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Defensive improvements a bye week focus, practice notes (9/19)

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Rice football has focused their efforts on themselves as they prepare for their first Conference USA game of the season against Southern Miss.

The consistency of the defense has been under fire after the team dropped back-to-back games to a pair of high-scoring offenses. One of the biggest advantages of the early bye week was time for the Owls to iron out those issues. “I wanted the bye week to be about Rice and how much we could improve,” said head coach Mike Bloomgren.

Players on both sides of the ball have taken that to heart, and few have worked harder than defensive tackle Zach Abercrumbia. “There’s always room for improvement,” admitted Abercrumbia,”Anyone who can look at tape, whether they’re a first team all-pro or benchrider and not have five things to work on the next day at practice is fooling themselves.”

Three games in the Owls have enough of a sample size to work with. The secondary has come under fire, but the pass rush has rightly born the weight of the pressure too. If the Owls can get to the quarterback, there won’t be any passes thrown.

Abercrumbia said that’s the goal on Saturday against Southern Miss and going forward. “That’s the big thing about pass rush, you just can’t ever stop. you never know how quick the ball is going to come out, you never know how the o-line is going to block,” he said, “but if you never stop, eventually you’ll get there.”

Injury update

Getting healthier will help the Owls improve their defensive play. Linebacker Dylan James is back in practice and is on track to play this weekend after being listed as questionable early during the week. Corner D’Angelo Ellis still has a ways to go with his recovery process.

Preparing for conference play

Although beginning with the caveat that all games matter, Bloomgren didn’t shy away from the importance of starting conference play 1-0. “When you’re talking about trying to get to championships and get to bowl games, like we’re always talking about around here, [conference games] can be big things. Everyone is kinda a mini championship.”

That’s quite the stage, but the team is ready for the challenge. “We can beat these guys,” declared Abercrumbia, “All we need to do is put what we do in practice into game day.”

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Bye week comes at right time for Owls

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Rice football took advantage of an early-season bye to focus on fundamentals and discipline, both areas that will pay huge dividends for the Owls this fall.

Sitting at 1-2, the 2018 Rice football season is far from over. With 10 games still to play, the Owls are only just beginning what they hope will be a promising campaign. The bulk of their games will come after their Week 3 bye week.

Sandwiched between road trips to Hawaii and Southern Miss, Rice players and coaches have had a much-needed extra week during the middle of the season’s grind. The coaches have jetted off all over the country, recruiting from Califonia to D.C. Players have stayed home, using the time to focus on their craft.

The leadership of this young team knows the timing of this break couldn’t have been better. “It gives us a chance to see what we did early on and fix that for the rest of the season,” acknowledged safety George Nyakwol, remarking that he the team progress significantly simply by “focusing on technique and going back to the fundamentals.”

Quarterback Shawn Stankavage was equally confident, if not more so. “I think the bye week really helped us get locked in and turn this thing around… we’re close, we’re in these games, we’re just not pulling away at the end.”

In order to make that final play or two to push them over the edge, the team needs to continue to pursue excellence in everything they do. That starts with practice and extends to game day. “When we execute during the week, Saturday’s are easy,” Stankavage said. To get there, the Owls are focusing on the little things, leaving no stone unturned.

The bye week was extra time for a team still learning to continue ironing out the kinks. Neither side of the ball is going to be transformed overnight, but Rice football got a lot better this week — little by little.

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Quarterback position still a mystery, practice notes (8/23)

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Rice football opens their 2018 season against Prairie View A&M and head coach Mike Bloomgren has kept the quarterback situation completely under wraps.

More: 2018 Prairie View A&M season preview

Rice has one practice remaining before their first game of the 2018 season. The Owls will take on Prairie View A&M on Saturday at 6 p.m., for now they’re putting the finishing touches on their gameplan and ironing out details before the opener. Here are a few things that stuck out from Thursday’s practice.

