Delay provides time to deal with tragedy
Rice postponed spring football practice after defensive end Blain Padgett died earlier this month. The extra time allowed players and coaches to come to terms with their loss and to adjust to one of many changes ahead during the 2018 season. The Owls begin spring practice Thursday.
“I think it gave people time to digest,” defensive end Graysen Schantz said. “I know personally to process everything that happened so suddenly takes a minute.”
Coach Mike Bloomgren said Schantz and his teammates have taken the lead in determining how they’ll memorialize Padgett, who was found dead in his apartment March 2. No cause of death has been announced.
The team has discussed commemorative helmet decals. Coaches intend to keep his name slotted in the depth chart, and they plan to preserve his seat in the meeting room as well as his locker.
“We’ve gotten some really nice tributes from some other programs right now that we’ve shared with his family,” Bloomgren said.
Army sent an autographed football offering its condolences (the Black Knights lost a player in 2016), as did Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck. In South Bend, Ind., Notre Dame hosted a prayer vigil, while Bloomgren received texts from other coaches offering emotional support.
“Blain’s passing was a very tough thing for us; we all had to grieve and get through it and get past it,” Bloomgren said. “I think that our sport, our game, lends itself to helping people deal with adversity.”
The team attended Padgett’s funeral in Beaumont and served as honorary pallbearers.
Missing pieces but ‘new energy’
The Owls will open practice with a litany of departures.
Most recently, running back Sam Stewart and defensive back Christian Bertrand were medically disqualified and won’t play this season. Receivers Parker Smith (focusing on academics) and Kylen Granson (transferring) won’t suit up for the Owls this fall, either.
“Many of them we knew about, so we recruited to those positions, so that’s the good news,” coach Mike Bloomgren said of having five players transfer since December.
“There’s been a couple of them that were maybe a surprise but hey, the ones I’m really worried about are the ones who’ll be sitting in these seats … for our team meeting.”
Quarterback Sam Glaesmann opened the 2017 season as the starter but will be limited by a shoulder injury that cost him most of the season. Jackson Tyner took the reins after Glaesmann’s injury, but he’s doubling as a relief pitcher for the baseball team this spring. Miklo Smalls, a sophomore who seized the job from Tyner last October, will miss all spring activities for personal reasons.
Their time away equates to more opportunities for a handful of young and untested quarterbacks, in addition to Vanderbilt transfer Shawn Stankavage. But the position battle that intrigues Bloomgren most is among the players who’ll be protecting their quarterback.
“No matter who they are, there’s going to be four new starters jumping out there this fall,” he said. “Any time you get that many open spots … that’s really vitally important.”
For Bloomgren, turning around the program begins with a new mentality.
“We’re trying to get them to love football again,” he said. “One and eleven stinks in anything that you do. It’s hard to be a part of and it’s not fun.”
Four months into his tenure, players seem to be buying in.
“There’s a new energy and a new atmosphere that coach Bloomgren and this staff has brought in,” receiver Austin Trammell said.
It’s a helpful tone to set in what will likely be a rebuilding year for the new coach. Still, he’s hopeful competition will breed success.
“Everything is open,” Bloomgren said, “every position battle is open and I can’t wait to see them compete.”