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The Roost Podcast | Ep. 11 – 2019 UAB Recap, Mailbag

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Rice Football hits its first open week of the season. In this week’s episode, Carter and Matthew breakdown the UAB game and answer your questions.

If you watched from start to finish, the most recent Rice football contest against UAB lasted just over six hours. Spanning multiple weather delays, the Owls came up short. The team enters the open week 0-6 with plenty to work through before the return to the field.

Stay tuned this week as we break down the UAB contest and answer your mailbag questions. You can always find previous episodes on the podcast page.

Give a listen to Episode 11 below.

Episode 11 Notes

  • News and notes —  Support the site and get some gear. Listen for a special promo code for podcast listeners. While you’re at it, consider leaving us a 5-star review.
  • Breaking down the UAB game — This was a weird game. Split between the first half and a lightning-filled and soggy second half, there were a few takeaways on both sides of the ball against UAB. We ran through good things on the offense, how much should be made of the missteps in the secondary and worked through some pressing questions following the rough start.
  • Mailbag — How many plays is Rice football from a winning record? Who are the offensive and defensive MVPs for this team at the midseason mark? How encouraged should the Owls be on the recruiting front? Is the women’s basketball team the clear-cut favorite in Conference USA once again? We answered all of those questions and a few more.

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Mailbag: Evaluating the options at quarterback

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Rice football is in the midst of the final weeks of recruiting for the 2019 class. How will that play into the Owls’ quarterback depth chart?

There were a few questions this week concerning some of the more impactful walk-ons. There have been a few who have made public declarations so far, but more will be coming before National Signing Day. Hang tight. Rice is going to have several high-upside players on campus.

Q: Is there any chance at getting an impactful QB to transfer to Rice?

It depends on what you mean by impactful. Rice is a Group of 5 program which has won three games in the past two seasons. The trajectory of the program is headed in the right direction, but it’s going to be a process. There probably won’t be a Jalen Hurts or a Justin Fields walking through the Patterson Center any time soon.

That doesn’t mean the Owls can’t find the right piece to make their offense go. Remember, Shawn Stankavage, a transfer from Vanderbilt, won the first game of the Mike Bloomgren era at Rice. The coaching staff is monitoring the transfer portal and they’ve been in contact with several players who can help the Owls right away.
A transfer quarterback is definitely in play. If things work out as the staff hopes, they’ll add one to the roster by National Signing Day.

Q: Who will be competing for the QB position from those currently available?

The quarterback depth chart is going to change significantly between now and August. Wiley Green, Evan Marshman and Parker Towns will be in the mix. So too will be any additions the Owls make between now and National Signing Day, most likely one high school signee and one JUCO or grad transfer quarterback.

Together that makes five likely potential options for the starter in 2019. Any incoming freshman will wait his turn and learn the offense, just like Green did this year. Towns will most likely continue as a backup next season, too. That leaves Green, Marshman and the veteran transfer for the QB1 spot for the 2019 season.

Rice entered the 2018 season with a three-horse race for the starting job. One competitor was eliminated in fall camp before Stankavage was given the job for good following the second game. Expect a resolution more quickly this year, but there will more than likely be three serious competitors.

Q: What is the outlook on the team two years from now?

Two years from now is why Bloomgren was hired. 2018 was year zero for Rice football. It was a hard reset following a decline in production which resulted in a change at the top. More than once fans have heard an ask for patience. That’s not a cop-out, its the truth.

The establishment of a culture and the infusion of young talent were critical building blocks instilled in 2018. 27 freshman (19 true freshmen and 8 redshirt freshman) played in at least one game last season and five played in all 13. Bloomgren and his staff have remained in lockstep and the individuals added to the program since they arrived understand the expectations.

With the baseline set in 2018 and 2019, the future looks as bright as ever. The vision athletic director Joe Karlgaard and the administration have set is on schedule. The outlook remains overwhelmingly positive.

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Mailbag: Projecting the most impactful football signees

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Rice football inked their first wave of 2019 recruits, filling needs at every position except quarterback. How do those players fit on campus?

Q: Which early signee has the best chance to contribute as a true freshman?

