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Rice Football: Highlights from Mike Bloomgren at CUSA Media Days

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Rice Football head coach Mike Bloomgren offered a few notable soundbites at Conference USA Media Days. Here are a few quotes that stood out the most.

On what the team has worked on this spring…

“We learned that we have to find a way to finish. It’s the bottom line in our business. It’s where we want to get to. We want to be in those situations to take a team to deep water in the fourth quarter so we can come out the other side. We’ve done so much to emphasize finish this year with our team.”

–Mike Bloomgren

On the quarterback battle…

“We’re in no rush to name a starter. A lot of confidence in the two that were there for us last year [Wiley Green and Evan Marshman] and their leadership abilities. I think they lived the quarterback lifestyle and do a lot of things right, but we’re excited to see what Tom [Stewart] can bring to our team as well.”

–Mike Bloomgren

On the difficult schedule…

“That’s what they signed up for. They signed up to come to Rice to get a world-class degree and play big-time college football. Not because it’s easy, but because it’s hard – and worth it. That’s exactly what we want to do and we’re thrilled we get to do it again this year.”

–Mike Bloomgren

On the importance of strength and conditioning coach Hans Straub…

It’s the way you build [a program] and it’s the way you develop your team and the reason is very simple in my eyes. It’s somebody who’s going to set the standards we talked about and advance your culture. And they don’t have the limitations from the NCAA for when they can meet with them.”

–Mike Bloomgren

On the impact of the incoming JUCO and grad transfers…

The 10 transfers will be huge for our football team. At the very least they’re going to be unbelievable depth and they’re going to push people to become a better version of themselves. There’s nothing like competition to make somebody grow as a player, even the best of the best.

–Mike Bloomgren

On the continuity of the staff…

I think no matter what business you’re in continuity and everyone singing out of the same hymnal is a big deal. Any time we can keep our coaches together means everything to me and I think it will mean everything to our players.

–Mike Bloomgren

On the construction of the new practice bubble…

It’s going to be huge. I think it’s such a great thing for Rice University as well as our program. Everyone on campus is going to get great use out of it. For us, just being able to practice when we schedule a practice time and not having 29 times where we had to go to the [Houston Texan’s off campus] bubble.

–Mike Bloomgren

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Rice Football: Setting a new standard for effort in 2019

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The process continues into Year 2 for Mike Bloomgren and Rice Football and building a winning culture remains a focal point of the Owls rebirth.

Rice Football Season Preview
Buy Now | 2019 Rice Preview

When Mike Bloomgren took charge of the Rice football program it had fallen on challenging times. The Owls were in need of a major reset, one which got underway with a 2-11 campaign in 2018. Those arduous weeks produced churn in the starting lineups on both sides of the ball. Talent was a factor, but grit and focus were equally prevailing forces.

Instilling grit begins with the strength and conditioning program, one which Bloomgren himself has revamped his program over the past year. “We’re just night and day different from last year,” he said, “I think Hans Straub is the best strength and conditioning coach in the country. We are so lucky to have him. Everything he does helps me sleep at night”

That refrain, initially spoken by Bloomgren, was echoed by his players during the other media sessions.

“You see it too?” senior defensive lineman Myles Adams asked on the way from one interview to the next. The core of the change, at least how Adams describes it, is the culture.”It’s different. I’ve never felt like this since I’ve been at Rice.”

More: Conference USA Media Days Live Blog

From the workouts to the new people being added to the program in each recruiting cycle. The new Rice feels different. “Culture, that word is real,” Adams echoed, “When I first came in I used to say we didn’t have a culture, but we had a culture it just wasn’t a winning mentality, it wasn’t a winning culture. And now we’re starting to reshape than and understand what it takes to win.”

Wins are the defining metric by which all football programs are measured. The Owls final record will be the overriding determinant of success in 2019. But, in a year with expectations in the process of being reset from four consecutive losing seasons, how Rice plays could be equally important.

If this team is as tough as the talk, the wins will follow. Or, as Adams says, “when all the wheels are moving it’s hard to stop the train.”

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Rice Football: Don’t panic over Owls Preseason All-CUSA snubs

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Rice football didn’t land anyone on the Preseason Conference USA All-Conference team, but the Owls have plenty of young talent waiting in the wings.

The 2019 Conference USA Preseason Football All-Conference team was announced Monday. 12 of the conference’s 14 teams were represented. The two omissions? Old Dominion and Rice. On the surface, the lack of honorees was disconcerting, but it’s worth taking a breather and assessing where the Rice Football program is right now before getting too worried about preseason lists.

All-Conference teams, particularly those selected by the coaches, rely almost entirely on proven production. The vast majority of the time, that production has been seen first hand in conference games. End of season honorees have the benefit of a full slate of games to prove their abilities. That list could, and should, be more favorable for the Owls.

