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Rice Football: Note from first day of spring practice

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Rice football returned to practice for the first of several weeks of spring ball. Here are a few notes from the Owls’ first day back on the grass.

First off, it might not be purely football related, but Antonio Montero was wearing short sleeves and shorts in 40-degree weather. The Minnesota native was giving his more southern teammates a hard time.

1. Position changes, notes

  • Cam Montgomery is at running back.
  • Sam Glaesmann remains at wide receiver
  • Cameron Valentine moves to nose tackle
  • D’Angelo Ellis at corner, not listed on the offensive depth chart
  • Cole Garcia and Nick Leverett only players listed as starters with no backup on the two-deep

2. Offensive line and running backs

Juma Otoviano, Aston Walter and Cam Montgomery all had explosive plays during practice, bursting through big holes and accelerating downfield. That’s a credit to their speed, but also because of a more physical offensive line. JUCO transfer Nick Leverett is entrenched along the right side, most likely at right guard. Clay Servin looks like the real deal at left tackle.

Nashon Ellerbe missed most of last season with a nagging lower-body injury. He doesn’t appear to be 100 percent this spring. With Jawan King on his way, he’ll have to battle to get meaningful minutes.

3. All three JUCO transfers flash

In addition to Leverett, Naeem Smith and Bradley Rozner both made a few nice plays on their respective sides of the ball. Smith won the offseason conditioning program and has drawn rave reviews from several coaches all spring. Rozner made an impressive athletic catch down the sideline and seems to be slotting in well on the outside.

4. Quarterback remains a wait and see

Wiley Green will enter spring as the QB1 with Evan Marshman his primary competition. We really won’t know for sure if Green has secured the starting job before grad transfer Tom Stewart and freshman Jovoni Johnson get to campus later this summer. Still, Green threw some nice balls and made a few plays with his legs on Monday.

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Retooling the offense, practice notes (11/15)

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Rice football is going to need to pull out the whole bag of tricks if they want to beat the LSU Tigers on the road, and that starts at practice.

In a season full of silver linings, the offensive adjustments and changes have been encouraging to see in practice over the last few weeks. The team isn’t sticking to the same ‘ol, same ‘ol, rather they’re adapting and adding to their repertoire week after week.

That was evident with their insertion of D’Angelo Ellis at wide receiver and the incorporation of Aston Walter in the running game, allowing Austin Walter to be split out wide. There were more wrinkles put into the gameplan for LSU this week, several of which the Owls haven’t put on tape at all this year.

There will be a few trick plays up Mike Bloomgren’s sleave, but most of the additions are schemes and plays designed to maximize the opportunities for the Owls to break big plays.

Looking for the fourth option in the passing game

Three different pass catchers — Austin Trammell, Aaron Cephus and Austin Walter — have caught 72.8 percent of the Owls’ passes this season. That speaks to the reliability of each of those players, but also the void that exists elsewhere in the offense.

None of the tight ends have really made their presence felt yet and the high hopes the coaching staff had for receiver Brendan Harmon have been put on hold via injury. D’Angelo Ellis has begun to play the lion’s share of reps on the outside and Jordan Myers is settling into the primary tight end role. Both had flashes during practice on Thursday, but someone is going to have to step up and help quarterback Shawn Stankavage.

All-Academic teams announced

Bloomgren recognized both Jorian Clark and Parker Hanusa who were named Google Cloud Academic All-District 7 team. Those selections were made by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

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Adjustments on offense, practice notes (11/12)

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Rice football went back to work on a wet and cold Monday evening, working as hard as ever to play LSU in Week 12.

It was 45 degrees, raining and all around ugly outside. The Rice football team showed up and they worked. Head coach Mike Bloomgren has made the promise week in and week out that his team would put in the effort to get better. On an evening when they could have done the bare minimum they ground it out til the final whistle.

There are no participation trophies for good days of practice and this team is through with moral victories. Still, they keep showing up and putting in the work. That’s the mark of a culture shift that will hopefully lead to results on the field soon enough.

How many more quarterback can the Owls play?

Seeing Shawn Stankavage back at the helm of the Rice offense was a return to business as usual. Parker Towns being the next signal caller brought into the game was an unexpected curveball. He completed 1-of-3 passes for 10 yards and picked up 10 yards on the ground on two carries.

Quarterbacks coach Robbie Picazo said the insertion of Picazo into the offense was sparked by Evan Marshman‘s success in the run game. Having that dimension in the arsenal was something the staff liked and Towns did enough during practice to earn the shot at his own package on Saturday.

If the Owls did need to turn to a backup at quarterback behind Stankavage, Jackson Tyner is still expected to be the next man up. Picazo said Towns is “doing a really good job wholeheartedly attacking the package we give him” and they’re not going to put too much on his plate just yet.

Aston Walter seized his chance

Another somewhat unexpected development from the Louisiana Tech game was the career-high in carries for Aston Walter. Taking over the lead back duties for his brother Austin Walter, Aston started the game and led the team in carries with 17. Juma Otoviano, the Owls’ wildcat quarterback had four rushes and Austin didn’t carry the ball at all.

