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Rice Football 2023: FAU presser quotes and depth chart

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Rice football hosts FAU this week. Here’s what Mike Bloomgren had to say about the matchup at hand and a few depth chart notes.

Head coach Mike Bloomgren 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 FAU.

Listen Now: The Roost Pod – Breaking down Rice Football vs 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

“All we did about by winning that game and taking care of business on Saturday is made this week much bigger, I told them that in the locker room after the game and it’s so true, we understand we’re in playoff mindset. We understand the degree of how important this last game, the last game of the regular season. We’re excited for it.”– Mike Bloomgren on the impact of the Charlotte game

“He had a good doctor’s appointment yesterday. He’s better every single day and nothing has changed from what I told you last week. The moment he can he feels like he can do this thing, we’re going to go with him.” – Mike Bloomgren on the status of JT Daniels

“He was on their team last year. And I vaguely remember him. Coach Alamar showed me some film today where he was the punt returner last year. But this year, you can’t turn on a single one of their films without noticing him. He is so exceptional. I think he does a great job.” – Mike Bloomgren on the status of FAU WR LaJohntay Wester

“We all know what’s at stake. I’m not having any trouble getting these guys to focus or be in the building. They’re sleeping here in the building, just like a coaches are. They’re around here all the time. It doesn’t matter if [FAU] scored 100 points last game or zero, or eight as they did, but whatever the case, our team is just ultra focused on this opponent and we’re certainly giving them the amount of respect that they deserve. We know that they’re very talented football team.” – Mike Bloomgren on the teams’ focus right now 

“To be completely honest, I haven’t put a whole lot of thought into it. Coach Smith has a great phrase, be where your feet are. I’ve really tried to just focus on prep for this week, focus on prep for last week, as well. Just get the offensive line, especially the guys that are kind of within my frame of control, just make sure we’re as prepared as possible…

I do think it’s going to be emotional during the game. This is my sixth year and this is the final home game. Going back all the way to 2018, there’s been a lot of ups, a lot of downs. A lot of good moments, a lot of bad moments in this stadium, but I’m so extremely blessed to to have been here for all six years and to have a guy like Coach Bloomgren sort of mentor me and coach me through through life as well as football.” – Offensive lineman Clay Servin on his final home game

“I think everybody is so proud of DJ, what he’s overcome in this program. What he’s battled through and how he was able to come out when his number was called…He’s out there recognizing things, recognizing plays. He’s a very instinctive player and it’s really been fun out there playing with him, communicating on the field, seeing things before they happen and watching him go run around and make the play.” – Linebacker Myron Morrison on teammate DJ Arkansas 

Depth Chart

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Depth Chart Notes

Tight end Jack Bradley was a late scratch on Saturday against Charlotte and has been removed from the depth chart entirely this week. That typically portends to an absence on game day. That means Boden Groen and Elijah Mojarro would be the Owls’ primary tight ends with Bloomgren confirming Mojarro’s availability on Tuesday.

Andrew Awe is listed as the starter at Mike linebacker over DJ Arkansas. Both should play, regardless of how the depth chart reads. Gabe Taylor and Tyson Flowers share an or designation at safety this week. How that sorts out might depend on which packages the Owls run in which situation. It’ll be something we have updates on later in the week — make you subscribe on Patreon for the latest practice report.

The rest of the depth chart reads as it did last week. As for the quarterbacks, Bloomgren said AJ Padgett would be in line to start again, should Daniels not be cleared, and that no matter who starts, Chase Jenkins will get some time on the field to take advantage of his fourth game of playing time while retaining his redshirt status.


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Rice Football 2023: Charlotte presser quotes and depth chart

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Rice football visits Charlotte this week. Here’s what Mike Bloomgren had to say about the matchup at hand and a few depth chart notes.

Head coach Mike Bloomgren and a set of players met with the media for their customary weekly availability. They recapped the UTSA game and looked ahead at their upcoming matchup with Charlotte.

Listen Now: The Roost Pod – Breaking down Rice Football vs 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

“We’ve talked a lot in the last couple days about entering playoff football and that’s always exciting. You get an opportunity to wake up every day and kind of bounce out of bed. It’s just exciting to get those opportunities and we know we need to go 1-0 this week. We know we have a very talented opponent on the other side in Charlotte and Biff Poggi’s team. We’re going to prepare the right way and we’re going to go there and expect to go 1-0 this week.”– Mike Bloomgren on the team’s mindset

“It was great to have JT out at practice yesterday. He was in the bubble, able to be out there and hang out a little bit. I don’t know for sure, we’ll see. We’d love to have him back, there’s no doubt about that. If he gets cleared, we expect to play him.” – Mike Bloomgren on the status of JT Daniels

“What’s been interesting is to see how there offense has evolved. They went five straight games with scoring no more than 16 points and in their last two contests they went 33 and 38. They are definitely on an upswing. Making the change at quarterback to Trexler Ivery has seemed to give them a little bit of a boost and a little more stability maybe, but what they did in this last game to give themselves a chance against Memphis is they ran it down their throats.” – Mike Bloomgren on the Charlotte offense

