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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.
Hey y’all, Carter here, and welcome back the Rice Football Film Room. This week, we’ll take a quick look back at the heartbreaker against Louisiana Tech, before moving on to a couple plays from UAB quarterback Tyler Johnston III to get an idea of what the Owls will face in my hometown of Birmingham this week.
Rice’s offense, unfortunately, couldn’t get the job done Saturday night despite a stellar effort from the defense. That seems to be a theme this season. Still, in the first two drives we saw an extended glimpse of what the staff wants this offense to look like, and they were extremely effective in executing on those drives. Let’s take a look at Aston Walter’s first touchdown run.
We’re less than five minutes into the first quarter, and Rice has marched the ball downfield to the LA Tech 16-yard line on its opening drive. The Owls are in 22 personnel, with both Jaeger Bull and Jordan Myers on the left side of the line, Wiley Green under center, and FB Brendan Suckley and Walter in the I formation. LA Tech has three down linemen, three more guys walked up to the line, and four other guys in or close to the box to match Rice’s heavy personnel.
It’s a power toss, with Suckley kicking out the edge defender and RG Shea Baker pulling to lead the way for Walter. The OL do their jobs well. LG Nick Leverett does get driven back, but he stays engaged long enough to keep his man from blowing up the play (it’s not how you start a block—it’s how you finish it!). Suckley seals his man outside, Bull drives his two yards deep, Myers redirects his inside, and the gap is there for Baker to lead Walter through.
Amusingly, the LB that would’ve been Baker’s responsibility gets caught in the wash, and he never ends up having to block anyone at all. Bull’s man eventually manages to disengage, but only after he’s several yards downfield. At that point, Walter has built up too much speed for him to make the tackle. It’s a touchdown for Rice.
Great run blocking doesn’t mean every defender gets pancaked, especially when there are as many bodies involved as there are on this play. A lot of times it’s just about everybody doing their job just long enough to give the ballcarrier a chance to make the play. If Rice’s linemen, fullbacks, and tight ends can have the level of execution play in and play out that they did on these first two drives, they’ll be tough for C-USA teams to stop.
UAB’s defense has led the way for them so far, with the Blazers in the top 15 in the country in both total and scoring defense thus far. Those measures aren’t opponent- or tempo-adjusted (UAB hasn’t played any Power 5 opponents so far as compared to Rice’s three), but it’s safe to say they’re playing well on that side of the ball. The offense has lagged behind some—RB Spencer Brown (19.5 carries a game) and QB Tyler Johnston III (10.5 carries a game) are averaging a combined 3.4 yards per carry.
The Blazers use that ground game to set up aggressive play-action shots from Johnston. They’re at the best when he’s executing those, as he did in their 35-3 victory over South Alabama, when he threw for 313 yards and 3 TDs. But if he’s not on his game, that aggression can backfire, as it did in his 4-INT performance in their 20-13 loss to WKU last week. Let’s take a look at a play from each game to show the good and the bad for Johnston.
It’s early in the first quarter against South Alabama (no score yet), and UAB has the ball 1st and 10 on their own 33. UAB’s in 12 personnel, with an inline TE to the boundary and an H-back, the RB, and two receivers to the field. USA’s in nickel personnel, showing a split safety look.
It’s a play-action rollout, cutting the field in half for Johnston. As the camera pans to Johnston, we lose sight of the receivers and DBs, but UAB looks to be running some form of the smash concept, with the outside receiver’s underneath route drawing the corner in to let the inside receiver Kendall Parham isolate on a safety with his corner route. This is exactly what happens, and Parham beats the safety cleanly. Johnston hits him over the top, and it’s a long touchdown for UAB.
Notice that Johnston hesitates a bit before throwing the ball once he finishes his rollout, but he drives the ball well enough that Parham only has to slow a little bit to catch it. The safety almost catches him afterwards, but Parham slips through his diving tackle attempt. It didn’t hurt Johnston here, but that hesitation can be costly for quarterbacks, as we’ll see in the next clip.
