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Rice Football: Unpacking the quarterback situation entering Week 12 🔒

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Rice Football finds itself in the midst of another quarterback conundrum. Here’s the latest entering the final three-game stretch of the season.

It’s not groundhog day, but it sure feels like it when the Rice football quarterback situation is brought up. With a week and a half until the Owls take the field against Middle Tennessee, here’s what we know:

1. Tom Stewart is close to “100 percent”

Stewart has been practicing in full and doesn’t appear to be hindered by his back issue. He’s looked good throwing the deep ball both last week and Sunday and is moving around reasonably well. Offensive coordinator Jerry Mack said last week was the first time he’s “felt 100 percent” since injuring his back. He’s expected to be fully available for the game.

2. JoVoni Johnson is nicked up

Johnson left Saturday’s game against Marshall after taking a hit following a big run. He was in a walking boot early last week but has since shed the protective gear and resumed practicing. He’ll be well enough to play.

The bigger question is how the injury will impact his effectiveness. Bloomgren called him “a step slow” in his return to the field, but noted that they’ll monitor him closely this week. A hobbled Johnson wouldn’t pose nearly the same threat as a fully healthy one. Whether or not some percentage of Johnson is better than 100 percent of someone else remains to be seen.

3. Evan Marshman could be an option

Marshman has gotten some reps in practice. He’ll have a package of plays ready should the Owls decide to go in that direction. I don’t get the sense that’s going to be the primary direction at this point, but the staff is going to turn over every rock in their quest to turn this offense around. Whereas Wiley Green is working with the scout team now, Marshman is getting some snaps with a version of the first team offense.

4. The redshirt situation

I contend the offense looks much better with Johnson and the helm than it has with anyone else who’s stepped under center this season. Of course, Bloomgren would prefer to redshirt Johnson and have him for another full season, but the importance of stacking up some wins and giving the team something to build on for the future is a very real motivator.

“All we’re worried about is this week right now,” Bloomgren said. “We’ve definitely had those conversations. We’ve had those conversations with JoVoni as well, but we’re not at a point to make that decision and luckily we don’t have to.”

More: Breaking down the Rice Football offense under Johnson vs Marshall

To some extent, Bloomgren is correct. Johnson has played in three of his allotted four games. Saturday against Middle Tennessee would be the fourth. If Johnson plays this weekend and does well, the likelihood of him redshirting this season would drop exorbitantly.

For what it’s worth, Bloomgren called the offense “anemic” once JoVoni went down against Marshall. A healthy Johnson continues to look like the best option.

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Conference USA Football 2019: Week 11 C-USA Roundup

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Rice football was off in Week 11, but Conference USA Football had plenty of interesting results while the Owls were prepping for Week 12.

Team Week 11 Result Week 12
Charlotte at UTEP W, 28-21 — OFF —
FAU vs FIU W, 37-7 — OFF —
FIU at FAU L, 37-7 — OFF —
LA Tech vs North Texas W, 52-17 at Marshall (Fri)
Marshall — OFF —  — vs LA Tech (Fri)
MTSU — OFF —  — vs Rice
North Texas at Louisiana Tech L, 52-17 — OFF —
Old Dominion vs UTSA L, 24-23 — OFF —
Rice — OFF —  — at MTSU
Southern Miss vs UAB W, 37-2 at UTSA
UAB at Southern Miss L, 37-2 vs UTEP
UTEP vs Charlotte L, 28-21 at UAB
UTSA at Old Dominion W, 24-23 vs Southern Miss
WKU at Arkansas W, 45-19 — OFF —

Notable Week 11 results – Standings

Central Arkansas champs

We’ve come a long way from Week 1. On the opening weekend of the season, FCS Central Arkansas upset Western Kentucky, putting Year 1 of the Tyson Helton era into chaos. The sky was falling in Bowling Green before — all of a sudden — it wasn’t. Not only did Western Kentucky turn it around, they’ve clinched a bowl berth with Saturday win over Arkansas. So, by the transitive property: Central Arkansas > Western Kentucky > Arkansas. That’s college football, folks.

U.A.Bummer

The Blazers had a chance to contend for the West title but they needed to beat Southern Miss for those dreams to hold water. The UAB offense did not contribute any points to that cause on Saturday. A safety represented their lone scoring play of the day, effectively ending aspirations of a repeat in Birmingham on a dour note.

North Texas is in trouble

A tough non-conference schedule did North Texas no favors. Onesided losses to SMU, Houston, Southern Miss and now Louisiana Tech didn’t help the situation either. The high-flying offense led by Mason Fine hasn’t faired well against the better defensive units they’ve faced. The preseason C-USA favorites are in jeopardy of missing the postseason.

Week 12 storylines

Waiting on that win

Three unbeaten teams remain in Conference USA: Old Dominion, UTEP and Rice. One of the Owls and Miners are guaranteed at least one win; they play to close out the season. But Rice hopes to have a tally in the win column before then against an up-and-down MTSU team. Can Rice breakthrough while UTEP and Old Dominion are on bye or will the race for win No. 1 continue?

Title game precursor?

With their dominant win over North Texas, Louisiana Tech has opened up a one-game lead in the West with the tiebreaker over second-place Southern Miss. The Bulldogs would have to lose twice to miss out on a title game trip. Marshall hopes to hand them one of those losses. The Herd sit atop the East with the tiebreaker over second-place FAU. There’s a real possibility that Saturday’s tilt between Louisiana Tech and Marshall is reprised in a few weeks.