“I think this is a great team and it’s far and away the best team I’ve been apart of since I’ve been here. I’m very grateful to be here and be a leader… It’s going to be a great opportunity that we have in front of us this Saturday, the Saturday following and hopefully the one coming up following that. That’s the only goal that we have is to win football games, go 1-0 this week and get to that bowl game and win it.” – Defensive lineman Izeya Floyd on the team’s goals right now

“We have to focus on the first game ahead of us. We can’t be so involved in the larger scheme that we miss the little details. Something that we’ve been talking about and focusing on is taking one step at a time, focusing on how we can improve every practice.” – Offensive lineman Ethan Onianwa on how the team is approaching earning bowl eligiblity

Depth Chart

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Depth Chart Notes

There were no changes to the official depth chart this week. That’s been the norm more often than not, with only significant injuries causing major fluctuations in the most recent updates. Now, who is actually going to play versus who is listed as the starter could be another question entirely. That’s something that might come down to kickoff in some cases, with most being able to sort out by the end of the week.

Make sure you read our Thursday practice report, reserved for subscribers, for the latest on the Rice football quarterback situation as well as other key injury notes and updates. Bloomgren has already announced he does not expect running back Juma Otoviano or tight end Elijah Mojarro to be available this week.


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Rice Football 2023: UTSA presser quotes and depth chart

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Rice football visits UTSA this week. Here’s what Mike Bloomgren had to say about the matchup at hand and a few depth chart notes.

Head coach Mike Bloomgren and a set of players met with the media for their customary weekly availability. They recapped the SMU game and looked ahead at their upcoming matchup with UTSA.

Listen Now: The Roost Pod – Breaking down Rice Football vs SMU

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

“There was the holding call that was crtiical. There were a couple fouls on defense that kept drives alive and that were after the whistle type plays that are just things that we have to clean up if we want to be a championship level football team. When the margins are so small, you gotta have the discipline to not have the self inflicted wounds.”– Mike Bloomgren on what the team learned from the SMU game

“I thought our win against Houston was phenomenal. I thought that was a great step. Now, how do we do it in our conference against the top teams in our conference? We played three [great teams] in a row. How do we find a way to make that play in the fourth quarter? Because we’re pushing teams to deep water. We’re doing things, we’ve never been able to do and certainly wouldn’t be able to do in the past but they starting quarterback going down. ” – Mike Bloomgren on the growth of the team

“They play a three-four defense that’s going to build a wall. And they make everything incredibly hard to run the ball and then they play it top down with their cover four behind it. When you do that, it hard for an offense. Now their offense, they’re going to be that downhill run team and they’re going to take some shots. They’re going to line up and have Frank [Harris] just make plays. ” – Mike Bloomgren on on UTSA

“The biggest thing for me is just that chemistry. I feel like chemistry is a big thing between quarterbacks and receivers and I feel like I got that pretty early with Chase [Jenkins] and AJ [Padgett is from my area, so we were throwing in the summer when we weren’t up here. So we definitely got some chemistry in that, and just having guys who can throw the ball back there, like they can, it’s just great. It’s great to have. ” – Wide receiver Landon Ransom on his relationship with the Rice quarterbacks

“I can’t tell you how many conversations Daveon [Hook] and I have had about — ‘When we’re seniors, when we’re playing, this is how we’re going to do it.’ It’s really cool to be on the field with Daveon and Plae [Wyatt], Plae’s a character too. Getting to be on the field with him and his energy, it’s awesome, especially just thinking back to a year ago when me and Daveon were on scout team just doing our best to wreck havoc for the offensive guys. Now being able to do it in an actual game, it’s really a blessing and I feel really lucky to be able to be on the field with them.” – Safety Tyson Flowers on the comradery in the secondary 

Depth Chart

Rice Football

Depth Chart Notes

The offensive depth chart doesn’t look any different this week, with a very important caveat. The status of JT Daniels for this game is not certain, “doubtful” in Bloomgren’s own words. Make sure you read our Thursday practice report, reserved for subscribers, for the latest on the Rice football quarterback situation heading into the UTSA game.

As for the defense, the depth chart does have a few changes, most notably the removal of Chris Conti after he suffered an injury prior to last Saturday’s game against SMU. Taking his place at the starting linebacker spot is DJ Arkansas, who had already been being utilized in a few packages over the past few weeks.

Demone Green has supplanted Van Heitmann as the primary backup to Coleman Coco and Jsoh Pearcy remains listed atop the other side. We’ll have more updates on his status later in the week as well. Ditto for the free safety spot, where Gabe Taylor has been given an OR designation to reflect his questionable availability.


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Rice Football 2023: SMU presser quotes and depth chart

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Rice football hosts SMU this week. Here’s what Mike Bloomgren had to say about the matchup at hand and a few depth chart notes.

Head coach Mike Bloomgren and a set of players met with the media for their customary weekly availability. They recapped the Tulane game and looked ahead at their upcoming matchup with SMU.