We’re about halfway through the 1st quarter of what will eventually be a tight loss for UAB. The Blazers have the ball 1st and 10 at about their own 38, up 3-0. They’re in 11 personnel, with two receivers to the field and a single receiver, the back, and an H-back to the boundary. WKU’s in nickel personnel with a split safety look.
It’s play action again, and Johnston is looking to hit the post route by the #2 receiver (the slot) to the field side. WKU drops into what looks to be Cover 4, commonly known as Quarters. It’s a 4-deep, 3-under look which is a very common way of defending spread offenses (which most college football offenses are now, of course) in today’s game. It’s predicated on having safeties who can read their keys quickly and flow downhill against the run, while also being athletic enough to play man on vertical routes by the inside receivers.
Here, the outside receivers release vertically, so the corners play man on them. The safeties read the releases of the No. 2 receivers (the slot and the H-back). If they go vertical up the seams, the safeties have them in man. The slot does so, so the free safety bails deep to stay over the top of his route. The H-back stays in to block, so the strong safety stays put and reads the QB. Meanwhile, the nickelback and the SAM (strongside) linebacker head to their zones in the flats. The MIKE, No. 36 Kyle Bailey, sinks back into the shallow middle (the “middle hook”) zone.
Johnston wants the slot receiver on the post route. Neither of the safeties have really bit on the play action and there are no, so he needs to throw it in front of the sinking free safety, but away from the strong safety, who’s read his eyes and is breaking hard underneath the route. Bailey, the MLB, takes a few steps forward on the run action, and I think that’s what keys Johnston to make the pass. Here’s what he sees as he reaches the end of his dropback.
The slot hasn’t made his cut yet, but the ball has to come out now. This is what we mean when we talk about throwing with anticipation. A great QB has to know when the ball needs to get to a receiver and trust that his guy will be there when it does. If Johnstown throws now and is accurate, the ball will get to his receiver right after he’s broken toward the middle of the field, with space to run away from the FS, who is still sinking to keep from getting beat. Neither the MIKE nor the SS will have time to get under the throw before it arrives.
But Johnston hesitates at the top of his drop, and that makes the difference. Bailey, who does a great job of recovering, has time to drop back into his zone and turn his eyes back to the QB in time to snag the ball.. Additionally, the SS has had time to break under the throw and probably would have made the pick if Bailey hadn’t. If Johnston releases the ball on time, he has space to fit this throw in. As it is, the receiver is essentially triple-covered by the time the ball arrives. It’s the first of four picks on the day for UAB’s QB.
Now, I don’t mean to pick on Johnston here. Even very very talented QBs can take a long time to develop the skill to make anticipatory throws—Oklahoma QB Jalen Hurts, who’s putting up superhuman stats so far this year, struggled to get the ball out on time during his first two years at Alabama. And UAB’s offense has him making very aggressive throws, which means that his INT numbers are going to be higher than they would in a safer system.
My point though, is I think Rice football has a really good shot of nabbing their first interception (maybe more) on Saturday. If the Owls’ DBs can be in tight coverage as they have most of the year, UAB’s aggressive throws and Johnston’s slow trigger will give them some opportunities to turn the ball over and maybe spark some life into their offense as well.
Every summer the preseason magazines roll out. There’s a lot of fantastic work being done by journalists across the country (and by the way, you should pick up the 2019 Rice Football Season Preview from The Roost if you’ve been delaying).
In those previews, the “Returning Starters” stat draws plenty of eyeballs. Phil Steele digs a step deeper and charts returning starts among offensive lineman for every team in the nation. Rice ranks notably low in that metric, checking in at 120th with 31 returning starts.
On first glance, one might be tempted to translate the low rank into a dismal outlook on the Owls’ efforts in the trenches in 2019. That couldn’t be further from the truth.
Setting aside the value of returning starts or starters, the real question discerning fans should be asking is this: how capable will the 2019 unit be?