The driver for Aston’s uptick in work was his dependability. Running backs coach Drew Svoboda used that word multiple times to describe Aston’s reliability and role in the offense. “He’s been a guy that’s always been there and been ready when called upon,” Svoboda said, “He got a little bit more opportunity and he took it and ran with it.”

Putting Aston on the field at running back lets the staff move Austin to the slot, a position he’s more comfortable with and can play extremely effectively.

More young guns

With two games remaining on the season the opportunity to give younger players more reps and maintain their redshirt is being evaluated by the staff. If there is an opportunity to give some freshman and lesser-utilized players a look in the LSU game there could be several Owls that get increased minutes.

Freshman corner Andrew Bird figures to be near the top of the list of newcomers. He hasn’t seen game action yet this season and participated with the second team some during practice. Sophomore linebacker Garrett Grammer has seen brief playing time on the field this season but has the potential to get an extended look against LSU.

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New starting quarterback and lots of injuries, practice notes (10/18)

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Rice football will have their second starting quarterback of the 2018 season on Saturday against FIU. Evan Marshman will get the call. How is the team responding?

There was a buzz around Rice football practice this week. Starting quarterback Shawn Stankavage suffered an injury against UAB and won’t play against FIU in Week 8. That’s opened the door for redshirt freshman Evan Marshman, who walked on at Rice, to start his first game this weekend.

The young guys and the season vets have all rallied behind Marshman. Senior Austin Walter called him “an easy guy to follow” and a “workaholic”, noting his focus and aggressiveness throughout the week of practice. Offensive coordinator Jerry Mack agreed with those sentiments, saying Marshman “gets guys fired up in the huddle” and “plays with a sense of urgency.”

The change at quarterback has prompted a condensed playbook and a more streamlined plan of attack. Mack and the rest of the offensive coaching staff want to make sure they put their quarterback in the best position to succeed. That’s going to take several other players stepping up on Saturday.

Mack put some of the onus on the Owls’ offensive playmakers, noting that the job for guys like Austin Walter, Aaron Cephus and Austin Trammel is to “make Evan [Marshman] better.” With Emmanuel Esukpa out there will be even more room for Walter to make plays, and true freshman Juma Otoviano is expected to see time as well.

They’ll be supported by a trio of freshman offensive lineman. Who starts the game has not been formally released, but expect to see heavier usage from Jake Syptak, Cole Garcia and Clay Servin. All three saw action against UAB and each will continue to push for more playing time going forward. The offensive line is an area where the Owls have struggled this fall, making fresh legs and new faces a must.

Winning anywhere in conference play on the road is difficult. The Owls will be underdogs once again, but the energy and the intensity of this week of practice indicate this team isn’t stagnating. If they can get off to a strong start, they’ll be ready to push FIU on Saturday.

Most importantly, Marshman says he’ll be ready. “I’m going to fully give myself to the gameplan and the team.” He’s in. The Owls are in. Now it’s time to put it all together on Saturday.

Injuries

The Owls’ depth chart has taken several hits. These players will not be traveling with the team and are officially out against FIU:

QB Shawn Stankavage
RB Emmanuel Esukpa
TE Will Phillips
WR Brendan Harmon
LB Kebreyun Page
DE Cameron Valentine
CB D’Angelo Ellis

Wide receiver Cam Montgomery, who has yet to play this season, has been ruled out for the year.

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Quarterback depth chart, practice update (10/15)

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Rice football returned to practice on Monday with plenty to work on following the Owls loss to UAB plus a quarterback position up in the air.

Starting quarterback Shawn Stankavage was initially diagnosed with a high ankle sprain and underwent an MRI this weekend. The results are pending, and while he has not yet been officially ruled out, he is not expected to be available for the Owls’ upcoming game against FIU.

Stankavage left the UAB game with the injury midway through the second quarter. Redshirt freshman Evan Marshman replaced him and fared no better moving the ball down the field. Stakavage spent practice sidelined with a walking boot while Marshmann and true freshman Wiley Green worked with the first team offense in his place.

Jackson Tyner practiced with the second team offense. Bloomgen had said he would reopen the backup quarterback job prior to Stankavage’s injury. That has this case, but at this time all signs point to both Marshman and Green being ahead of Tyner. One of those two will be in line to make his first career start Saturday on the road.

Green had a strong fall camp and continues to play well in practice. He was considered to be a prime candidate for the newly instituted redshirt rule that allows players to play four games without forfeiting a year of eligibility. Bloomgren is going to do whatever it takes to win Saturday, so don’t expect to see a potential redshirt play a meaningful role in the decision making process.

Special teams

The first drills of practice focused on special teams. Even though Jack Fox racked up punt yardage in bunches the unit was far from excellent against UAB.

The most glaring issue came on a blocked up, recovered by UAB for a touchdown. That’s exactly where the team started, address any protection issues to ensure that doesn’t happen again.

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