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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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Quarterbacks, offensive line updates from practice (8/9)

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Rice football continues to solidify the depth chart, thinning out the quarterback and offensive line positions midway through fall camp.

Head coach Mike Bloomgren spent the majority of the practice with the offensive line. A former offensive line coach at Stanford, Bloomgren got down and dirty teaching techniques first hand. At one point he had his hands on turf instructing one of the younger players in a one-on-one drill.

In addition to focusing on the offensive line, Bloomgren appears to have trimmed the quarterback competition down from three players to two. With that, here are a few tidbits from Thursday’s practice:

Movement in the quarterback battle

The most pressing news first: the quarterback position is down to two. As many of you saw late Thursday evening, I broke the news that Sam Glaesmann has moved to wide receiver. Coach Bloomgren wouldn’t say the move was permanent, but he did mention the need for additional reps for Jackson Tyner and Shawn Stankavage moving forward.

Offensive line is beginning to take shape

The first team is beginning to solidify. Tackles Uzoma Osuji and Sam Pierce have been consistent fixtures at left tackle and right tackle, respectively. Shea Baker appears to have locked down the job at center as well.

Jack Greene and Joseph Dill have the lead at the left and right guard positions, but redshirt freshman Corbin Smith is challenging for time in the interior as well. A notable omission from the first team is Florida transfer Andrew Mike. Despite joining the Owls from the SEC it doesn’t appear Mike has done enough in practice to vie for a starting job just yet.

Backup center Cole Elms went down with a leg injury during Oklahoma drills and had to be helped off the field. He was able to return to practice for goal line work later on.

Offensive line tests in short-yardage drills

It’s been no secret that the defensive line is one of the deepest units on the team. The offensive line has struggled to keep up with the power rushers opposite them, but Thursday was a huge step in the right direction.

Thursday’s practice was all about winning in the trenches. The team pitted the offense and the defense against each other in three drills: Oklahoma, short yardage and goal line. The defense, by and large, won the Oklahoma drill but the full team drills were dominated by the offense.

Both units met at midfield with one-yard to go for the first down in a series of reps. Play action, bootlegs and runs straight up the middle resulted in a series of first downs. Bloomgren preaches that everything is a competition, so the defense had to do push-ups as a result of their defeat.

Offense wins goal line drills

The same theme rang true on the goal line. Both quarterbacks beat the edge to the pylon and scored touchdowns with their feet. The real stars were the running backs and the offensive line. Boosted by enough space in front of them to operate, several tailbacks lept over both lines and landed in the endzone. When freshman tailback Antonio Faaeteete sailed through the air and into the endzone the entire offense went berserk, celebrating the head-to-head win over their teammates.

The offensive line wasn’t perfect. A few players were blown up in the backfield and they registered a sack at the goal line. On the whole, though, the efficiency of the quarterbacks and running backs proved that this starting group has enough umph to get the important yards when they need to.

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Offensive and defensive standouts from scrimmage (8/6)

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Rice football held a full scrimmage at practice on Monday, August 6 with the offense and defense going head to head. Here are a few standouts on each side.

The offense and the defense each had their moments in an evening affair that drained the final slivers of sunlight from the sky. The blazing ball of fire was nowhere to be seen overhead as the final players made their way off the practice field. Like head coach Mike Bloomgren told the team this week, it’s an “All Ball, all day” kind of week.

With no classes to distract them the team got down to business. Bloomgren wanted to hold reserve judgment until he had a chance to look at the film, but couldn’t help but crack a smile as he talked the high-level of play the Owls got from several players on Monday. The physicality of the team is growing. “I wouldn’t say we’re there,” he grinned, “but I like where we’re heading.”

With that in mind, here are three guys from each side of the ball that had impressive showings on Monday:

Offense

Austin Walter – Running back

Walter is as slippery and quick as they come. A major theme of Monday’s practice was moving the ball horizontally to create space vertically. Walter beat his man to the edge of the formation and accelerated time and time again. The Owls had several running backs have good evenings, but Walter’s consistency stood out.

Gio Gentosi – Fullback

The first touchdown of scrimmage was scored by UCLA transfer Gio Gentosi, a fullback. The first team offense took to the field with Gentosi in the backfield in front of Austin Walter, paving the way for the smaller, quicker back. Gentosi had a pair of designed runs himself with the second finding the endzone. Head coach Mike Bloomgren preaches physicality. It doesn’t get much grittier than fullbacks doing work in the trenches.

Austin Trammell – Wide receiver

Aaron Cephas had a nice snag in traffic, but it was Austin Trammell that won the day with his hands. The slot receiver looked like he was playing with glue on his gloves and is becoming a safety net on the inside for the Owls’ quarterbacks. With lots of question marks at the position, Trammell looks to be a lock to see a lot of playing time this season.

Defense

Dasharm Newsome – Safety

Newsome might have had the hardest hit of the practice, rocketing out of the defensive backfield to stop a ballcarrier dead in his tracks. The hit reverberated around the practice field as his teammates cheered. Having someone in centerfield ready to deliver a blow will be key for the Owls this fall.