The productivity of the offensive line hinges on several factors, with talent and experience being two of the biggest indicators of success. Good players who’ve been doing it for a long while produce the best results. Getting five guys to have those positive results simultaneously is the key.
Rice has talent. Shea Baker is one of the best centers in Conference USA and Clay Servin is already drawing attention from NFL scouts — he’s played four games of college football.
Rice has experience. Incoming transfers Nick Leverett, Justin Gooseberry and Brian Chaffin have played more college football than any other returning player the Owls’ had on the roster.
All that’s left to do is marry that talent and experience into one cohesive unit.
Offensive coordinator Jerry Mack calls it as he sees it. “At times it was musical chairs back there last year at offensive line,” he admitted, “but now we feel like we’re more stable, we have a better foundation.
Offensive line coach Joe Ashfield inherits the challenge of turning that foundation into a high-caliber line in the span of a few short months. Leverett enrolled early and was on campus for spring practice. Gooseberry and Chaffin arrived in June and have mere weeks of on-field reps with their teammates.
“Being in a D1 program is new to me,” Gooseberry said when speaking on his transition from Ouachita Baptist to Rice. From the workouts to the meetings, everything runs a bit differently. It’s taken him some time to adjust he admits, but Gooseberry says he couldn’t have done it without his new teammates. “They helped me come along,” he said, “They all just welcomed me.”
That welcome hasn’t come without a challenge. Gooseberry is battling with Uzoma Osuji for the right tackle spot. The newcomer has abundant athleticism. The incumbent has experience with the Owls scheme, working as a starter for Rice last season.
Gooseberry hasn’t let the battle sway his focus. “They’re going to play the best five, period, regardless of the position,” he said in reference toward the right tackle competition, ” I feel like my competition level and [Uzoma’s] competition level are rising.”
The same is true for the younger players as well. Servin, who will be the team’s starting left tackle this season redshirted last fall. “These graduates that have so many games under their belt, it’s been amazing,” Servin noted, “them being mentors, their experience helping the younger guys out like me and Cole [Garcia] with technique stuff. It’s just been huge.”
The coaching staff routinely reminds the entire group to focus on their one-eleventh. As each player perfects his individual game, the level of play of the line as a whole continues to rise.
The trio of Leverett, Gooseberry and Chaffin haved played in 97 combined games making 69 career starts before coming to South Main. That’s more than double the experience of the players Rice had on its roster prior to their arrival.
Their impact hasn’t gone unseen. The line is winning battles in the trenches and opening up lanes in the running game. Quarterbacks have time in the pocket and the freedom to move around as they scan the field. The play up front isn’t perfect, but it’s coming together.
As Chaffin sees it, “a lot of guys want to do the right thing. They just need a little guidance.”
Alongside the battle at right tackle, the right guard slot is a bit up in the air. Chaffin, who was recruited by Bloomgren to play center at Stanford, has been working at the position. He’s challenged Cole Garcia, who shined as a true freshman at that spot last year. Baker could slide there as well and did some cross-training at guard in the spring.
The Owls’ first game against Army is two weeks away. That gives them a handful of practices to solidify a starting five and develop a plan to rotate the other pieces throughout the grind of a four quarter game. That’s a lot to do in a short window of time.
If Rice had to play a game tomorrow, the starting five would probably look like this: Servin (LT), Leverett (LG), Baker (C), Garcia (RG) and Gooseberry (RT) with Chaffin and Uzoma spelling coming in as relief. However the final result shakes out, those in the midst of the competition aren’t too concerned.
“[There are] a lot of guys who are just willing to work and ready to come and help the team however they can,” Chaffin remarked, sizing up the offensive line group as a unit. That oneness, in the midst of the one-eleventh, has been the rhythm which has produced early results. One that the Rice offensive linemen expect to carry forward into the 2019 season.
The suspension of Aaron Cephus left Rice in a tough spot at the wide receiver position. Austin Trammell will push 100 targets, but the rest of the depth chart is going to be asked to step up. August Pitre and Brad Rozner started camp with the first team.
