Running backs show promise, but defense dominates
A couple hours into Rice’s second scrimmage of fall camp, freshman running back Jawan King turned the corner and raced down the sideline before shedding an arm tackle and scooting into the end zone to enliven the offensive sideline.
On a team based around coach Mike Bloomgren’s “pound the rock, run the clock” philosophy, it was King and the ground game that shined.
King ripped off a handful of solid runs Saturday as did Aston Walter, who continues to display great balance and a low center of gravity bursting to the second level of the defense. The speedy Cam Montgomery also received a solid share of the carries and flashed his explosiveness on occasion.
“Jawan King has a bright, bright future with the Rice Owls. We’re still getting him back from being a little bit banged up earlier in camp,” Bloomgren said, referencing the concussion that kept King out of the first scrimmage. “I just think he hasn’t scratched the surface of his potential.”
Perhaps the true headliner — besides punters Chris Barnes and Adam Nunez, who received plenty of work early on — was the Owls’ defense.
The unit consistently made plays behind the line and looked particularly strong up front.
“I’m so impressed with what they’re doing,” Bloomgren said. “I think that the one-unit and even the two-unit is just night and day from a year ago. I’m so impressed with the gains that they’ve made.”
But whether it’s inconsistent play under center or a defense that has made serious strides with another year of growth and experience, the offense struggled as a whole.
“At times, the lack of efficiency, especially when we started the ball at the minus-22, we just couldn’t get drives going, we just couldn’t get that first first down,” Bloomgren said. “We’ve got to be better than that from a leadership standpoint at the quarterback position.
“We’re going to wait until we watch this film, but it’s been a great battle. All of those guys have done great things at different times, but I think we’re going to be at a point where we’re going to have a quarterback named sooner rather than later.”
Through the second scrimmage, Bloomgren continues to see the quarterback competition as a three-way battle between Wiley Green, Tom Stewart and Evan Marshman.
All three struggled to hit their marks early in the scrimmage with passes falling short to open receivers in the flat or totally missing them on drag routes.
Still, they developed a rhythm as the scrimmage wore on.
Following a crisp post route by Austin Trammell, Green floated a perfect pass into his arms for a touchdown. Stewart showed greater precision as well and started moving the sticks when he led the first team.
“(Green) had a first drive where obviously things could’ve been better … but to see him come back in this red-zone component, which was really the second half of the scrimmage was awesome,” Bloomgren said.
“There’s been days where you could sort it one-two-three, then days where it’s three-two-one, so I hope this film gives us some clarity.”