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Rice Football: Injury updates — October 2021 Patreon Q&A

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Questions this month were short and sweet, focused on the health of various Rice football players we haven’t seen on the field in some time.

We had several questions submitted for the October mail bag as Rice football passes the midpoint of the season and looks ahead toward a matchup with North Texas. Injuries, and primarily when the limited players will be back on the field, were the overwhelming theme.

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For those checking in for the first time, or those returning, a quick programming note. Q&A’s are reserved for our subscribers. Have questions? You can get those answered and get access to all practice notes, recruiting updates and special features like this one when you subscribe on Patreon today.

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Rice Football 2021: North Texas presser quotes, updates and depth chart

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Rice football returns home to take on North Texas in Week 9. Here’s what Mike Bloomgren had to say about the matchup, injury updates and depth chart notes.

This is the first of a couple of updates coming this week as Rice football prepares to take on North Texas. We’ll include updates from head coach Mike Bloomgren’s midweek press conference, then dig further into the details on the depth chart and what the team looks like on the field headed into the weekend.

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Rice football is riding high, on the arm of Wiley Green and reinforcements from a handful of younger faces that are becoming key cogs in the Owls’ program. The depth chart continues to evolve, hopefully for the better, showcasing the depth the Owls have built over the last several seasons. First, the quotes:

Press Conference Quotes

“I’m just so proud. You don’t have to talk about him being our Game One starter. You can talk about him being our Year One starter in this program. All of the peaks and valleys that we’ve gone through as a program with Wiley [Green] together. How we’ve come out the other side a little bit in this game. It meant the world to me. There’s nobody I would have rather seen that success and the fact that he was able to go out there, turn it loose and play the way he’s capable of playing in a green light manner meant everything to me. It really did. I said it after the game, he put on a quarterback clinic. That’s exactly what he did.” – Mike Bloomgren on Wiley Green

“What I see on film is a very good football team. I see a dangerous football team with skill all over the place. A team that’s played a great schedule (and) a really difficult schedule. I know that it’s going to take us preparing the way we did last week and even better for us to come out here and go 1-0 this week. That’s our challenge. Our challenge is real simple: prepare the way we know that we need to, go out there and practice in such a way and then find a way to still go green light on Saturday to give ourselves the best chance to win.” – Mike Bloomgren on North Texas

“I just feel like this is a team that is just very confident in what we’re doing right now. I know we look back two weeks ago and it’s a little different story but I think that really helped grow us into the team that we are today and hopefully we can continue that going into this next week. But again, that’s kind of what we’re really focused on. Not too worried about the past and just continuing to go 1-0 this week.” – Wiley Green on how this team has changed

“We talked about having this green light mentality and that is just not being hesitant — because you care so much about the team that you don’t want to mess up — but instead just giving absolutely everything you can every single play, having this green light mentality where you don’t worry about the last play but you worry about this one. I think that makes a big difference in our confidence.” – Wiley Green on the team’s ‘green light mentality’

“It was the best feeling, just coming together as a brotherhood. It was the best feeling ever. Of course, last week and the week before that we didn’t show really our full potential. But everything just came together, we clicked as a unit from start to finish. And hopefully we can do that next week against North Texas.” – Gabe Taylor on the win over UAB

Depth Chart

The Rice football depth chart continues to evolve, including a change at the most important position: quarterback.

Rice Football

Going Green

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The Roost Podcast | Ep 97 – Rice football knocks off UAB

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Rice football ricocheted from a tough loss to a stunning upset victory. This week we debrief the Owls’ upset win over UAB on the road.

From the lowest of lows back up to the highest of highs, Rice football has run the emotional gauntlet over the past week and change and come out on the better side. The Owls became the first Conference USA team to beat UAB at home since 2014 and the only conference foe to topple the Blazers since their program was reinstated in 2017. How’d they do it? Behind a complete performance from all phases and a near-flawless outing from quarterback Wiley Green.

You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 97.

Episode Notes

  • Housekeeping
    • Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to the podcast on your platform of choice. Every little bit helps.
    • Check out the Blue and Gray Preview Show every Wednesday at Noon, hosted by Matthew and Rice radio broadcaster JP Heath on the Rice Athletics Youtube Channel
    • Please support us on Patreon. Be the first to get the inside scoop on what’s going on with Rice football and stick around for even further analysis. That includes updates from fall camp, practices and more.
      Become a Patron!
  • Rice football vs UAB 
    • Rice wasn’t perfect, but they made the plays when they needed to
    • Offense goes 5-for-5 on fourth down
    • Both the offensive and defensive line played extremely well
    • What do we make of Wiley Green moving forward?
    • Season-long expectations and a quick look ahead at North Texas

Where can you find us?

Download and subscribe to The Roost Podcast on any of your favorite podcast providers. The show is available on iTunes, GooglePlay, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn and PodBean. Please consider leaving a review wherever you listen.

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Rice Football 2021: NFL Owls Week 7 Stats Update

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Rice Football is well represented on 2021 NFL rosters. Here’s the latest from the NFL Owls in action in Week 7.

There are former Rice football players scattered across the NFL. Stay tuned each week for their game results and notables from each player.

