Rice '05 spring practice page

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Reverse!  QB Chase Clement flips to slotback Tommy Henderson in play that's indicative of Rice's revamped offense

Spring practice roundup
Drills said 'best ever'
by Hatfield as Owls
soup up offense

HOUSTON (April 21) –– It’s a truism that everybody goes undefeated in spring practice, but the key for Rice’s football team this time around appears to lie in moving beyond the usual kudos and the feel-good sentiments to try and acquire a genuinely new sense of direction out of the just completed annual month-long boot camp.

The Owls enter a new league this fall as they open play in Conference USA, and the Rice brain trust certainly would like to pop open a bottle full of surprises in celebration of the new address. In the final analysis, that’s what this year’s spring drills were about, as much as anything.

And Rice head coach Ken Hatfield pronounced the proceedings "our best spring practice since I have been at Rice," so something must have been cooking out there on the grass practice field to the Southampton side of Rice Stadium.

In fact, even the casual onlooker might have observed a brew that seemed awfully strange for a Hatfield-coached offense, for the Owls lined up a lot this spring in the shotgun, and set up sometimes with three backs, sometimes with two, sometimes with one, and even once in a while with none!

Controlled scrimmages saw such gizmos as shovel passes, laterals, reverses, and just generally a far more wide-open style of play than what Owl fans have become used to seeing over the past ten years.

Presumptive first-string quarterback Joel Armstrong pronounced the whole thing "more spread out."

"Maybe, then," he added, "we’ll have more opportunity for bigger pass plays and a more consistent passing game. It just spreads out the defense more, and gives you a lot of one-on-one opportunities, that gives a guy with a little talent the chance to make a move on somebody and get the big play."

Redshirt frosh Tommy Henderson, who ran at third-string QB this spring as well as manning the second-unit slot-back position, said the new playbook was mainly a case of adapting to and taking advantage of the available talent. "This offense will allow a lot of people touch the ball," he said. "More positions will be able to get involved in the whole offensive game."

"I think we're doing just a whole lot of new, different things," he emphasized. "We're moving around a lot more; we're using a lot more formations, to throw the defense. I think that this time around, defenses are really going to have to be on top of their game to really be able to stop all the things that we throw at them. They may be able to stop some of the things, but they won't be able to stop all of them."

Takes more than 11 to make a team

It takes more than 11 players in the offensive unit to compose a going concern on the football field, however, and this year’s version of the Owls, despite the rave reviews on offense, have a lot of question areas on both sides of the ball that need answering before opening kickoff in the Rose Bowl against UCLA Sept. 10.

So let’s visit with Coach a little bit and get his take on how many questions were answered on the field during the past month, and how many more yet need to be determined, come August two-a-days. We’ll take it by position grouping.

Quarterbacks: By the end of spring, the Owl quarterbacking corps was comprised of a tandem, plus one. Joel Armstrong, who started seven games last year as a redshirt freshman, and Chase Clement ran one-two in the pecking order, but obtained just about an equal number of reps this spring. Third stringer Tommy Henderson wound up taking fewer and fewer snaps as the spring rolled on – but that was because he was also performing so well splitting time at the slotback position.

Once the Rice staff took the red-cross shirts off both Joel and Chase, the results were encouraging. Joel consistently was able to get outside and turn the ball upfield, while Chase surprised his coaches with his running ability as well.

Joel is a known quantity entirely, but Chase surprised onlookers with his performance this spring. As expected, he showed perhaps the smoothest passing touch of the three quarterback hopefuls. While  less speedy than Armstrong and Henderson, Chase is every bit as elusive in the scramble, and will present a different package of concerns for enemy defenses to engross themselves. With his height, he's got excellent range of the playing field; he can throw under pressure, and he delivers an accurate, quick, but soft and easily catchable ball.

"I think maybe the biggest thing that helped us out there was that our two young quarterbacks were able to stay healthy all spring," Coach Hatfield told us. "Once they’d both been out there awhile, you could easily see the experience factor kick in, with their being out there the whole time."

"Since we wound up putting Tommy over at running back and he did so well there, we were only running, really, two quarterbacks and the two of them took every snap for 15 days. They ran the ball, they took some licks; they still made some big plays, and I thought they got a lot better."