When the team goes to split squad practice, freshman Zane Knipe works with the veterans. Jake Bailey is with the second team at the moment, but he stands out as the best player at his position in that group.
Projected starters against Army as of today: Trammell, Rozner, Pitre
Three grad transfers in the mix make the offensive line one of the most competitive races of camp. The only position that is definitively set in stone is left tackle, where Clay Servin returns as the team’s top starter. Nick Leverett, Brian Chaffin and Cole Garcia are fighting it out for the two interior guard spots with Shea Baker the presumptive favorite to stick at center.
The most competitive race will come at right tackle where Uzoma Osuji and Ouachita Baptist transfer Justin Gooseberry are dueling for the starting role.
Projected starters against Army as of today: From left to right – Servin, Leverett, Baker, Garcia, Gooseberry
Wiley Green has had the inside track on the starting job in 2019 since the end of last season. He performed reasonably well in the spring and has continued to progress through fall camp. But, just like last year, the Owls brought in a grad transfer at the position to push their incumbent starter.
Through the first week of camp, it’s looking like Tom Stewart is the real deal. It was never a given that Green would be the de facto starter against Army, but recent developments make me believe this competition is going to very real and quite contentious. Stewart’s progress, plus the arrival of Jovoni Johnson could see this race draw out til the final days of camp.
Projected starters against Army as of today: Green
While the rest of the aforementioned position battles project to be close, each of them features some sort of frontrunner rather by way of seniority or familiarity with the Owls’ schemes. Two of the most prominent special teams jobs are wide open.
Adam Nunez and Chris Barnes have both had strong fall camps at punter. Nunez was a multi-year starter at TCU; Barnes sat behind current-NFLer Jack Fox. There’s probably not a wrong answer here. The kicker spot features more uncertainty. Will Harrison has experience but wasn’t accurate this spring. Incoming freshman Zach Hoban has an impressive highlight reel, but he’s never produced at the college level.
Projected starters against Army as of today: Punter – Adam Nunez, Kicker – Zach Hoban
The emergence of Andrew Bird late last season was huge for the Owls’ secondary which lost several veterans this offseason. Back alongside Bird are D’Angelo Ellis and Tyrae Thornton, both of whom have had their ups and downs. One of the two is going to start opposite Bird out the gate. Who that will be remains to be seen. This is one of the spots where we could see freshmen emerge early to play meaningful snaps.
Projected starters against Army as of today: Bird, Ellis
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The staff of The Roost is pleased to announce the release of the 2019 Rice Football Season Preview, a 143-page digital magazine detailing everything you could imagine about the Owls’ upcoming season.
This preview is the culmination of months of research, interviews and analysis. Consider it your one-stop-shop as you prepare for the Owls’ 2019 season.
Available as a downloadable PDF for on-the-go access, this preview contains the following:
Who are the favorites to start entering fall camp? What sort of production should you expect from returning starters? Which of the incoming transfer players should make their mark the quickest? Answers to all of those questions are included, as well as notes on every single player on the 102-man roster.
We sat down with coach to get his honest evaluation of where the Rice football program is right now and how he views the progress the team is making as they approach 2019. He’s sticking to a process, one which he remains confident will bring success to South Main.
Supported by local beat writers and experts who cover each team, this section has a wealth of knowledge about every CUSA Team and all the Owls’ 2019 opponents.
Rice fans will want to familiarize themselves with the teams they’ll be facing this year. Get to know which players each squad will have to replace, which newcomers could make noise in 2019 and what outstanding questions those in the know have about their respective squads.
Available separately to purchase, everyone who purchases the 2019 Rice Football Season Preview will also get The Roost’s 2019 Conference USA Football Preview. We made our picks for preseason honors, top games to watch in 2019 and a closer look at how every team in the conference stacks up.
Don’t need any more convincing? Get a copy for yourself today