Alaka steps up as Owls’ top receiving threat
Temi Alaka has just as much time on the trainer’s table as he has on the field.
The redshirt junior isn’t making excuses. But the grind of dealing with injuries made his breakout performance against Prairie View A&M on Saturday that much sweeter.
He was the go-to target with six catches for 143 yards and one touchdown in Rice’s 65-44 win. The catches matched a career high, the receiving yards set a career high, and the touchdown reception was just the second of his career.
“I’d say about four years now I’ve been waiting on that one,” Alaka said of his performance Saturday.
Alaka’s rise over the last three games suggests he’s finally arrived. He’s logged 12 catches for 267 yards in that span. His receiving yards for the season (293) and yards per catch (18.3) are a teamhigh. He’s started three games this year.
Hamstring injuries have lingered for Alaka. It’s why he was redshirted, and last spring he separated his shoulder. Now, his season totals aren’t far off from his career numbers entering this season — 31 catches for 359 yards and one touchdown.
But coaches say ignore the numbers and watch the kind of catches he’s making. He had a 17-yarder near the end of the first quarter that looked like it would be intercepted, but he snatched it from the defender.
Rice assistant head coach Darrell Patterson said it reminds him of a certain former Rice All-American.
“Probably the last one that really fought for the ball like that was Jarett (Dillard),” Patterson said. “Jarett was great at going up and getting the ball, high point and pulling it over people and things of that nature. It’s fantastic to see that type of response from him.”
Players, coaches hit by sickness
Rice assistant coach Darrell Patterson filled in for coach David Bailiff during Monday’s news conference. He just happens to be the one who wasn’t sick.
The Owls are dealing with what seems to be a stomach virus that’s made its way around the players and staff in the last two days. Bailiff is one of the victims as he wasn’t at the facility Monday.
Rice junior linebacker Emmanuel Ellerbee is one of the victims, too. He said he started feeling ill after the game but thought nothing of it.
Ellerbee said he expects the team to be in the clear by the time Rice travels to Ruston, La., to face Louisiana Tech on Saturday.
“Everything happens for a reason,” said Ellerbee, who made an interception against Prairie View A&M on Saturday. “We had practice on a Sunday, which we usually don’t have and we had Monday off.
“So, I’m kind of glad it worked out that way so that when I come into Tuesday, I’ll be about 100 percent and I can just be able to focus on getting ready for La. Tech.”