Number three quarterback Tommy Henderson wasn't included in the aforementioned litany only because he’d been running so well at  the running back spot has now become his primary position. Yet, he'll continue to get some reps at quarterback in August, coaches said.  "Tommy has come through for us in many ways this spring," Coach Hatfield noted. "He had some big plays and catches and stuff."

"Tommy is too good an athlete not to be on the field," Coach Hatfield went on. "And so that's why we're trying to move him into a couple of positions, to get him on the field more, both at quarterback and at running back, and I think he's definitely going to stay both of those places."

Running backs: Even with a couple of experienced, reliable Owl runners still on the shelf this spring getting over injuries, the larder appears particularly well-stocked in this position.

While Thomas Lott  stayed on the sidelines this spring, three returning lettermen at the tailback position all attacked spring drills as if they each were planning on earning the starting spot, come September.

"Quinton Smith, Marcus Rucker and Bio Benibo made things happen for us all spring," Coach Hatfield told us.

Of the three, Quinton was perhaps the most impressive as to his ability to use his speed and quickness to get outside and turn things upfield. Marcus continues to get stronger, without any corresponding loss in quickness, and regularly was able to turn 3-yard gains into 8- or 10-yard pickups during spring scrimmages. Bio, on the other hand, showed flashes of both exceptional strength and quickness, and demonstrated to his coaches that he needs to get some serious playing time in the fall.

"We're glad to get Bio back at tailback," Coach said, referring to the redshirt soph's return from injury with no apparent ill effects. "Our other (healthy) tailbacks, Quinton and Marcus, have both had an outstanding spring as well. And we knew that Bio could help us, too, with his speed, if he gets out here to play. And I think he really showed some good things."

Owl backs will need to be able to catch ball

But this fall, just the ability to tuck it under and run won’t get Owl running backs where they need to be. They’ll need to be able to catch the ball as well.

The two Rice backs who shined the most this spring catching the ball coming out of the backfield, were, predictably, Q. and 22.

Remember the over-the-shoulder catch Mike Falco made in November against Fresno? (It was just about the only positive thing to remember about the game.) Well, he made catches like that all the time this spring – but what’s amazing about it, is that Rice quarterbacks regularly threw that play to him.

Of all the returning backfield veterans, the Arizonan appears to be the most comfortable in his role. He hit the field this spring bulkier, but faster than before, and showed a quiet confidence that didn’t go unnoticed by some of the younger backs.

"Mike Falco showed he can both run and catch the ball. He had a good spring," Coach Hatfield said.

By the same token, Quinton Smith looked to be a viable receiving threat, both on the catch-and-run coming out of the backfield, and of the over-the-shoulder variety some 20 yards or more downfield.

But what might have bee the spring’s most positive development in the Rice offensive backfield lay in the way that big tight end Joe Don Wood took to running at the fullback position, as well.

"Joe made some great plays this spring," Coach Hatfield allowed. "Moving him from tight end was a big move for us this spring; and he definitely showed he's going to help us there, doing a lot of things. He'll continue to play tight end and a fullback; he has the potential to be a big factor to us in both positions."

Joe played the position at least some in high school, and his height and bulk will give a dimension to the position that the Owls have mostly lacked since the days of Benji Wood. Like Benji, once Joe broke through the line, he had the ability use his size to snort and stomp and get into the clear.

More in the mold of  an Ed Bailey or a Robbie Beck, letterman Andrew Cates had a good spring at fullback as well, especially early in the campaign. John Wall was still shaking off the cobwebs from last fall’s injury, but may be a factor this fall, too.

Receivers: We’ve already talked about receivers just a bit, but there are some other Owls to consider in this category.

With the permanent departure of Marcus Battle, Andy Hall is the only experienced returning wide receiver. Andy had a quiet spring, focusing primarily on his pass routes and downfield blocking techniques. But, then again, Andy always tends to be quiet, until all of a sudden he comes up with the huge catch.

He’s the starting wideout, this fall, for sure, but redshirt freshman Jarett Dillard had an impressive spring and will definitely press him for playing time.

