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Nashon Ellerbee back at 100 percent, ready for Southern Miss

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Rice football has a stable of running backs, but they’ll have one more mouth to feed in the backfield soon with the return of junior Nashon Ellerbee against Southern Miss.

After missing the first three games of the season, Nashon Ellerbe will return to game action for the first time against Southern Miss. Ellerbee set career highs in carries (22), yards (153) and touchdowns (four) against the Eagles last season.

It doesn’t matter who is on the other side of the field on Saturday, Ellerbee is just excited to get back on the field. “We’re a completely different team,” Ellerbee emphasized, “No matter who we play, if we execute our scheme and do what we’re coached to do we’re going to give ourselves a chance to be successful. That gives us a lot of confidence knowing it’s all in our hands.”

As of this week, there are no limitations for Ellerbee, “We’ll see how we can get him in there and implement him into all schemes,” relayed head coach Mike Bloomgren, “He is available and good to go.”

Ellerbee hasn’t been sitting idly during fall camp of early season practices. He’s been participating in drills with a no-contact jersey and taking as much as possible in during film sessions. “Getting a lot of mental reps has been good for me. Watching the guys in front of me make plays and execute the scheme has been something that I’ve had to focus on and I’ve just had to put myself in their shoes for the reps that I couldn’t get. That’s been super useful and helpful for me.”

The Owls’ backfield could be their deepest position group on the team. Emmanuel Esukpa has been a workhorse up the middle while Austin Walter has been an explosive runner and pass catcher out of the backfield. Ellerbee is going to have to work his way into more touches in a crowded backfield, but regardless of what his role is, he says he’s ready to help the team win.

“It’s been a while. It’s been a long process,” said Ellerbee. ” I feel good. Special teams, running back, whatever the coaches need me to do, I’m ready to go. I’m excited.”

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Defensive improvements a bye week focus, practice notes (9/19)

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Rice football has focused their efforts on themselves as they prepare for their first Conference USA game of the season against Southern Miss.

The consistency of the defense has been under fire after the team dropped back-to-back games to a pair of high-scoring offenses. One of the biggest advantages of the early bye week was time for the Owls to iron out those issues. “I wanted the bye week to be about Rice and how much we could improve,” said head coach Mike Bloomgren.

Players on both sides of the ball have taken that to heart, and few have worked harder than defensive tackle Zach Abercrumbia. “There’s always room for improvement,” admitted Abercrumbia,”Anyone who can look at tape, whether they’re a first team all-pro or benchrider and not have five things to work on the next day at practice is fooling themselves.”

Three games in the Owls have enough of a sample size to work with. The secondary has come under fire, but the pass rush has rightly born the weight of the pressure too. If the Owls can get to the quarterback, there won’t be any passes thrown.

Abercrumbia said that’s the goal on Saturday against Southern Miss and going forward. “That’s the big thing about pass rush, you just can’t ever stop. you never know how quick the ball is going to come out, you never know how the o-line is going to block,” he said, “but if you never stop, eventually you’ll get there.”

Injury update

Getting healthier will help the Owls improve their defensive play. Linebacker Dylan James is back in practice and is on track to play this weekend after being listed as questionable early during the week. Corner D’Angelo Ellis still has a ways to go with his recovery process.

Preparing for conference play

Although beginning with the caveat that all games matter, Bloomgren didn’t shy away from the importance of starting conference play 1-0. “When you’re talking about trying to get to championships and get to bowl games, like we’re always talking about around here, [conference games] can be big things. Everyone is kinda a mini championship.”

That’s quite the stage, but the team is ready for the challenge. “We can beat these guys,” declared Abercrumbia, “All we need to do is put what we do in practice into game day.”

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Southern Miss Press Conference Notes (9/18)

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Coach Mike Bloomgren discussed Rice football‘s returns from the bye week and upcoming game against Southern Miss, the Owls’ second road game of the season.

Coach Bloomgren admitted the 1-2 start has featured a mixed bag of highs and lows. “We got to continue to play four quarters of football and finish strong.” He doesn’t blame conditioning, but rather the lack of consistency for the Owls’ last two losses. “If we just do the same things we’re doing in the second and the third quarter in the fourth quarter we might find a way to win,” he suggested, adding “You can’t do the things we did late in that game against a good football team… and expect to win the game.”

With the lumps have come moments of pride. “This team is showing great fight,” praised Bloomgren, “They’re continuing to work. They’re fighting for each other and they’re doing all the things we ask of them.” Little by little the Owls are making that incremental progress, something the bye week was particularly useful for this past week.

A few individuals earned special recognition for their strong starts. Bloomgren talked encouragingly about the progress quarterback Shawn Stankavage was making this year, citing his mental acuity on the field in addition to his accurate arm. Graysen Schantz was nominated for the Campbell Trophy, given to the nation’s top scholar-athlete, an award Bloomgren admittedly holds with great esteem.

Emmanuel Esukpa, who currently ranks in the top 15 in rushing, earned a shout out from his head coach as well. Bloomgren went beyond that, saying “What he’s doing without the ball in protection might be as impressive as what he’s doing with it.” Not faint praise for one of the better backs in Conference USA, and maybe the nation.

On the injury front, the Owls should have a full complement of weapons at their disposal on Saturday. All starters are expected to be available, with Dylan James the only member of the two-deep listed as questionable.

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Bye week comes at right time for Owls

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Rice football took advantage of an early-season bye to focus on fundamentals and discipline, both areas that will pay huge dividends for the Owls this fall.

