Rice quarterback Sam Glaesmann is out with an injured shoulder.
After injuries helped derail last season, Rice’s depth again will be tested this weekend against Florida International.
Quarterback Sam Glaesmann is out with an injury to his non-throwing shoulder. Redshirt sophomore Jackson Tyner, who replaced Glaesmann in Saturday’s loss to Houston, will be the starter. Touted freshman Miklo Smalls will be his backup.
“You hate that this happened to Sam, but the good news is he’ll be back, possibly this week,” Rice coach David Bailiff said.
Bailiff is “very confident” in Tyner, pointing to his success against UTEP last season.
“Miklo’s going to get a lot of reps in practice,” Bailiff said.
The Owls already have lost two players for the season.
Cornerback D’Angelo Ellis is redshirting after injuring his wrist this summer. Running back Aston Walter injured his shoulder against UTEP on Sept. 9.
To compensate for Walter’s loss, Bailiff moved Collin Whitaker from cornerback to running back. Whitaker (5-10, 195) was all-state on both sides of the ball in high school. He may see action sooner than later against FIU, with starter Sam Stewart potentially sidelined.
Stewart left midway through the UH game with bruised ribs. He’s listed as doubtful.
“Nahshon Ellerbe has really relieved Sam and done it well this year,” Bailiff said. “Emmanuel Esukpa is running really well, too.”
Also doubtful are safety Cole Thomas (shoulder) and defensive end Blaine Padgett (shoulder). Cornerback V.J. Banks missed the UH game with a leg injury he suffered against UTEP. He’s also listed as doubtful.
Conference play resumes at home
Rice coaches and players are looking past last Saturday’s 38-3 loss to Houston as Conference USA play resumes this weekend against Florida International.
“Moving forward to FIU, we’re one-and-zero in conference. Those guys are a lot like us in that they were displaced by the hurricane,” coach David Bailiff said. “I’m excited to get back into conference play.”
For the Owls, a blowout loss to UH hurts, but the focus remains on conference success.
“There’s no panic; it’s about winning Conference USA,” Bailiff said. “We’ve got to learn some of the hard lessons that we did and improve every week. I’m confident we’re going to hit the field and play hard.”
Rice has home-field advantage for the first time this season after spending its first three games on the road — and halfway around the world.
“It’s great to finally be at home,” Bailiff said. “We hope that we get good attendance. It’s going to be hard with the hurricane here and the hurricane in Florida, so we need the city of Houston to come out and support us and our first responders.”
Rice coaches’ wives organized a diaper drive for Saturday with donations going toward Houston’s diaper bank. Donations will be collected at Gate 3 before the game. The school is offering free tickets to first responders and those affected by Hurricane Harvey.