Searching for answers
Now that practice has begun, Rice players are OK with entering the season as an underdog.
On Sept. 12, 1962, President John F. Kennedy stood at a podium and addressed a crowd at Rice Stadium.
“We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard,” he said. “That challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win.”
Those words were meant to galvanize Americans to support a national effort to land a man on the moon. But almost 57 years later, from within the walls of the Brian Patterson Center next to the stadium, Rice football coach Mike Bloomgren has been echoing those same words to motivate his players for the arduous task ahead.
On Aug. 30, Bloomgren’s second season with the Owls will begin with a game at Army, which won 11 games in 2018, including a 70-14 obliteration of the University of Houston in the Armed Forces Bowl.
Rice began preparations for that season opener Thursday.
The Owls’ opening practice provided the first real glimpse into the anticipated quarterback battle between Wiley Green and Harvard graduate transfer Tom Stewart. Green is the incumbent but is expected to be challenged by Stewart and redshirt sophomore Evan Marshman, who played sparingly a year ago.
“The quarterback position is going to be a fun competition for as long as it will go until someone snatches that job by the throat,” Bloomgren said. “It was nice to see (Stewart) stand out there and hit those deep balls. I feel like our system is still a little bit sped up for Tom right now. Certainly understandable, (it’s) his first real practice in the system. But when things broke down, he was still able to make a play.”
The competition at running back appears to be wide open.
Charlie Booker, a former teammate of Stewart’s at Harvard, displayed a silky style, sliding through holes and following his assignments. Juma Otoviano, star of the Old Dominion game last season, and true freshman Jawan King also saw touches alongside former linebacker Ari Broussard and Aston Walter. “(Pass protection) is really important for our scheme, so I’m really intrigued to see how they understand the protection as we put it on them,” offensive coordinator and new running backs coach Jerry Mack said. “That’s when the guys will start to separate (because) they’re all really talented.”
At wide receiver, Rice is scrambling to fill the void left by Brendan Harmon, who left the team in the offseason. The Owls lost another big-play threat last Friday when receiver Aaron Cephus was suspended indefinitely for violating team rules.
Bradley Rozner, a transfer from Cisco Junior College, performed well during Thursday’s workout.
Up front, the Owls struggled with inconsistency last season, but a trio of new additions should add more size and experience.
Left tackle Clay Servin was impressive as was North Carolina Central transfer Nick Leverett, who opened at left guard. Redshirt sophomore Shea Baker retained his starting role at center.
“I was really impressed with (former Stanford center Brian Chaffin) and all the transfers,” Mack said. “They’re moving around like we thought they would.”
The Rice players have embracedan underdog mentality for the 2019 season — a sentiment fueled by the Owls being selected to finish sixth in the Conference USA West Division preseason poll and the absence of any players being named to the preseason all-conference team.
“You get what you deserve. That’s the thing about football, we didn’t have a great season from a wins perspective so we don’t deserve to have anybody on the all-conference team,” Mack said.
“We need to make the media, make the public see that we have some guys who are top-tier talent. They’re taking it as a challenge … It’s a slap in the face, but it’s a deserved slap in the face so now you have to go out there and prove that you do belong.”