Sitting at 1-2, the 2018 Rice football season is far from over. With 10 games still to play, the Owls are only just beginning what they hope will be a promising campaign. The bulk of their games will come after their Week 3 bye week.

Sandwiched between road trips to Hawaii and Southern Miss, Rice players and coaches have had a much-needed extra week during the middle of the season’s grind. The coaches have jetted off all over the country, recruiting from Califonia to D.C. Players have stayed home, using the time to focus on their craft.

The leadership of this young team knows the timing of this break couldn’t have been better. “It gives us a chance to see what we did early on and fix that for the rest of the season,” acknowledged safety George Nyakwol, remarking that he the team progress significantly simply by “focusing on technique and going back to the fundamentals.”

Quarterback Shawn Stankavage was equally confident, if not more so. “I think the bye week really helped us get locked in and turn this thing around… we’re close, we’re in these games, we’re just not pulling away at the end.”

In order to make that final play or two to push them over the edge, the team needs to continue to pursue excellence in everything they do. That starts with practice and extends to game day. “When we execute during the week, Saturday’s are easy,” Stankavage said. To get there, the Owls are focusing on the little things, leaving no stone unturned.

The bye week was extra time for a team still learning to continue ironing out the kinks. Neither side of the ball is going to be transformed overnight, but Rice football got a lot better this week — little by little.

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Stock up, stock down for Owls’ remaining 2018 opponents

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Conference USA football is off to a strong start. Here’s how Rice football’s future opponents are trending through Week 3 of the 2018 season.

Stock Down – Southern Miss (1-1)

Results (1-1): vs Jackson State (W), vs UL-Monroe (L)

Rice’s next opponent had their Week 3 game against Appalachian State canceled because of Hurricane Florence.  There only two previous games didn’t exactly inspire confidence in the Eagles. Formerly suspended quarterback Kwadre Griggs will be active for this game, but it’s still unclear how much playing time he’ll get. That’s a lot of question marks.

Stock Up – Wake Forest (2-1)

Results: @ Tulane (W), vs Towson (W), vs Boston College (L)

Wake Forest had a long list of departures to replace this fall including a few key pieces in the secondary and their starting quarterback. In place of John Wolford, Sam Hartman has been serviceable, completing 55.3 percent of his passes and averaging 278 yards and two touchdown passes per game. Their only loss of the season came against a potent BC offense and the Demon Deacons took them down to the wire.

Stock Even – UTSA (0-3)

Results: @ Arizona St (L), vs Baylor (L), @ Kansas St (L)

UTSA deserves some credit for daring to do something no other Conference USA squad did this year, play three Power 5 opponents in their first three games. UTSA lost all three games, but the testing they received to start their seasons will pay dividends down the road. A win would have been nice, but there’s no reason for the Roadrunners to be too concerned about their season quite yet.

Stock Up  – UAB (2-1)

Results: vs Savannah St (W), @ Coastal Carolina (L), vs Tulane (W)

UAB captured the hearts of the nation in their recent return to football. Removed from that fresh jolt, the Blazers have been up and down. This was one of the toughest teams to peg entering the year, and they’ve held their own through three games. Spencer Brown is becoming a workhorse on the ground, coming near 300 yards rushing with two scores so far this season.

Stock Up – FIU (1-1)

Results: vs Indiana (L), @ Old Dominion (W), vs UMass (W)

Butch Davis has built some sturdy program over his varied stops, and FIU is becoming one more feather in his cap. The Panthers gave Indiana a run for their money and continue to present opponents with a balanced offensive attack led by quarterback James Morgan and stable of capable running backs. This team is ahead of schedule.

Stock Up – North Texas (3-0)

Results: vs SMU (W), vs Incarnate Word (W), @ Arkansas (W)

The arm of Mason Fine is among the best in Conference USA. He took his gunslinging talents on the road to Arkansas and threw it all over an SEC defense. Arkansas isn’t the cream of the crop in their conference, but they’re still a talented team. Nobody has been able to keep up with the Mean Green so far.

Stock Even – UTEP (0-3)

Results: vs Northern Arizona (L), @ UNLV (L), @ Tennessee (L)

There’s not much more to see here. UTEP was expected to be bad this season and they’re started out the year with losses to NAU, UNLV and Tennessee. The schedule doesn’t get easier with Conference play starting soon, and that could make for another frustrating year for the Miners and their fans.

Stock Up  – Louisiana Tech (2-0)

Results: @ South Alabama (W), vs Southern (W)

It’s hard to start better than undefeated. Louisiana Tech has taken care of business, but the schedule is about to get a lot more challenging. Road trips to LSU and North Texas in the next two weeks make it hard to get too excited, but watching their host of big-play receivers go deep is plenty of fun for the time being.

Stock Up  – LSU (3-0)

Results: vs Miami (W), vs SE Louisiana (W), @ Auburn (W)

There isn’t a team in the entire nation with a better resume right now than the LSU Tigers. After blowing out Miami in Week 1 the Tigers came from behind to take down Auburn in Week 3. An elite defensive unit with enough quarterback play from Joe Burrow has turned this team into an unexpected force in the SEC.

Stock Down – Old Dominion (0-3)

Results: @ Liberty (W), vs FIU (L), @ Charlotte (L)

Liberty is in its first year as an FBS program. Charlotte is projected to finish near the bottom of the CUSA East. The FIU loss isn’t too egregious, but the body of work does not look impressive in the slightest. Old Dominion has some time to turn things around, but the early returns aren’t very promising.

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