Next up for Rice football, a road game at UTSA. Here’s what head coach Scott Abell had to say about the matchup and a few depth chart notes.
Head coach Scott Abell and a set of players met with the media for their customary weekly availability. They recapped the FAU Navy game and looked ahead at their upcoming matchup with UTSA.
We touch on those items, then dig into the Rice football depth chart and what the team looks like heading into the weekend. First, the quotes:
Press Conference Quotes
He’s a talented guy. He understands their system really well. He can make a lot of throws and he’s really athletic. His feet are the thing people don’t talk about enough… He’s just a mature guy, a good quarterback for them – Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on the UTSA quarterback Owen McCown
I think it’s best front seven we’ve seen all year. I really do. I think they’re athletic. I think they’re physical. I think there’s a lot of talent there. That jumps off at me… There’s no shortage of athletes running around. They play a lot of guys. – Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on the UTSA defense
I think he’s the guy that makes it go. If you watch their success offensively, when they’ve been real explosive, he’s making them go. When they haven’t been quite as explosive it’s when he’s not on the field… They’re still good, but they’re not as explosive. I think he’s the key. We’ve got to contain him. We have to tackle well in space. He’s one of the nations’ leading rushers. That’s our defensive challenge this week.- Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on UTSA RB Robert Henry
It’s been a steady, slower pace than any of us would want, but it’s certainly making strides in the right direction. I’m excited about it. I think the players see that now. There’s been more explosive plays over the last three weeks, now you gotta put it all together. You’ve gotta be able to sustain drives. –Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on the growth of the offense
Their defense is very athletic. Their front seven is very big, very physical. They fly to the ball. They don’t miss a lot of tackles. I think it’s going to be a good game for us up front. I think we have to match their intensity, be more physical. The UTSA defense is very physical. They’re fast. They’re athletic. They’re going to fly around the ball so I think it’s going to be a very good game come Saturday night. – Running back Quinton Jackson on the UTSA defense
It’s always been a game that I really want to win against these guys, especially. They’re a good football team, play well, play hard. That’s what we like to do, so it’s a battle of wills at this point.- Linebacker Andrew Awe on the rivalry with UTSA
Full Press Conference
Depth Chart
Depth Chart Notes
There are two notable additions to the two deep this week, wide receiver Payton Matthews and safety Jack Kane. The latter’s inclusion is a positive sign that he might be available for the Owls after missing the last several games with an injury. Matthews has moved up the ranks, displacing a few veterans that didn’t make their mark in non-conference play. His role should continue to grow moving forward.
As always, there are plenty of moving parts. Edge Michael Daley, who was a surprise inactive last Saturday, is not listed on this depth chart. I’ll have more updates on his potential availability in this week’s practice report, available to those subscribed to our Starting Lineup Tier on Patreon, which should be out later this week.
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Next up for Rice football, a home tilt against FAU. Here’s what head coach Scott Abell had to say about the matchup and a few depth chart notes.
Head coach Scott Abell and a set of players met with the media for their customary weekly availability. They recapped the Navy game and looked ahead at their upcoming matchup with Florida Atlantic.