On defense, I’m going with Jake Bailey. This guy could be special. He’s a two-way athlete who started at one of the best high school programs in the country. Frankly, its surprising nobody in the Pac-12 took the trouble to do some digging in their own backyard and offer him a scholarship. The corner position is going to be wide open in 2019 giving Bailey a decent shot to earn a starting role at some point in the season. If he gets it, it’ll be hard seeing anyone taking it away.

Speed being such a big component of this class, I think folks are sleeping on the potential impact of wide receiver Zane Knipe. He’s a quieter guy who hasn’t made a lot of noise on Twitter. His play speaks for itself. He has the potential to be an Austin Trammell-type slot receiver with added turbo. Rice could have used that last year and they’re not going to miss opportunities to get him touches in 2019.

Q: When did the staff find out that Bycznski had flipped to Buffalo? Who are we going after at QB now?

Bycznski played his cards close to the vest the entire process. He called the staff on the first morning of the early signing period to tell them he wasn’t coming to Rice. Although 247 Sports listed him as having a Buffalo offer months earlier, it sounds like it wasn’t a committable offer up until the evening before players could sign. Buffalo lost a quarterback and Bycznski was next in line. The Bulls were always ahead of Rice in the pecking order, a fact Bycznski omitted to share with the Rice staff until the last possible moment.

As for next targets. There are a few names bouncing around and a couple of directions Rice could go. I’ll have more on that soon. There are a few official visit weekends in January where I’d imagine you see at least one if not a few quarterbacks make appearances.

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Mailbag: Transfers, recruits and a quarterback battle

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Rice football enters the offseason with momentum on the recruiting trail and plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the future.

Q: How badly did our season damage recruiting?

Honestly, not much at all. Nobody likes to lose, but the poor record is a selling point in itself. Mike Bloomgren and the coaching staff aren’t selling the same thing Nick Saban is selling at Alabama. The Owls’ pitch centers moreso on playing time and building the program from the ground up. It’s messy, sure, but it puts the onus on the player to be the difference maker and the Owls are after a lot of difference-making type players.

Just take a look back at the UTEP game. Rice lost what was expected to be their best chance at a conference win and fell to 1-9 on the season. Josh Landrum and Kirk Lockhart committed that weekend. Hunter Henry called and committed a few days later.

You’d be hard pressed to find a lower point of the 2018 season and Rice landed three recruits, one of which had never set foot on campus. If that’s not a testament to the caliber of recruiters Bloomgren has assembled on this staff, I don’t know what is.

Now the interesting part comes with the 2019 season. If this staff can recruit at a high level with two wins what will they be able to do with more? Building upon the groundwork laid in 2018 is going to be huge. The results next season will play a far greater role than this season, which was essentially year zero for Bloomgren and his staff.

Q: What 2019 recruit are you most excited about?

Can I pick more than one? Yes? Alright. On offense, I’m going to go with one of the newest additions — receiver Bradley Rozner. He led JUCO in receiving touchdowns last season with 13 scores in 9 games. Rice pass catchers tallied 13 receiving touchdowns in 13 games last season. He’s not a burner, but he should provide a complimentary piece on the outside and his sure hands will help the Owls a lot on third down.

On defense, I’m excited to see linebacker Garrett Braden in action. He’s not the biggest guy, but he just makes tackles. Tackling in space was an issue for the defense at times this season. That’s why you saw a guy like Antonio Montero, all 6-foot of him, crack the starting lineup and stay there. Braden is slightly taller than Montero at 6-foot-2 and plays with the same “no-quit” motor.

Q: Are the players transferring out being forced out by Bloomgren or are they transferring out on their own accord?

I talked with coaches and players and from everything I can see the partings have been peaceable. It’s no secret this team is in the midst of a youth movement. Four upperclassmen started the Owls’ regular season finale against Old Dominion: Sam Pierce, Graysen Schantz, Roe Wilkins and Zach Abercrumbia. The remainder of the starters were young guys who rose above their junior and senior counterparts on the depth chart last season.

