Injury leaves quarterback situation up in the air

The biggest question around a winless Rice football team surrounds the quarterback position.

After coaches test-drove true freshman JoVoni Johnson on a handful of running plays in previous games, the Arkansas native made his starting debut in a loss to Marshall. He provided a jolt to an offense that was tweaked to capitalize on his mobility but left the game with a fourth quarter injury that’s shaped the intrigue around what will happen at the position.

“Whoever’s healthy and gives us the best chance is who we’ll trot out there,” Owls head coach Mike Bloomgren said Tuesday regarding his decision between Johnson and senior Tom Stewart.

Offensive coordinator Jerry Mack said Johnson was recovering from turf toe. Quarterbacks coach Robbie Picazo said “there’s a couple different things going on with him,” and Johnson was elusive when asked about how he feels.

The quarterback progressed from wearing a boot to wearing street clothes in practice earlier this week while Stewart, who finished the Marshall game, seems to have permanently supplanted Wiley Green on the depth chart for the remainder of this season.

“He’s been having some good practices, but you know we’ll kind of wait and see,” Picazo said. “I don’t want to put percentages (on the likelihood of Green’s return) or anything like that. It’s always a tough situation moving around the depth chart like things have gone, but he’s approached it the right way from a mentality standpoint.

“The only way you’re gonna have a chance to come back and keep fighting is to approach things the right way and try and be the same guy every day.”

Bloomgren and the Rice (0-9, 05 in Conference USA) staff initially planned to redshirt Johnson, who’s played in three of the four games allotted for players who wish to preserve their eligibility. Saturday’s game against Middle Tennessee State (3-6, 2-3) would be his fourth with contests against North Texas (Nov. 23) and UTEP (Nov. 30) upcoming.

But Bloomgren doesn’t have much incentive to field Johnson if he isn’t 100 percent and might benefit from an extra week to delay the decision about Johnson’s long-term future — similar to last year when Green didn’t play in two of the team’s final three games to stay within the fourgame limit.

For Stewart’s part, the former Harvard QB struggled against Marshall, accounting for minus-2 yards of offense, and an offense that felt a breath of fresh air with Johnson stalled.

Part of that may be related to the back injury that he was recovering from. The Owls offensive game plan also was designed specifically with Johnson in mind that week. If Stewart starts Saturday, the offense could feature less one-back formations, for example.

“(Stewart has) done a good job continuing to build a base in this offense, and I think that’s helped him progress as the season’s gone on,” Picazo said. “Obviously didn’t have the ending to the game that any of us wanted against Marshall, kind of coming off his injury. The bye week has really helped, and he’s kind of back to his old self, so to speak.”