The source for Rice sports news

Rice Football 2023: Texas Game Week Practice Report

By

Rice football is gearing up for its first game of the season, a road trip to play Texas in Austin. Here’s what we learned from practice this week.

This week was spent ironing out the final touches as Rice football readies itself for the 2023 season and an opening game against a ranked Texas squad. The Owls finalized their depth chart and some of their critical rotations this week and got some news (both good and bad) regarding the availability of some members of the two-deep in question entering Saturday.

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

This week’s roundup focuses on a few key position battles, some players on the rise who won jobs this week and a few potential concerns for the team as the begin their season on the road.

For those checking in for the first time, or those returning, a quick programming note. Special features like this are reserved for our subscribers. Have questions? You can get those answered in our monthly Q&As and get access to all practice notes, recruiting updates and features like this one when you subscribe on Patreon today.

Secondary shakeup

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 Practice Report: Availability, opportunities and questions before game week

By

Rice football has some positions solved and others are still up in the air as the team gets closer and closer to starting game prep for its season opener against Texas.

In the days ahead, Rice football will officially start installing its game plan for the season opener against Texas on September 2. In the meantime, there are a few position groups with uncertainty to figure out. Depth charts are forthcoming, but how the team is attacking this interim period also says a lot about who is in the mix for which spots.

This practice report digs into those position groups of note, addressing a few existing injuries and some players on their way back as well as a few additional items.

Subscriber content.<br /> Please login to see the full post or visit our Patreon page.
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 2023 Season Preview: Roster Grid

By

Rice football has a 113-man roster entering the 2023 season. From position changes to eligibility remaining, this chart will help keep everything in order.

Keeping track of eligibility and positions can be challenging and there wasn’t one single source that had the most up-to-date information — now there is. In addition to the roster tracker and as a complement to the roster, which has been updated to account for all the final additions and changes with the start of camp, this grid tracks every Rice football player by position and classification. Position changes from last season and/or the spring are also detailed below.

Rice Football Preseason Preview: Check out the rest of the series here.

This piece is part of our 2023 Rice Football Season Preview. Get access to it, as well as all other preview posts such as positional breakdowns, depth chart and schedule analysis and more when you subscribe on Patreon today. 

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

2023 Rice Football Season Preview: Linebacker

By

Next up in our 2023 Rice Football Season Preview: linebacker. Let’s dive into the position and break down the Owls’ plans for the group this year.

It took some time to get there, but Rice football found some stability at linebacker in 2022, replacing the electric duo of Blaze Alldredge and Antonio Montero without any significant hiccups. Added experience will only help with a room that is largely less proven at the collegiate level on the whole. Here’s how the position looks in 2023.

Rice Football Preseason Preview: Check out the rest of the series here.

This article has been temporarily unlocked.

Breaking down the Linebacker position

The linebacker room has been a hodge-podge of personnel on the player side and the coaching side over the last few seasons. That carousel continued on the coaching side this offseason with the hiring of former North Shore head coach Jon Kay to coach linebackers.

Kay was overwhelmingly energetic in the spring, gushing about the opportunity to get back to the X’s and O’s and dig into the daily grind that comes with being responsible for a single position rather than an entire program. Kay’s football intellect comes highly regarded. Rice is hopeful that translates into an equally large effect on the linebacker room.

As for the scheme, Rice will stick with its two-backer approach they’ve operated under almost exclusively under defensive coordinator Brian Smith. Joshua Pearcy might line up alongside them with his hand out of the dirt, but for the most part, Rice will trust a tandem to do most of the dirty work in the middle.

The frequency of those starters rotating out will depend on a host of intriguing — albeit less proven — options behind them.

Projected Starters – Chris Conti, Myron Morrison

Chris Conti led the team in tackles last season with 75. Myron Morrison was right on his heels, notching 73 himself, with Morrison missing two games along the way. That duo enters the 2023 season as the odds-on favorite to retain their starting jobs, although they’ll be pushed by a few younger names, particularly in the later portions of the season.

For the time being, though, it’s worth noting what Conti was able to achieve in his first year at South Main. He learned the defense in the fall and was the opening day starter against USC, starting 12 of the Owls’ 13 games last season. Having another offseason to internalize the scheme should help boost his reaction time and make him even more effective in the open field.

As for Morrison, his work away from the ball was almost as impressive as what he did in the box. He finished the season with three pass breakups, fourth on the team and the highest of any player that did not primarily operate in the secondary. He also had two interceptions, which tied with Gabe Taylor for the team lead. He was an extremely versatile piece, something the Owls need in this particular defense.

Rest of the Room

Andrew Awe was an indispensable, unsung hero in the Rice football program last season. He started one game for the Owls and appeared in all 13 contests in some capacity, one of just 10 defensive players to do so and more than a couple of starters. He played special teams and was part of the defensive rotation. Expect him to be that key reserve again this year.

Next up are two intriguing redshirt sophomores. Kenny Seymour worked his way up the ladder last fall and has put himself under consideration for some rotation snaps this season.

Seymour’s classmate DJ Arkansas has spent less time on the field, although not by his choice. Injuries have hampered his opportunities, but his athleticism is unquestioned. If anyone is going to rise up and claim a starting spot midseason among the non-freshman players already on the roster, Arkansas might be the best bet.