Jackson Tyner, Emmanuel Esukpa, Justin Bickham and Houston Robert are the four grad transfers that have been announced. I wouldn’t have expected any of those four to be starters next season, and depending on the play of the incoming 2019 recruiting class, a few of them might not have cracked the two-deep by midseason. Given those circumstances, it seems to make the most sense for everyone to move on. They get the chance to play and Rice gets more room to bring in new talent.

Bloomgren never minced words during the season. He mentioned on multiple occasions the senior class and the freshman class was the strongest classes on this team. These early transfers are in line with that assessment.

Q: Do you think Wiley Green will have any competition at QB heading into the offseason?

Mike Bloomgren saw enough between Jackson Tyner and Shawn Stankavage during fall camp to have a pretty solid idea who was going to be his starter entering the year. It took him less than a half of live game exposure for him to solidify this decision, but he still let the competition play out. I don’t think you see much different of an approach in 2019.

The starting job figures to come down to either Wiley Green or Evan Marshman. Both guys had some good moments this season and while Green has the higher upside as a passer, he probably didn’t do enough in four appearances this season to lock the job down entering fall camp.

Marshman and Green will battle it out this spring and into the fall, but unlike last year, Bloomgren will have enough exposure with his passers to have a decision in place before the start of the year. Competition is a good thing, and it will make both guys better. That’s especially true with younger players, but don’t be surprised if Bloomgren calls it an open competition at any point this offseason.

If I were projecting right now, Wiley Green is your QB1 with Marshman as the backup.

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Potseason Mailbag (12/1)

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The 2018 Rice Football season is in debrief mode, so we’re taking your questions about the team, the season and everything else.

Q: We had a lot of true freshmen get some playing time this year. How many of them could crack the starting lineup again next year? I’m thinking a player like Prudy Calderon is a lock. Who else?

Prudy Calderon is your starting strong safety next season, that’s a done deal. He’ll be one of several sophomores that retain a starting spot next season. On defense, linebacker Antonio Montero and linebacker Treshawn Chamberlain head into the offseason with a secure starting role.z

Linebacker Kebreyun Page and defensive end Cameron Valentine are both guys that didn’t see much of the field this year as true freshman because of injury. They’ll have a decent shot to land a starting job next season. They could find their way into the lineup a few games down the line, similar to the progression we saw with the freshman that forced their way into starting spots this season.

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There’s a lot more ambiguity on offense. The only lock entering the offseason is left guard Cole Garcia. He started the final six games of the season and has earned himself a spot on the line. Clay Servin and Jake Syptak both got starts during the year and should be in the mix for an open tackle position.

If they win the starting jobs, Wiley Green and Juma Otoviano could be the biggest difference makers on offense. It was pretty telling when Mike Bloomgren went to the pair of freshman in the final game of the regular season rather than starting healthy seniors Shawn Stankavage and Aston Walter. The passing of the torch was clear, but there will still be a legitimate competition at both positions this offseason, which I still expect Green and Otoviano to win.

Wide receiver is the position that’s most up in the air. Brendan Harmon and August Pitre would have seen more of the field if they’d been healthy. D’Angelo Ellis did well down the stretch, but the coaching staff still seems to think he’d be a better fit in the secondary. Either of those guys could fill his role next year.

Q: In this offense, I thought the TE’s were supposed to be more involved in the passing game. What was the reason for their absence and can we expect more in 2019?

First off, I don’t think we really truly saw what this offense is meant to look like this season. There were moments, but injuries and the understanding and implementation of the scheme limited what Bloomgren and offensive coordinator Jerry Mack were able to do this year. I’m not saying the team scraps the offensive results, but there’s still a lot of change to be done before this team is running the ball and controlling the clock like Bloomgren wants.

The tight ends were a little more involved than most might have noticed. Jordan Myers’ season-long production combined Jaeger Bull’s tallies up to 20 receptions for 267 yards and two touchdowns. That would have put the tight end group fourth on the team in receptions, yards and total touchdowns – trailing Austin Trammell, Aaron Cephus and Austin Walter. Given how significant those three players were to the team this season, the tight end production seems realistic.

As the offensive line and running game grows the tight end position should continue to become more involved in the offense. For year one, I’m not too concerned.

Have a question for the next mailbag? Drop it in the form below or send it over on Facebook or Twitter.

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