Owls receiving test of patience
Preparations start forOct. 24 opener while others play
Rice coach Mike Bloomgren has been lively and optimistic in the face of past adversity. But even that has given way to lulls of doubt as to whether his team would play football this season.
After practice delays and game cancellations, Rice is finally back on the practice field and expected to participate in around 20 practices ahead of its Oct. 24 season opener against Middle Tennessee State.
“There were times that it was very hard for me,” Bloomgren said. “I’d long for the certainty, for the schedule, for the mode of operation that we all get so used to and comfortable with. We didn’t have that for such a long time, I mean we couldn’t make schedules beyond tomorrow in a lot of cases, and I’m used to having an 18month schedule that’s pretty well laid out.”
Players have met that uncertainty with a blend of optimism and trepidation.
Their hopefulness is buoyed by their growth. Coaches have lauded players’ command of their schemes and playbook. Although Bloomgren’s third season will start almost two months later than scheduled, he still expects it to be a defining year for his program.
But some players expressed frustration — and appreciation — for the school’s cautious approach to COVID-19, which left them watching their Conference USA adversaries play on television while they were limited to film study and an intrasquad 7on-7 competition before training camp started last Thursday.
“I have been watching some of the other Conference USA games and it’s weird knowing that we haven’t even put helmets on or practiced at all,” center Isaac Klarkowski said days before practice began. “I feel like we’re kind of a step behind, but at the same time we've been doing a lot of good work with our meetings and walkthroughs, so we’re really locked in mentally oncewe start camp.”
Said cornerback Sean Fresch: "Watching other teams in our conference play and we're not playing, it kind of upsets me. But at the same time we're grinding and getting ready to start the season so whenever that time comes we'll be ready."
By Saturday, every team on Rice’s remaining schedule will have played at least three games. A winless Middle Tennessee team will have played six by Oct. 24, including four in conference.
Still, Bloomgren remains committed to patience and process as he did during the team’s fivegame losing streak this time last year. If Rice’s current schedule remains intact, he expects his teamto be competitive when it takes the field next month.
“I still feel anxious. Like goshwe're only on practice No. 3, but I have to take a step back and realize we are on practice No. 3 and we still don't play for a month," Bloomgren said Saturday.
“We're in a good place. We're as conditioned as we've ever been coming into camp...our knowledge of our system is higher than it’s ever been on either side of the ball ... so we just need 10,000 reps on the field, and that's what we're going to try to do in the next month.”