We touch on those items, then dig into the Rice football depth chart and what the team looks like heading into the weekend. First, the quotes:
Press Conference Quotes
I think the takeaway this week from the group was we expected to win at Navy. We expected to go toe-to-toe with a preseason favorite and you love that mentality. Now, I don’t know if we handled it really well there midway through the first half, so now you gotta learn how to handle that. I want that expectation. We should expect to win those games, but if it doesn’t go your way early, you gotta handle it better. Now, we did regroup at halftime. I thought that was important to see your team do that. All that’s a learning opportunity. The key is, you gotta learn. – Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on his takeaways from the Navy game
He’s the reigning Conference USA Player of the Year coming out of Western Kentucky. Very talented. Got great size. He can see the whole field. The challenge is real for our secondary.. There’s a lot of catch and throw. He doesn’t hold it long. He’s getting it out of his hand [fast]. To me, we gotta force him to drive the field. He’s going to have some completions. We’ve got to rally and tackle well. – Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on FAU quarterback Caden Veltkamp and the FAU passing offense
They’re really athletic. They have good size. They want to lock you down. They’re gonna play man, they don’t hide from it. Most people play some type of man courage against us. We expect to see an aggressive defense. That’s what Navy was against us, Charlotte at times. The formulas are similar. People are going to be aggressive, they’re going to leave us some one-on-one situations in space and we got to make some plays.–Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on what he expects from the FAU defense
In terms of playing my last year of football, I wanted to come to a place where I could use my eligibility and feel like I’m making a difference, contributing on the field and in the locker room and, obviously, getting a valuable education. – Offensive lineman Sean Sullivan on his decision to come to Rice
I’m just glad that my opportunity is here… My journey hadn’t been the most smooth, but I’ve stayed the course and done what I needed to do and now my opportunity is here and I’m just doing my best to make the most of it.- Safety Marcus Williams on his opportunity after battling injuries in prior seasons
Full Press Conference
Depth Chart
Depth Chart Notes
The only changes to the depth chart this week are reflective of adjustments from last week’s injury updates. Luke Needham, who missed the Navy game, has been taken off the two-deep for the first time this year with an injury, Peyton Farmer is listed in his place. Also on offense, Braylen Walker makes his first appearance on a regular season depth chart following his return to the field against Navy.
Walker did leave the Navy game early. Stay tuned for the weekly practice report, available to those subscribed to our Starting Lineup Tier on Patreon, which should be published later this week for news on his availability as well as the status of other players who have missed some extended time. Among those, defensive lineman Ejike Adele is the only change on the defensive two-deep after missing last week.
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Next up for Rice football, a road trip to Navy. Here’s what head coach Scott Abell had to say about the matchup and a few depth chart notes.
Head coach Scott Abell and a set of players met with the media for their customary weekly availability. They recapped the Charlotte game and looked ahead at their upcoming matchup with Navy.
We touch on those items, then dig into the Rice football depth chart and what the team looks like heading into the weekend. First, the quotes:
Press Conference Quotes
I think the unique part of this would be I know their staff. I know coach [Brian] Newberry well. We’ve crossed paths many times in our life as friends, as coaches, comparing notes. There’s certainly some things we all don’t know about each other, but there’s probably a lot we do know about each other’s programs that makes this probably a little more unique. – Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on his relationship with Navy head coach Brian Newberry
I think it’s incredibly special… I’m honored to be part of such a game and I’m honored to be playing there. There’s a lot of history there. What are men and women do in service, I’ve talked about this before in my interviews, I’m incredibly grateful. It’s people like that that allow all of us to do the things we dearly love to do. I am grateful I’m honored to be in this game and this rivalry. – Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on the meaning of playing against the Naval Academy
It’s going to give me an opportunity to talk about two things. One, an offense I incredibly respect. I think they’re talented. I think they’re coached incredibly well, in all phases. Offense, defense, and as a team. They have a very veteran group on offense. You have a senior quarterback that’s probably able to make adjustments as quick as his offensive coordinator. He’s incredibly intelligent, and he’s really athletic. He doesn’t get enough credit for the type of athlete, the type of quarterback he is. People see him in that system, they think, oh, he’s a good athlete. He’s a triple option guy. I think he’s a really good quarterback. He’s a kid I remember watching coming out of high school. I had my eye on him from Davidson, obviously he went bigger. I think they’ll give us a lot to defend. There’s a lot in there. They’re older. They’ve been in their system now some time and they’re comfortable.–Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on the Navy offense and quarterback Blake Horvath
I see the progression every single day. At practice, we’re ready to work. We have high energy. One thing we need to work at is being consistent and finishing drives. It’s really hard coming in, learning a new offense. But once we learn how to finish drive and be consistent, I think we’ll be a really dangerous offense. I see improvement every single day. People are willing to learn and just like coach mentioned, the next man up mentality. Everybody from ones, to twos to threes, everybody’s working on trying to improve on their craft. I think we’re improving every single day. – Running back Quinton Jackson on the progression of the offense
There are very high expectations. I feel like there’s definitely still room to improve; there’s always going to be room for that. I feel like we’ve gotten off to a good start, but like coach [Jon] Kay always says, there’s always things we can do better, little things we can do better, really just focusing on the minor details of our defense. No complacency around here. We’re continuing to focus on getting better every week.- Defensive lineman Blake Boenisch on the play of the defense to this point
Full Press Conference
Depth Chart
Depth Chart Notes
There were two notable changes to the depth chart this week, both injury related. Landon Ransom, who left the Charlotte game with an injury is not listed. Neither is safety Jack Kane, who also did not finish the game on Thursday. I’ve have updates on their timetables in the weekly practice report, available to those subscribed to our Starting Lineup Tier on Patreon, which should be published shortly.
