Struggling Owls hoping to turn season around with QB Glaesmann’s return

SAN ANTONIO — Quarterback Sam Glaesmann returns to the helm for Rice at a time when the team’s goals are still intact, although the dynamics are slightly different.

Glaesmann last played against the University of Houston on Sept. 16, when he injured his left shoulder.

At the time, Rice was coming off of its only win of the season against UTEP. With nine games remaining, hope was high and coaches felt Rice could even earn a non-conference win before returning to Conference USA play.

Three games later, things are a bit more urgent for the Owls, who were winless during Glaesmann’s absence, using a combination of then-backup Jackson Tyner and true freshman Miklo Smalls to replace him.

Injured players return

Heading into Saturday’s game against UTSA at the Alamodome, Rice gets several other players back, including running back Sam Stewart and guard Ken Thompson. But it’s the changes at quarterback that might be most intriguing.

Smalls, whose redshirt was removed to start against Army, was promoted to back up Glaesmann during the bye week. Head coach David Bailiff said

Tyner, who was recruited as an athlete, will be utilized in a variety of ways, including some snaps at tight end.

“It leaves Jackson right now as the third (quarterback) and we’re going to package him in the offense in different capacities,” Bailiff said.

For Glaesmann, watching Tyner and Smalls was helpful. He spent his time off studying film, rehabbing his shoulder and critiquing his own play through three games.

“Being on the sidelines and seeing other people play slowed down the game. I was learning from my mistakes the past couple games and their mistakes as well, so I think that really helped me out,” Glaesmann said.

For Smalls, a rocky start against Army hasn’t discouraged him.

“I played the best that I could and very unfortunate

things happened backto-back-to-back and I’m grateful for the experience and glad I got to play and get my feet wet going into next game,” Smalls said. “I wasn’t at all nervous; I was ready to play. I don’t really have nerves or jitters.”

Ready to play

That composure is what led coaches to feel he was ready to play this year.

“Usually what you see on Tuesday and Wednesday in practice is what you’re going to see on Saturday and he just had flawless execution Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,” Bailiff said. “Just got into his first college game and got to moving fast.”

Offensive coordinator Billy Lynch said his performance has been steady since he arrived on campus, something that made the decision to pull his redshirt easier with Glaesmann out.

“Miklo put together a couple good weeks of practice and had the skill set that we felt like was going to give us the best opportunity to win,” Lynch said.

A Plano East product, Smalls registered over 7,000 all-purpose yards with 81 career touchdowns in three years in high school. His brother Mario is a redshirt junior tight end at Texas Southern.

Little room for error

Sitting at .500 in conference play, Rice actually sits above UTSA in the Conference USA standings, although the Owls have little room for error as the season winds down.

To encourage greater physicality, Glaesmann said coaches had players — not the quarterbacks — doing Oklahoma drills, where a ball carrier must elude a defender in limited space. He said the tone is still hopeful, if not “amped.”

“I think we have the same mentality when we started. We still have the same goals; we still have our same mind-set,” he said, before admitting that there’s a slightly greater urgency in light of the poor start.

“We’re ready to start playing; we’re ready to stop losing. It’s no fun being a losing team,” he said.

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