Team NFL Owl(s) Week 7 Result Week 8
Los Angeles Chargers Christian Covington (DL) — BYE —  — vs New England
Denver Calvin Anderson (OL)
Bryce Callahan (CB)		 at Cleveland (TNF) L, 17-14 vs Washington
Pittsburgh Chris Boswell (PK) — BYE —  — at Cleveland
Detroit Jack Fox (P) at Los Angeles Rams L, 28-19 vs Philadelphia
Tampa Bay Nick Leverett (OL) vs Chicago W, 38-3 at New Orleans
Indianapolis Andrew Sendejo (Saf) at San Francisco (SNF) W, 30-18 vs Tennessee

Offense

Calvin Anderson – OT, Broncos

After seeing some action the week prior following an injury to starter Garrett Bolles, Anderson returned to special teams duty in Week 7. That meant two snaps against the Browns on Thursday Night Football.

Nick Leverett – OT, Buccaneers

Leverett was officially active for the first time this season for the Bucs’ Week 7 win over the Bears. He did not play.

Defense

Bryce Callahan – CB, Broncos

Callahan started and made fice tackles, including a tackle for a loss in the Broncos’ Week 7 loss to the Browns. He has now had at least three tackles and at least one TFL in three consecutive games, two starts.

Christian Covington – DL, Chargers

Covington and the Chargers were on bye in Week 7. They play the Patriots in Week 8.

Andrew Sendejo – S, Colts

Sendejo made two tackles in the Colts’ Week 7 victory over the 49ers. It was his third start in the teams’ last four games.

Special Teams

Jack Fox – P, Lions

Perhaps inspired by the Owls’ own fake-punt hijinks, former Rice punter Jack Fox pulled off a fake punt of his own on Sunday:

He only attempted one punt, which went for 36 yards.

Chris Boswell – K, Steelers

Boswell and the Steelers were on bye in Week 7. They play the Browns in Week 8.

More Owls in the NFL

From practice squads to current free agents, there are other Owls on the cusp of returning to active rosters. Find more detail on current contractual agreements and former Rice football players waiting for their next opportunity here.

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All green lights for Wiley Green, Rice football in UAB upset

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From the lowest of lows to the highest of highs, Rice football believed they could right the ship quickly and made that hope reality in an upset win over UAB.

Should we have seen it coming? Maybe. Would any outside the hedges have believed it if they were forewarned? Maybe not. Regardless, for the second time in as many seasons, Rice football has recovered from a road loss to knock off one of Conference USA’s best teams on the road behind the arm of a backup quarterback as 23+ point underdogs. UAB had not lost a conference game at home since the program was restarted in 2017. Until Saturday.

One week removed from being stunned under the lights on the roof of the Alamodome, Rice deployed what head coach Mike Bloomgren dubbed a “green light mentality” and rode it to yet another major victory for the Owls’ program.

“Instead of seeing yellow, instead of being hesitant – because of how much you care about this game and each other – play, and play for each other,” a Gatorade-soaked Bloomgren reiterated following the win. Then he listened on as team leaders like Wiley Green, who dazzled everyone with a 205-yard, three-touchdown outing, and Naeem Smith, who came up with a crucial interception, reiterated that same “green light” mantra.

Whether too timid or too mistake-riddled in previous games, something clicked in the Owls’ psyche on Saturday night at Protective Stadium. “I really think it came down to them freeing themselves to make plays and to play like they’re capable of,” Bloomgren said.

Takeaways: Rice football upsets UAB on the road

That focused, game-ready effectiveness was personified on the Owls’ first drive of the second half. Trailing at the break because of a missed extra point, Rice was facing what looked to be a three-and-out on their opening possession in the third quarter. Then Jaeger Bull snagged the snap on a fake punt and raced 30 yards into UAB territory. Rice would score on that drive to go up by six points, the final margin in the game.

“That’s something Coach Monfiletto drew up, gosh, maybe a month and a half ago, maybe prior to the Arkansas game,” Bloomgren remarked of the fake. He said it wasn’t even the first time Rice had called the play during this game, admitting to checking out of the call previously when they didn’t get the right look.

Not only did they get the right look on that particular snap. They executed. And that’s essentially the story of how Rice football went from a 45-point drubbing to one of the top two victories of the Mike Bloomgren era. A team that was out of sync finally got on the same page.

They didn’t play like a team facing a yellow, cautionary beacon. They had the green light and took full advantage of it. Much like things finally aligned and Rice was ready to attempt the gutsy fake punt, all phases played inspired football at the same time. Right up until the final whistle.

Bloomgren said the defense broke the huddle to “Green Light” prior to the stop that won them the game in the final seconds.

Safety Naeem Smith, who tallied his second interception of the season in the third quarter, fittingly put words to what was a strenuous game. “Nothing has ever been perfect this season. Guys have been injured, other guys have had to step up, but I just loved the resilience of our team. It was not a perfect game at all today, and at the end of the day this was a big-time win for our program and this is something that we need to continue to snowball, going forward. This is not it.”

Perhaps Bloomgren needs to tell his team they’re multi-touchdown underdogs every week. Maybe Wiley Green was right after the game when he looked back at the journey he and this team have been on. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence,” he said of this moment, which he credited to God and the effort of his team. “I think it shows that a lot can come of a rough four years, a lot of ups and downs, but if you keep your faith and you keep hammering, great things are going to come.”

Rice football walks out of Birmingham 2-1 in conference play with a 3-4 overall record. The Owls remain alive, albeit behind UTSA, in their hunt for a division title. They’re three wins away from the bowl trip they’ve had inked on their list of goals since before the season began.

Bloomgren diagnosed his team’s crucial flaw as a “crisis of confidence”, going on to say “They had every reason to quit, when you get beat like we did last week.” But they didn’t quit. They leaned into that green light belief and Bloomgren now leads a team that has very much so regained its swagger. Is this the breakthrough? Maybe. This team certainly hopes so. More importantly, they’re starting to believe it.

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