Outside of those injuries, there was some shuffling in the secondary as a result. Peyton Stevenson, who had been listed at viper has moved back to free safety with Jo Chavez taking his spot and elevating Plae Wyatt onto the two-deep for the first time this season.
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Next up for Rice football, conference play against Charlotte. Here’s what head coach Scott Abell had to say about the matchup and a few depth chart notes.
Head coach Scott Abell and a set of players met with the media for their customary weekly availability. They recapped the Prairie View A&M game and looked ahead at their upcoming matchup with Charlotte.
We touch on those items, then dig into the Rice football depth chart and what the team looks like heading into the weekend. First, the quotes:
Press Conference Quotes
I think they’re beginning to find their DNA offensively. They’ve opened up their passing attack. They have a really nice group of receivers with different talent sets that they’re utilizing very well. I think the quarterback has now settled into his role – he transferred there from UNC – I think he’s playing with confidence. – Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on the Charlotte offense
It’s an incredible honor for Plae and for our program. I think Plae is the fourth Owl in history to be named to the Allstate Good Works Team. For me, personally, he’s my fourth now in my career. And I told Plae this yesterday, he’s joining an incredibly select group of young men that I’ve known personally that have been selected to that team. Incredible humans, which he is. – Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on safety Plae Wyatt be named to the Allstate Good Works Team
I think last week was a really nice growth week for Chase, a great momentum builder, confidence builder. I think we saw things out of Chase that we knew were there, but you really have to get comfortable in this system and your reads to get to that point where you see some of that come out and Saturday we saw that. He hurt the defense with his feet. He hurt them with his arm, his ability to be a dual-threat guy… I’m really pleased with his growth. The exciting point for all of us is that I think we’re just scratching the surface still of what he’s capable of inside this offense. –Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on the development of Owls’ quarterback Chase Jenkins
I could not be more excited. It’s year one for both programs, so I’m sure they feel the same way, the opportunity to play on the national stage to have your program out there. We’re a program that here in Houston, Texas, the hotbed of high school football, but we do have some connections in recruiting across the country landscape and so to on a national scale, to have our broadcast out there, where from coast to coast, everyone is going to see the Owls play, is exciting and should be a great opportunity for us. Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on playing in prime time on ESPN this week
I got in on defense last game vs PV. Before I even got in the game I had tears coming from my eyes, it was just a surreal moment, a full-circle moment. I remember all the times I couldn’t get out of bed, I couldn’t walk, knee swelled up and going through two surgeries. It really took a toll on me physically and mentally, but just being able to bounce back and being out here with a great team on the verge of doing something big. It’s a real blessing. – Safety Plae Wyatt on returning to the field after injury
Chase is my guy, we’re really close… Seeing this for him, I’m just super happy for him because I think this is really good for him. This [offense] fits him really well. Last week I think you just saw a glimpse of what he can really do. I think he can do so much more. I think the sky’s the limit for him and I think he’s going to do really good in this offense… People just haven’t seen what he can truly do yet, especially with his feet and his legs and how he throw. – Slot receiver Drayden Dickmann on the growth of quarterback Chase Jenkins
Depth Chart
Depth Chart Notes
There was only one change to the depth chart this week. Center David Stickle, who left the Prairie View A&M game late in the second quarter with an injury, has been removed with Nate Bledsoe taking his place. We’ll have more news on Stickle and his potential availability going forward in the weekly practice report, available to those subscribed to our Starting Lineup Tier on Patreon, which should be published shortly.
Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.
Next up for Rice football, a home tilt against Prairie View A&M. Here’s what head coach Scott Abell had to say about the matchup and a few depth chart notes.
Head coach Scott Abell and a set of players met with the media for their customary weekly availability. They recapped the Houston game and looked ahead at their upcoming matchup with Prairie View A&M.
We touch on those items, then dig into the Rice football depth chart and what the team looks like heading into the weekend. First, the quotes:
Press Conference Quotes
This is going to be a learning curve for the roster. It’s going to be a learning curve for the program. Our guys are going to have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. We may get it just right. Louisiana, we got it just right…. Houston, we did not…. I think the learning curve for the offense will be the flexibility to adapt as the game changes and people make adjustments, whether its coming into the game or halftime, and that’s easier said than done. But getting some live games now, getting some experience, is going to be really impactful for us. – Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on what the team has to improve on following the Houston game
I think our guys will be incredibly focused. They’d better. Prairie View has plenty of talent. They’ve got a lot of guys who have played at our level… We’re coming off a week where we’re disappointed. We need to refocus ourselves and we need to be at our best Saturday. And that will be the challenge for our guys. – Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on the PVAMU matchup
I think they have really good size up front. To be honest, they’ll be one of the biggest fronts that we’ve seen so far in our first two weeks. I think they run well in their back half. They’re not a whole lot different from us where everything they’re doing right now, new offensive scheme, new defensive scheme, they’re building confidence through that every week. How does that look? I think we’ll have to be prepared for a couple different things this week out of their defense?–Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on PVAMU’s roster and makeup
A lot of new guys breaking in for that phase of the game, breaking in new quarterbacks, so that is probably going to take some time. I do want to see some improvement there. I think part of that is getting confidence to throw the ball downfield more. We have to do that. We have to take some shots downfield and have some confidence in our guys making some plays. That’s what I’m looking for. We’re completing the simple stuff and we’re getting it out quick to our athletes, which is important… The next phase is we gotta get some downfield threats going and find out who are playmakers are downfield. –Rice Football head coach Scott Abell on the passing game
Our main focus is running the ball. Establishing that, I feel, will open up the pass game. I feel like if we run the ball well, they’ll crowd the box and also open up the passing lanes. I feel like our is going on a good step. I’m not really worried or anything like that. It’s only Week 2. As long as we keep going out and practicing hard, doing what we need to do, everybody executing their one eleventh, I think we’ll be fine. – Slot Aaron Turner on the passing game
I think he’s a great teacher, especially in the areas I needed to improve on, in terms of complete DB play with run, pass and all those aspects, especially in my off coverage, he’s been a great teacher in terms of just helping me perfect my technique and be the best DB I can be. – Corner Omari Porter on the impact of position coach Jeremy Modkins
Depth Chart
Depth Chart Notes
Three weeks in the offensive line depth chart is finally starting to matchup the lineups Rice football has utilized during games. They have rotated those players a lot more than most other staffs, but the two-deep listed above is the most accurate representation we’ve seen thus far. Similarly, the X receiver with Artis Cole backed up by David Kasemervisz is now more correct.
On defense Dillan Botts moves in front of Chris Clark and Ejike Adele replaces Sam Carrell. Both Botts and Adele saw more action in the Houston game than their counterparts they’re replacing on the two-deep.
In the secondary, Daveon Hook has been removed after missing the Houston game entirely. That freshman Ahran Ogbor is listed at two spots reflects the relative lack of healthy depth Rice has at the position right now. His status, along with the available of other recovering players, will be noted in the weekly practice report later this week, available to those subscribed to our Starting Lineup Tier on Patreon.
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