Player to Watch

Of all the incoming freshmen on defense, Ty Morris might be the most highly anticipated new arrival. He converted from safety to linebacker in high school and is expected to slide into that role closer to the line of scrimmage at the next level.

The staff has raved about his ability and multiple occasions and it’ll be exciting to see him get on the grass when fall camp arrives. Breaking the starting lineup as a freshman at Rice is difficult, but not impossible. The linebacker core has less obvious gaps up top, making the task a bit more challenging for Morris.

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

Recent Posts

Doom and Gloom: Rice Football falls to UTSA rain-soaked Senior Day

By

Rice Football never got hot on a cold and gloomy Senior Day, falling at home to UTSA in their final home game of the season.

On a cold and rainy Saturday morning, Rice football froze up. Injuries and missed opportunities stifled a Rice team that has yet to complete a complete four-quarter performance this season, despite notching five victories along the way. They did not get their sixth win on Saturday, falling to UTSA in a one-sided result on Senior Day. Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

From bad to worse

On paper, the weather seemed to be something that should work in favor of the Owls, who entered their final home game of the season with a slew of injuries at several key positions. Starting quarterback TJ McMahon was unable to go, as were the Owls’ top four corners: Jordan Dunbar, Sean Fresch, Lamont Narcisse and Jojo Jean.

From a personnel standpoint, an ugly game with lot of running and field position battles was much preferred to an aerial back-and-forth against the Roadrunners and star quarterback Frank Harris.

Rice did get an ugly game, but the weather wasn’t at fault.

Quarterback Wiley Green was injured on the Owls’ second possession, getting blasted from behind and fumbling in the process. UTSA recovered and scored their second-consecutive touchdown on as many plays.

The Owls’ defense opened the game three-and-out and Green hit Bradley Rozner on a slant to get Rice out of the shadow of their own endzone. Then the drive stalled on fourth and one, Rice punted, and the tumultuous sequence of injuries and turnovers commenced.

Turnovers fall, but it’s not enough

At some point, the turnovers that have plagued Rice football this season were going to stop, or at the very least, they would slow down. Despite the Owls’ issues with protecting the football, tipped passes and fumbles from a myriad of different players seemed unlikely to persist forever. Despite the injuries and bad weather, Rice did a good job protecting the football against UTSA.

In their first 10 games, Rice won the turnover battle twice. They were +5 against McNeese and +1 against UAB. They won both games. Against FBS opponents, Rice hadn’t forced more than two turnovers in a game this season whereas they’d produced at least three giveaways four times.

The Roost Podcast: Stay tuned for the game recap this week – Rice Football vs UTSA

Against UTSA, Rice forced two turnovers. George Nykawol knocked the ball out himself and Myron Morrison made a play in coverage to intercept Frank Harris.

The Owls’ first turnover on offense came on a play in which Green was injured, with pressure coming unblocked off the edge. It’s not excusable by any means, but it wasn’t a lapse by a ballcarrier or decision-maker, the Achilles’ heel of the offense to this point. That came the very next drive when Kobie Campbell put the ball on the deck.

The third turnover came on an errant pass from Itraish, who was subsequently benched for true freshman AJ Padgett. That gave Rice a minus differential in the turnover margin once again.

It all comes down to quarterback, again

Watching Green leave with an injury with TJ McMahon standing on the sideline, already ruled out, was a gut punch for a Rice offense that has taken such large strides this season. Trailing at home with a backup, backup quarterback, there were two plays that highlighted what could have been.

With Shawqi Itraish at quarterback early in the second quarter and Rice trailing 21-0, Isaiah Esdale burst through double coverage on the far side of the field. He had seven yards on both defenders and plenty of green grass in front of him. It was a walk in touchdown. Itraish underthrew all three players, incomplete. Rice got no points on the drive.

Following a turnover by the Roadrunners shortly after, Rice dialed up a double reverse pass. The ball was tossed back to Itraish who had Bradley Rozner wide open down the field. He couldn’t release the ball quick enough, throwing it into the ground. Once more, no points.

It’s not all Itraish’s fault, but these two moments do highlight the challenges of calling an offense in the rain with your third string redshirt freshman quarterback at the controls. It’s hard. And you can’t miss your opportunities. On Saturday, Rice did and the result was, unfortunately, predictable.

The silver lining, if there was one, was an intriguing debut by true freshman AJ Padgett. He connected on a 43-yard touchdown pass to Bradley Rozner on fourth down in the fourth quarter. Could he see action in the season finale against UTSA? At this point, anything seems feasible.

One more?

As soon as the clock hit zero at Rice Stadium a few weeks ago, securing an upset for the visiting Charlotte 49ers, it seemed more likely than not that the Owls would find themselves here.

Defeating Western Kentucky or UTSA didn’t seem completely far-fetched, but the wiggle-room in the Owls’ search for six wins had evaporated. They needed to win one of their final three to reach that mark, but that stretch included games against the top three teams in the standings.

Now, it all comes down to this. Rice sits at 5-6, losers of back-to-back games for the first time this season. They travel to North Texas next weekend, in need of that final elusive win to clinch bowl eligibility for the first time since 2014.

Digging deeper

Every week we’ll have a stat, storyline or key learning from the game reserved for our subscribers. Haven’t joined yet? Sign up here:

Become a Patron!

Death, Taxes, Wiley Green and injuries

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