yet, consider checking out our extended offseason interviews with notable Owls like Anthony Rendon, Taylor McHargue, Christian Covington, Erica Ogwumike and more!

Sizing up the contenders

Rice football will experience one of the more peculiar oddities of the 2020 season first hand. Their opponent has played six games before Rice has played any. Rice gets the added advantage of six games worth of film — Middle Tennessee hasn’t seen Rice quarterback Mike Collins take a single snap in the Owls’ offense.

On the other hand, Rice will have plenty of early-season rust to knock off. Injuries have left question marks on the depth chart that might not be resolved before Saturday. Quarterback Asher O’Hara and the Blue Raiders look dreadful in their season opener against Army and have gotten better in every game since. Which side has the edge? Time will tell.

Series History

All Time | Rice leads 1-0
Last Five | Rice leads 1-0
Last Meeting | Road 2019, Rice won 31-28

Rice Stat Notables (Returning 2019 Leaders)

Passing | Green – 75/142 (52.8 percent), 787 yards passing, 4 TD, 2 INT
Rushing | Johnson – 27 carries, 159 yards (5.9 yards per carry), 2 TD
Receiving | Trammell – 60 receptions, 726 yards (12.1 yards per reception), 4 TD
Tackles | Alldredge – 102, Montero – 83, Chamberlain – 65
Pass Breakups/Interceptions | Nyakwol – 6 PBU, Smith/Chamberlain – 2 INT

Middle Tennessee Stat Notables (2020)

Passing | O’Hara – 120/168 (63.8), 1176 yards passing, 9 TD, 8 INT
Rushing | O’Hara – 117 carries, 407 yards (3.5 yards per carry), 4 TD | Mobley – 50 carries, 277 yards (5.5 yards per carry), 3 TD
Receiving | Pierce – 40 receptions, 389 yards (9.7 yards per reception), 2 TD | Ali – 19 receptions, 243 yards (12.8 yards per reception), 1 TD
Tackles | Grate Jr – 47 | Thomas – 43 | Blankenship – 43
Interceptions/Pass Breakups | Grate Jr, Riley – 2 INT /  Riley – 3 PBU, Shepherd – 3 PBU

Middle Tennessee X-Factor | Can anyone else please step up?

The 2019 Middle Tennessee offense was built on the back of Asher O’Hara. He had 29 total touchdowns, including nine on the ground. The rest of the offense tallied seven rushing touchdowns and none of the MTSU running backs surpassed 300 total yards. All were dwarfed by O’Hara’s 1058 rushing total.

Head Coach Rick Stockstill brought in some transfers in the backfield and vowed to give his quarterback some help. So far, not much has changed. No rusher other than O’Hara is averaging more than 30 yards per game on the ground. That’s not a high bar. Jarrin Pierce has been the most sure-handed pass catcher but has just two scores so far.

O’Hara tried to will his team past the Owls last year and it didn’t work. He’s going to need some help. If another skill player or two can come to his aid, the Blue Raiders will be much more dangerous on offense and have a better chance to win this game.

Rice X-Factor | Be Like Mike

Rice football has been after consistent quarterback play for some time. The Owls think they’ve found their answer in the form of TCU grad transfer Mike Collins. The veteran signal-caller impressed in fall camp, winning the job midway through. Now he’ll get his first chance to don the Rice uniform and put his strong practice record to the test.

Collins has better arm talent than previous Rice quarterbacks, but he’ll be without last year’s leading receiver Bradley Rozner who had wrist surgery before opting out of the 2020 season. With so many moving parts around him, it’s hard to pin down who will emerge to come to his aid, but having an answer at quarterback is the first step to solving the weapons problem.

If Collins can be what Rice expects him to be, this offense can work. If the offense works, and the defense continues on the trajectory it was on last fall, Rice could be looking at the most complete team of Bloomgren’s tenure.

Pick ‘Em Contest

If you haven’t yet, make sure you submit your entry for The Roost’s weekly pick’em challenge. Choose an answer to each of the six questions below and submit them on the forum thread or the Patreon page to enter.

  1. How many points does Middle Tennessee score?
    Over 20.5 / Under 20.5
  2. Who leads Rice in rushing?
    Juma Otoviano / Khalan Griffin / Other
  3. How many sacks will the Rice defense register?
    Over 2.5 / Under 2.5
  4. Which team wins the turnover battle?
    Rice / Middle Tennessee / Tie
  5. Who scores first in the second half?
    Rice / Middle Tennessee
  6. Who wins?
    Rice / Middle Tennessee

Injury Report (Subscribers only)

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Need More?

The Roost’s 2020 Rice Football Season Preview has four pages dedicated to every opponent the Owls face. There are depth charts, important new arrivals and depth chart breakdowns for every team in Conference USA. Better yet, it’s not just speculation, each profile was created with insight from local experts who cover those teams day in and day out. Pick up your copy today and get four pages and more than 1,000 words on every foe.

One Final Thing

2020 was meant to be the year Rice football went bowling. Revised requirements have made the Owls bowl-eligible before they play their first snap of the season. With that threshold somewhat removed, the only tangible measure beyond wins and losses is a conference championship.

It would be a stretch to demand perfect with a schedule in flux and so many uncertainties, but how close Rice comes to obtaining that ultimate goal will be how this season is measured. The wacky offseason has quelled whatever momentum was left over from last fall, but the mindset within the Brain Patterson Center remains undeterred. This team believes they’re ready to take that next step.

No matter where Rice lands on that spectrum, reaching the field safely is an accomplishment given the circumstances. With that achieved, it’s time to start with Saturday against Middle Tennesse. Go 1-0 this week, and as cliche as it sounds, the rest of the schedule will take care of itself.

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