Excitement continues to build for Game 1

Mike Bloomgren has made several stops along his coaching journey. He’s been everywhere from Alabama to Delta State, but he’s never been a head coach. Not until now. That gives Saturday added significance for him, and he can’t shake a smile on his face whenever he asked about what it’s going to be like to finally be on the field as the head coach at Rice.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited,” he grinned, “For me it’s going to be another game, I’m going to be on the sideline doing what I love with guys I love.” Against Prairie View, and throughout the season, Bloomgren plans to be “very involved” with the offense in real time. He’ll work directly with offensive coordinator Jerry Mack who will share play-calling duties with Bloomgren.

Building strength on the second team defense

If things go the right way on Saturday the Owls will have some time to spare to play some of their guys beyond the first line of their depth chart. The quarterback position is an obvious point of contention, but several other positions should see a parade of players get their first taste of live-game action on Saturday.

Antonio Montero and Blaze Alldredge have been two players that have drawn the attention of the coaching staff this fall. They’re behind veteran starters Dylan Silcox and Martin Nwakamma on the depth chart, but have shown enough effort and discipline to earn themselves meaningful playing time against Prairie View.

In the secondary, Boomgren pointed to redshirt freshman Tyrae Thornton, backing p junior corner Justin Bickham. Whether its special teams or later in the game, Bloomgren expects to get Thornton some minutes.

Watch out for No. 33

On the offensive side of the ball, Bloomgren continues to champion running back Emmanuel Esupka. He’s been kept fresh in fall practices, avoiding contact all throughout camp. Bloomgren maintains he has the chance to “make national noise” if the Owls can pave the way for him to run.

Quarterback

Neither Jackson Tyner nor Shawn Stankavage had been given any insight on what the gameplan for Saturday is going to look like. Bloomgren hasn’t informed either of them who’s taking the first snap of the game, how many drives they’ll play or what any potential rotation might look like. He’s kept this secret close to the vest, and didn’t divulge much more this week.

“If somebody can tip the scales we’d love to have a quarterback,” Bloomgren said as he continued to maintain an open mind regarding the competition. “If not,” he added, “we’ll have a two-headed monster and we’ll try to be very specific with which plays we give each of them as a coaching staff to give them there best opportunity to give us our best opportunity.”

Jackson Tyner didn’t seem to care that he hadn’t yet been made privy to the details quite yet. His mindset entering Saturday was fairly simple. “I’m just going to go out on Saturday and play football,” he said candidly, “I’m just going to go out and do my job.”

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Quarterback competition nearing finale, practice notes (8/16)

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Rice football is just days away from their first game of the 2018 season. The quarterback competition is wrapping up and coach named some camp standouts.

Fall camp is coming to an end. After a few weeks of getting working with his players hands-on, Mike Bloomgren is ready to get ready for his first football game as a head coach. The team looks good, but it’s time they hit somebody else that wasn’t wearing navy and white. Here are a few takeawys from Thursday’s practice.

1. Quarterbacks

Head coach Mike Bloomgren declined to name a starter, but he did hint the competition is starting to wind down. He says he’s confident both guys have what it takes to lead the offense this fall, but added that it’s “not far away from us having to make a decision and pick one of them that’s going to take the bulk of the reps.”

Bloomgren has been pretty consistent with his message on the quarterbacks throughout fall camps. He’s given both Jackson Tyner and Shawn Stankavage praise when earned and constructive criticism when needed. “They’ve both had their moments,” said Bloomgren. But time is running out.

Rice kicks off against Prairie View A&M in a week’s time. Before that game starts, Bloomgren intends to have made a decision. With the caveat that nobody has snatched the job quite yet when asked about whether or not he’d’ have his decision made before game time Bloomgren was straightforward. “We definitely will,” he said, before adding the ever so important qualifier, “internally”.

From an ability standpoint, this looks to be Jackson Tyner’s job to lose. He’s had success throwing the ball down field and getting it into tight windows. His biggest challenge has been consistency. If he can master that he’ll have a good chance at winning the job outright before camp is over.

2. Special teams

Sophomore wide receiver Austin Trammell is in line to be the starting punt returner for the Owls this fall. He’ll also be in the mix for kick return duties as well. Fellow receiver Brendan Harmon got reps with the return unit today as well. Running backs Austin and Aston Walter have done some work with the return teams. Whoever gets the nod, the Owls will have plenty of speed and athleticism on special teams this year.