Time for a break

Six of Conference USA’s 14 teams are off this coming weekend. The Week 12 slate features four games between conference opponents, the latest of which (Southern Miss at UTSA) kicks off at 6:00 p.m. E.T. If that one goes as most project, C-USA football fans will have plenty of time to go out for a movie or a late dinner on Saturday night without missing any meaningful football.

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Rice Football Recruiting: Owls keep pushing on 2020 and 2021 classes 🔒

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We’re one month out from the Early Signing Period and the 2020 Rice Football recruiting class keeps adding new names to their radar.

The already star-studded 2020 Rice Football recruiting class would like to add a few new names to the ranks before the Early Signing Period arrives on December 18. The Owls are making plans for several additional high school additions, but they’ll keep their eyes on potential transfer targets as well. Here are a few names that have emerged in recent weeks.

Mike Leone – OT – Hun School (NJ) – 2020

I mentioned Leone in a previous update, but I wanted to bring him back up here because of a new development in his recruitment. The Yale commit is pickup up offers from Kansas an Maryland in recent weeks. He’s bypassed the opportunity to take an official visit to the Terps prior to the early signing period. Instead, he’ll fly to Houston to visit Rice. This one is far from over, but beating out a local Power 5 school for a visit prior to the early signing period is obviously a huge win for Rice.

DJ Warnell – CB – Dickinson (Dickinson, TX) – 2020

Dickinson corner DJ Warnell’s recruitment has picked up quickly this year. Starting with offers from Boston College and Texas Tech in January, Warnell’s offer count has climbed to 16, including a host of Power 5 schools like Arizona and Tennessee. Rice became the most recent to jump into the fray following a visit last week.

Mason Tharp – TE – Klein (TX) – 2021

Three freshmen in the current 2019 class have played in every game this season. One of them, Jack Bradley, plays tight end. It’s no coincidence that a school which runs more two-tight end and three-tight end sets than most every other school in the nation makes the position a priority.

For 2021, Rice has set its sights on Mason Tharp. The 6-foot-7 big man plays center on the basketball team and has plus athleticism. He can play in-line or split out and he’s a bruiser in the running game.

DJ Arkansas – LB – Ryan (Denton, TX) – 2021

Rice thinks they’ve identified a premier pass rusher in Denton Ryan-product DJ Arkansas. The Owls’ were the first school to offer Arkansas, knowing he was the right fit for the program early on. They’ve been cautious with the offers extended to anyone in the 2021 class to this point, making Arkansas a clear priority. He loved his first gameday visit and has had nothing but positive things to say about the program and the staff.

Arkansas, along with Tharp and Cibolo Steele QB Wyatt Begeal, are the only three offers the Owls have extended to members of the 2021 class.

Filling out the class

There were 10 non-highschool additions to the 2019 Rice Football recruiting class. JUCO transfers Brad Rozner, Naeem Smith and Miles McCord and seven grad transfers, most notably three offensive linemen and quarterback Tom Stewart complimented the predominantly young influx of talent.

The total number of veteran additions might not be as high as 10, but the staff is keeping their eye on the Transfer Portal for the right kind of instant-impact players to add to the 2020 class. There’s a good chance the Owls pursue a quarterback, offensive lineman and wide receiver, and possibly a few other positions where they’ll be thinner than they’d like to be next fall.

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The Roost Podcast | Ep. 16 – 2019 Marshall Review

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With the second open weekend of the season looming, Carter and Matthew discuss the emergence of JoVoni Johnson and Rice Football vs Marshall in Week 10.

Despite only finishing with seven points, the Rice football offense had some sparks against Marshall during their Homecoming weekend. Follow along with the Owls’ current quarterback predicament, a still stingy defense and another busy week on South Main in this week’s episode.

You can always find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, Give a listen to Episode 16 below.

Episode 16 Notes

  • News and notes —  Rice Basketball is under way with the women and men opening their season. We touch on that briefly as well as a shout out to the Owls’ undefeated-in-conference-play and national ranked volleyball team who host Western Kentucky on Sunday.
  • Marshall Review — The new-look offense sure felt a lot different than previous iterations on the Owls’ efforts on that side of the ball. Juma Otoviano plus JoVoni Johnson was a dangerous combination, unfortunately one which was ended prematurely when Johnson left the game with injury. And of course, shoutouts to a constantly tenacious defense. Saturday featured big days from Antonio Montero, Blaze Alldredge, Naeem Smith and Garrett Grammer.
  • The redshirt dilemma — There is a very real scenario where both Johnson and grad transfer quarterback Tom Stewart are healthy for the Owls’ upcoming game against Middle Tennesse. Johnson has one game remaining to preserve his redshirt. Will Rice preserve his eligibility? Or will they do everything they can to win now? What’s the right answer? Carter and Matthew discuss.

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 Film Room 2019: Marshall review

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The Rice football offense has some new players to break down. In this week’s edition of the film room we take a look at JoVoni Johnson and Juma Otoviano against Marshall.

Hey y’all, and welcome back to the Rice Football Film Room. This week we’ll be taking a look at a few plays that hopefully bode well for the future of Rice’s struggling offense.

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