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Nashon Ellerbee back at 100 percent, ready for Southern Miss

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Rice football has a stable of running backs, but they’ll have one more mouth to feed in the backfield soon with the return of junior Nashon Ellerbee against Southern Miss.

After missing the first three games of the season, Nashon Ellerbe will return to game action for the first time against Southern Miss. Ellerbee set career highs in carries (22), yards (153) and touchdowns (four) against the Eagles last season.

It doesn’t matter who is on the other side of the field on Saturday, Ellerbee is just excited to get back on the field. “We’re a completely different team,” Ellerbee emphasized, “No matter who we play, if we execute our scheme and do what we’re coached to do we’re going to give ourselves a chance to be successful. That gives us a lot of confidence knowing it’s all in our hands.”

As of this week, there are no limitations for Ellerbee, “We’ll see how we can get him in there and implement him into all schemes,” relayed head coach Mike Bloomgren, “He is available and good to go.”

Ellerbee hasn’t been sitting idly during fall camp of early season practices. He’s been participating in drills with a no-contact jersey and taking as much as possible in during film sessions. “Getting a lot of mental reps has been good for me. Watching the guys in front of me make plays and execute the scheme has been something that I’ve had to focus on and I’ve just had to put myself in their shoes for the reps that I couldn’t get. That’s been super useful and helpful for me.”

The Owls’ backfield could be their deepest position group on the team. Emmanuel Esukpa has been a workhorse up the middle while Austin Walter has been an explosive runner and pass catcher out of the backfield. Ellerbee is going to have to work his way into more touches in a crowded backfield, but regardless of what his role is, he says he’s ready to help the team win.

“It’s been a while. It’s been a long process,” said Ellerbee. ” I feel good. Special teams, running back, whatever the coaches need me to do, I’m ready to go. I’m excited.”

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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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