Ellerbee in pursuit of strong finish to weak season for Owls
With two games remaining in his Rice career, linebacker Emmanuel Ellerbee has been focused on closing strong despite a 1-9 record.
“We had high expectations and high goals,” he said. “It’s really a pride thing. No one wants to be one and nine.”
Ellerbee had a gamehigh 17 tackles in last weekend’s loss to Southern Mississippi, putting the senior captain over the 100-tackle mark for the second consecutive season at 101. With another game like that Saturday, he’d match last year’s total of 118.
But a physical and elusive back might stand in the way.
Old Dominion (4-6, 2-4 in Conference USA) hosts the Owls (1-9, 1-5) in Norfolk, Va.. The Monarchs’ offense is spearheaded by running back Ray Lawry, who rushed for 168 yards and two touchdowns (plus scoring on a reception) in a win over Florida International last Saturday. It was his 20th career 100-yard game.
“He is big and makes people miss when it looks like he’s going to be tackled,” Rice coach David Bailiff said. “He’s got an incredible side cut that he does.
“He really makes a lot of people miss and a lot of people bounce off of him.”
‘A wake-up call’
It’s hard to forget the only other time these teams played.
Fresh off of their conference championship season,
the Owls hosted Old Dominion in 2014 Monarch’s first game in C-USA. Ellerbee, a freshman at the time, recalls how confident Rice felt facing a team in its first year as an FBS program. But Old Dominion
won 45-42 on a late field goal.
“It was a wake-up call because they came out there and hit us in the mouth,” Ellerbee said. “It’s obviously a team you can’t take lightly.”
Even as he prepares for finals, Ellerbee refuses to let Rice lie down lightly.
“Obviously, the season definitely didn’t turn out the way we thought it would,” he said. “You train so hard in the offseason not to be in that kind of position.
“These last few games are the last time it’s guaranteed for me to play football, so I’m going to give it my all and we’re trying to get everyone else to realize that.”
NFL in his future?
Bailiff said NFL teams have shown interest in Ellerbee and junior defensive end Blain Padgett.
Still, Ellerbee isn’t overly concerned yet about professional football.
“The last time we had someone go, I guess Dennis Parks went, but Cov is the last one to get drafted,” he said, referring to Texans defensive end and former Owl Christian Covington. “I don’t know what to expect for it. I’m hoping for the best and praying to God that it all works out.”
Covington has been a source of support for Ellerbee throughout the season.
For Ellerbee, context informs his state of mind.
Rice didn’t win its first game of the season until Oct. 22 last year, but the Owls ended the year going 2-1, losing to Stanford in the season finale.
The threat of a one-win season galvanized he and his teammates last year, and he’s hoping to see history repeat itself Saturday.