Listen Now: The Roost Pod – Breaking down Rice Football vs UConn

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

“Having watched the film, I really think what we talked about after the game was exactly right. I couldn’t be more proud of our response after halftime, the way we played in that third quarter. Unfortunately we dug ourselves a pretty big hole against the defending conference champs. We battled and battled and we came up short.”– Mike Bloomgren on the Tulane game

“They’re lighting up the scoreboard and they’re not allowing many points to be scored against them. That’s the thing that’s most evident right now. You look at their last couple games, I think they’ve given up 10 points and scored a ton. They’re a very talented, athletic group, really in all phases.” – Mike Bloomgren on SMU

“ I think it’s important more than ever to focus on us and the things that win football games and what that looks like going forward. That was the challenge to the team, understading how talented we are and how we have everything we need in this team meeting room. I still believe the Rice Owls are the only team that can beat the Rice Owls, and there’s a lot of comfort in that as we go out and work.” – Mike Bloomgren on his team’s mentality

“My grandfather played center for them back in the 70’s. My great-grandfather was part of their four-horseman with Doak Walker. I definitely have a lot of Ponies in my family and there was a lot of pressure for me when I was getting recruited to be a Pony, but that just makes this game more exciting. I’m trying to get my grandpa to come out to the game. He’ll be in the stands” – Tight end Jack Bradley on his family connections to the SMU program

“[SMU] was my first offer and then Rice came along and offered me and I committed to Rice. One of the first things that I said to my pops was that I wish we played SMU. Three or four years later, we finally got the chance so it’s time to ball.” – Safety Plae Wyatt on SMU

Depth Chart

Rice Football

Depth Chart Notes

The injury to Josh Pearcy, who’s status is currently unknown for this coming weekend, provided an opportunity to update the depth chart along the defensive line. Demone Green is now listed as the backup rush end, behind Pearcy, after spending much of the season to this point backing up Coleman Coco at defensive end.

Additionally, Michael Larbie has pushed in front of Elroyal Morris at defensive tackle. Larbie had a big sack against Tulane this past weekend. Rounding out the changes was the promotion of Jordan Campbell onto the depth chart behind Coco. Campbell has been used as a situational pass rusher for a few weeks now and should continue to see some run.

How that group is utilized this weekend will depend, in large part, on the availability of Pearcy. We’ll have more updates on his status and other plans for Saturday on Thursday with our practice report, reserved for subscribers.


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Rice Football 2023: Tulane presser quotes and depth chart

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Rice football hosts Tulane this week. Here’s what Mike Bloomgren had to say about the matchup at hand and a few depth chart notes.

Head coach Mike Bloomgren and a set of players met with the media for their customary weekly availability. They recapped the Tulsa win and looked ahead at their upcoming matchup with Tulane.

Listen Now: The Roost Pod – Breaking down Rice Football vs UConn

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

“Looking back, I’m still proud of how our team attracted bye week and how they prepared for that game at Tulsa. It’s a well-deserved team win, as complete of a win as we’ve had against an FBS opponent. [There were] a lot of things to be proud of in that game.”– Mike Bloomgren on the Tulsa win

“This is not the kind of football team we played in our conference last year. This is a team that looks a lot more like Texas or Houston. This is a talented team from top to bottom. And in some ways, I guess that’s what the American [Conference] is. The American’s, a great conference week in and week out, but these guys won that conference last year. And you see why. You see how well coached they are. You see unbelievable effort across the ball. You see a team that does a great job taking care of the football and taking it away. So there’s a lot of things they’re going to be a good challenge for us.” – Mike Bloomgren on Tulane

“Michael Pratt, I just felt like he was the heart of soul of that team in so many games last year. You go back to the last time they were in Houston playing the team across the street, what he did to lead them back to that overtime win and the way they fought, there’s a lot of good stuff in there. I think it’s a guy that’s very comfortable in their system that they all seem to believe in and he certainly believes he has the answers.” – Mike Bloomgren on Tulane quarterback Michael Pratt

“After all those injuries, I had a glimpse of who I was, but like I say all the time to my teammates, I’m almost a fifth year, but that’s just by my classification, playing-wise, I’m stil a sophomore. My body is still kind of young in terms of how I look at it… My main focus was just, can I get better every day?” – Corner Tre’shon Devones on his mindset returning from injury this season

“If I’m being honest, I owe all success that I have to him. He’s been an older brother to me, helped me with all the struggles that I’ve had… I wouldn’t be here without him… He’s just got so much experience. Over the last four years he’s done everything for this team so he knows how to run every route and block every play, and he’s also just so emotionally inteligent too.” – Tight end Boden Groen teammate Jack Bradley

Depth Chart

Rice Football

Depth Chart Notes

There was one official change to the Rice football depth chart this week, but it was a procedural update. Freshman kicker Enoch Gota, who has handled kickoff duties for some time now, was formally listed as the kickoff man for this week’s game against Tulane. It’s more so a correction of a lagging update than a true change. Additionally, an OR designation was added at the punter spot between Conor Hunt and Reese Keeney. We’ll have more updates on other plans for Saturday shortly for subscribers.


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