More: Athlon Sports and Phil Steele give Owls preseason honors

Rice doesn’t have many players who have been in Conference USA for long enough to warrant consideration. Of the upperclassmen projected to start for Rice this season, three have played enough snaps to earn a preseason look: wide receiver Austin Trammell, wide receiver Aaron Cephus and safety George Nyakwol.

The rest of the upperclassmen starters (find our complete three-deep depth chart projections in our 2019 Rice Football Season Preview) haven’t done enough at Rice to get themselves on the list. Players like Blaze Alldredge, Prudy Calderon, Treshawn Chamberlain and Juma Otoviano have the talent, but none have started a full season of college football yet. Few grad transfer earn recognition in lists like these.

Seniority and preseason lists go hand and hand. Of the 30 players honored, only Charlotte kicker  Jonathan Cruz is an underclassman. He made 17 of 22 field goal attempts last season.

Rice has some extremely talented players. They’re just young players. The youth movement in South Main is in its transitional stages. By the time the season is over, those freshmen and sophomores will have plenty of playing time under their belts. Let’s reassess the quality of the depth chart then.

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Rice Football: Owls give new life to the fullback position

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Rice football is daring to be different, employing a fullback in their offense as many of their peers have long since done away with the position.

In modern college football, you’re more likely to see five wide receivers on the field than you are to see a fullback. Even the most spread open offenses rarely leave the quarterback alone in the backfield with the exception of a late-game hail mary or a particularly intriguing matchup against an opposing linebacker or defensive back.

At Rice, the fullback is more than just a novelty, it’s a core building block of the Owls’ offense. The fullback is responsible for knowing not just his blocking assignment, but how everyone in front of him is supposed to execute before he reaches the line of scrimmage. It’s a complicated task, one that few are groomed for in today’s game.

Those intricacies, combined with the Rice offense, making finding fullbacks a challenging task. Last season Rice went to the transfer wire, scooping up Giovanni Gentosi from UCLA. This season the new addition comes by way of Stanford, Bloomgren’s old stomping grounds. Reagan Williams traded Palo Alto for South Main for his final season of college ball.

The other players at the position, Brendan Suckley and Luke Armstrong, are learning the position for the first time. Suckley is a converted tight end. Armstrong is a converted offensive lineman. (Read more about each of the fullbacks will impact the offense this fall in our 2019 Rice Football Season Preview.)

Rice will be one of the few programs to recruit a fullback in 2020. The Owls currently have a commitment from Baton Rouge native Brian Hibbard. He should be the first of several fullbacks who make their way to Rice in the coming years. Rice is in the fullback business. And they’re just getting started.

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Rice Football: Owls draw toughest schedule in Conference USA

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The Rice football team has a rigorous schedule this fall, one more strenuous than any other team in Conference USA. Are the Owls up to the challenge?

It doesn’t take more than the eye test for an average fan to accurately assess the challenge looming in front of Rice football before it plays its first game of the 2019 season. The Owls schedule is daunting, highlighted by four potent non-conference opponents in the first four weeks of the regular season.

The full schedule and detailed previews of every team Rice will face this season is available in our 2019 Rice Football Preseason Preview. Those non-conference games, combined with a tough draw from Conference USA East featuring Marshall and Middle Tennessee, gives Rice an ignominious claim. The Owls own the hardest schedule in Conference USA — check out our CUSA Preview for more insight on each team.

ESPN’s Strength of Schedule metrics are reflective of that assumption:

  • Rice –  74
  • Middle Tennessee – 76
  • Southern Miss – 92
  • Old Dominion – 96
  • UTSA – 101
  • FAU – 104
  • Western Kentucky – 106
  • Charlotte – 110
  • Marshall – 115
  • Florida International – 120
  • UTEP – 122
  • North Texas – 125
  • Louisiana Tech – 126
  • UAB – 129

Three teams from the West Division have a top 100 strength of schedule and Rice is right at the top. But even those with similar strength of schedule marks are separated by a wide margin. Rice plays three Power 5 teams and Army. Southern Miss plays two (Alabama and Mississippi State) and UTSA plays one (Texas Tech).

More: Offseason transfers add up favorably for the Owls

After factoring in a game against Rice (2-11 last season), Middle Tennessee is the only other CUSA team in the same tier of difficulty. The Blue Raiders play Michigan, Duke and Iowa in non-conference play.

A hard road sets the Owls up with plenty of opportunities to make some noise, but it doesn’t guarantee the team anything. Rice has been tasked with continuing to make progress in Year 2 of a rebuild, regardless of opponent. Win or lose, Rice is going to be challenged every single week they take the field.

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