Practice ended with special teams once again, but this time with a twist. Kickers Jack Fox and Hayden Tabola were pitted in a kicking competition in which the entire team was asked to pick a side. Fox was victorious and Tabola’s team did push-ups. There’s still a strong chance Fox is the Owls’ punter and kicker this fall.

3. Camp MVPs

Preparing for the Prairie View game officially began today. While fundamentals and some of the summer and fall ball drills will continue to be incorporated into campus this marks a shift in focus moving forward. When asked to look back at the players that impressed the most over the last few weeks Bloomgren named a handful of guys specifically, citing specific superlatives.

Tight end Jordan Meyers was praised for his versatility. Bloomgren called Emmanuel Esupka “special”, a comment he’s made several times already this fall. Sophomore receiver Austin Trammell was dubbed “Mr. Consistent” while senior right tackle Sam Pierce is playing “the best football he’s ever played at the offensive line position.”

On defense, Bloomgren praised Zach Abercrumbia and George Nyakwol for their consistency. As for special teams, he grinned and gave a short synopsis: “Jack Fox is Jack Fox.”

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Depth charts are coming and 5 Owl Fest Scrimmage Notes (8/11)

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Rice football had their second fall scrimmage to kick off Owl Fest on Saturday. Here are five things that stood out from the session.

A crowd of a few hundred turned out to get their first glimpses at the 2018 Rice football team on Saturday. As they cheered for every big play and their fellow freshman, the audience was treated to an inside peek at the Owls’ second scrimmage of fall camp, another positive session for this team as the season opener draws near.

1. First team is starting to solidify

With two full scrimmages under their belts, the coaching staff is starting to piece together a depth chart. Coach Bloomgren called the current status “less fluid” than the team entered fall camp and expects to have a fresh depth chart expected within the week.

For the most part, here’s what the first team has looked like this week:

1st team Offense
QB – Tyner
HB – Aston Walter
WR – Cephus, Trammell, Cardwell
TE – Bull
OL – Pierce, Dill, Baker, Greene, Osuji

1st team Defense
DL – Abercrumbia, Garcia, Wilkins, Schantz
LB – Silcox, Ekpe, Nwakamma
DB – Bickham, Douglas-Dotson, Nyakwol, Robert

2. Running backs remain focal point of offense

This team is going to run the football, a lot. And teams better not get caught flat-footed. The offensive line has been sturdy enough to open up gaps in the middle to keep the chains moving, but Aston and Austin Walter have done the majority of their damage on the outside. One cut and they’re into the second level, picking up chunk plays. Keeping those two inside will be a must for the Owls opponents this season.

3. Quarterback battle still progressing

Bloomgren said Jackson Tyner won the day, but competition between him and Shawn Stankavage remains open. Freshman quarterback Evan Marshman looked impressive with the third team, but Bloomgren still expects the starter to be one of either Tyner or Stankavage, calling the quarterback competition “shut at two unless [Marshman] forces the door open.”

It’s worth noting as well that both Tyner and Stankavage are being asked to use their legs to make plays. Although neither of them would be described as your traditional “dual-threat” quarterback, both have the requisite speed to steal first downs and keep the defense honest.

4. Position changes of note

It was mentioned early in the week that quarterback Sam Glaesmann has been moved to wide receiver. He lined up as the wildcat quarterback on a few plays Saturday, an interesting wrinkle for the Owls to have in their back pocket moving forward.

Depth issues in the secondary have opened opportunities for a pair of running backs. Freshman Juma Octoviano and sophomore Collin Whitaker saw time with the second team at corner and both guys played really well. Octoviano came up with an interception on his second series.

With the surplus of depth at the running back position, it’s possible that both of these guys stay primarily on the defensive side of the ball. Bloomgren said he “wouldn’t rule out” both guys becoming two-way players this season.

5. Jack Fox is going to be busy

The primary punter last season, Fox has seen time in practice with the field goal unit as well. Unless someone blows the coaching staff out of the water in the next two weeks it’s very possible Fox could be handling all of the kicking duties this season.

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