Blaze Alldredge – linebacker

Not once, but twice during the evening session did Alldredge completely blow up a play from his inside linebacker spot. The first hit knocked quarterback Sam Glaesmann to the ground as the ball fell to the turf – the first turnover of the evening. The second would have resulted in a sack had Alldredge been permitted to make the hit. The offense just wasn’t able to stop him slicing through the gap and creating havoc. Fellow linebackers Antonio Montero and Kebreyun Page impressed as well.

Zach Abercrumbia – Defensive tackle

The senior leader of the defense proved his importance early and often. With Roe Wilkins alongside, Abercrumbia collapsed pocket after pocket and made things difficult for all of the Owls’ quarterbacks. It’s clear that the defensive line is one of the deepest position groups on this team and Abercrumbia is the heart and soul of that unit.

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Quarterback battle wide open entering fall camp

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Rice football is still searching for their starting quarterback for the 2018 season with several players in the mix to earn the job. How will this battle play out over the course of fall camp?

The click-clack of cleats jogging down the concrete ramp onto the field echoed through Rice Stadium as the team began to trickle in for the first practice of the season. Scattered among the masses of blue and white jerseys were a handful of red-clad athletes. The red, meant to symbolize no contact, is reserved for players working their way back from injury and, perhaps more so, is the designator of the quarterbacks.

As the team spread out into position groups the quarterbacks gathered together as well, talking amongst themselves, going through their warmups and tossing the ball back and forth between them. From afar, everyone looked somewhat similar. No one player had distanced themselves from the group. Not only was that true of their physical proximity, but it’s reflective of the current state of the depth chart too.

Head coach Mike Bloomgren called the depth chart “fluid as water” and another staffer commented that it was “worth the paper it’s printed on.” From cornerback to wide receiver, from the specialists to the offensive line, every position is up for grabs. Including the quarterback.

“Everything is going to be evaluated. Everything is going to be filmed. Everything will be watched. The assessment is real and constant,” Bloomgren said with a passionate, yet even-keeled temperament. “Everything will be earned.”

More: Breaking down the options at quarterback for the Owls in 2018

Rice football enters the 2018 season with a fair amount of uncertainty at the quarterback position. Jackson Tyner and Sam Glaesmann both saw meaningful snaps last season. Joining Tyner and Glaesmann is graduate transfer Shawn Stankavage from Vanderbilt. That trio, at least for now, represents the primary contenders for the starting job.

Bloomgren gave Tyner the nod as the front-runner at Conference USA Media Days, but even Tyner is preparing himself for the battle he’s going to face for the starting job. “Competition is good.” he remarked after practice, “It’s going to make every single one of us better, perform higher. We’re going to push each other.” Glaesmann echoed that sentiment, going as far as to say that the quarterback room was all “good buddies” who “want the best for each other.”

As they went throughout practice they all saw highs and lows. The trio of Tyner, Glaesmann and Stankavage rotated with the starters throughout most of the first day. Each would take a rep, then step back and watch the next guy in line take his shot.

No one distanced themselves too much on opening day, but there’s a long way to go before the Owls kick off their season against Prairie View A&M on Aug. 25. Bloomgren would like to have a starter penciled in before that game begins, but said he had “no fear or qualms about letting this battle go to gametime and beyond if that’s what it takes.”

More: 2018 Season Preview – Prairie View A&M Panthers

On a talent basis, Bloomgren is not concerned, going as far as to say he believed there were four or five guys that had enough talent to win the job outright. When it comes to making his decision, he touted intelligence as the top differentiator. At the end of the day, the question he was asking himself was simple: “Who is going to be able to execute our offense the most efficiently?”

Without revealing his hand too much, Bloomgren did confirm that mobility was something he valued a fair amount. “We always want a better athlete. We always want someone that can get three first downs a game with their feet,” he said excitedly, saying that players that can move around well and steal first downs make the west coast offense operated as it’s designed to be run.”

That would play to the strengths of Glaesmann, who made a move with the ball that was so quick and elusive that Bloomgren called him a “magician” on the field. Glaesmann averaged 4.1 yards per carry last season and scored three touchdowns on the ground. Tyner averaged 2.0 yards per rush with one rushing score. Stankvage never recorded a carry at Vanderbilt but did rush for 1,058 yards and 13 touchdowns in his final year of high school in North Carolina.

All three quarterbacks were put in motion multiple times during the drills. Each looked comfortable on the move and no end to the battle is in sight quite yet. Tyner might have summed it up the best. Whoever wins the job, they’re all just excited to be back out of the field competing.

“Last year we had a rough year and a lot of guys got to the point where we just weren’t excited to play ball,” he admitted, somewhat begrudging before ending on a high note “We got the juice back and we’re ready to ball.”

“In my perfect world,” Bloomgren said, somewhat hopefully, “someone will jump up, snatch that job and never let go.” The quarterback race is wide open. May the best man win.

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