"Jarett was consistently able to pull in some critical passes, and he kept improving all spring. He made some huge plays for us, and he’ll definitely be a weapon this fall as a wide receiver," Coach Hatfield said.

Although last year’s starter at tight end, Joe Wood, has apparently earned his spurs at the fullback position, he’ll still split time at tight end. But returning veteran Matt Bolding and redshirt Will Moss got almost all the reps at the tight end spot this spring. "Both will be very valuable for us," Coach said.

OL answered questions with quickness

Offensive line: The line was the biggest question mark on offense, going into spring drills. But at least part of that question was answered by the reliable, consistent play of a combination of young veterans and out-and-out newcomers.   "Our offensive line I thought blocked extremely well this spring," Coach Hatfield told us. "I was definitely pleased with them."

The five-some that came out of spring drills as the starting interior OL included David Carter, Robby Heos, David Perkins, David Berken and Rolf Krueger. "Those five guys worked extremely well together as the starters," Coach Hatfield said. "With the two injured returnees, Cory Laxen and Lute Barber, added to this group in the fall, the line looks real good."

Somebody must’ve lit a fire under Little Rolf. He played like he was in a bad mood all spring – and that’s where we’ve always  hoped he'd be.   "Rolf’s played with intensity; he’s playing like his Daddy and uncle," the Rice head man averred.

"And the fact that Corey and Lute didn’t practice at all this spring gave him, and about six new ones that are coming in extra playing time to allow us to develop even a little bit more depth, there. But I have been really pleased with the play of those guys. And almost all of them have stayed out here."

There were other young OL’s worthy of Coach’s mention, too. "Scott Austin's been doing it," Coach Hatfield noted. "Nathan Miller and those guys have been out here every down. And that's really been good. "

"We've been doing a lot of stuff that's new, offensively, and that made it tough on our offensive line," Coach admitted. "But the fact that they were able to handle all that with having to be broken in as a new offensive line at the same time that was just about the most encouraging thing we did."

Defensive line:   Now looked upon to be one of the mainstays of the DL, soph George Chukwu was sanguine about the role he and his fellow linemen will be expected to play in this year’s defensive scheme.

"I think the defense, this year, is all going to begin with the defensive line," George said. "But I think it's also going to be a mixture of every man at every position on the field," he added. "Everyone's going to work together and pull together and we're going to show everybody a better performance than we put on the field last year."

Ah, yes, but it’s what’s up front that counts. If you haven’t got it there, you haven’t got it. And while the Owls may not be gargantuan in the DL, they apparently  have the ability to move around the field faster than in previous campaigns.

"I think there's really more speed," George said. "It seems to me that everybody's moving a lot faster than we did last spring. I think all the running and everything else we've been doing in the off-season has improved our speed and our quickness. "

Coach Hatfield agreed,  reviewing his list of big defenders.

"Defensively, I thought Courtney Gordon made a lot of plays," he said. "And I was really pleased with him. John Syptak has certainly been a mainstay at the other end. That gives us two, good, solid defensive ends. Inside, (DeJaun) Cooper's been doing a real good job, even though he's been injured. He's been solid when he's out here. Part of it is, he's fresh. But he's done a real good job."

Returning letterman Will Wood and Jonathan Cary also held down their spots in the DL to the satisfaction of their coaches.

"The defensive line started with experienced players setting the example," the Rice coach reminded us.  "Returners John Syptak, Rob Daniel and Courtney Gordon manned the end position well and freshman Dietrich Davis is going to be a real help."

Owls deep in linebackers

Linebackers: Although the Owls appear to be lacking a game-breaking star in the mold of a Dan Dawson, the linebacking spot is one that Rice coaches consider to be the deepest. The two-deep chart this spring included Buck Casson, Adam Herrin, Omeke Alikor and Stephen Wood.

But wait! There’s more. "Newcomer Vernon James was a pleasant surprise for us," Coach Hatfield averred, "and Jared Gilbert, Lance Luedeker and Garret Dornon give us depth and good special team players."

"The linebackers had an outstanding spring," Coach added. "Vernon James has really come on and probably has shown a lot more than we were expecting I'm really tickled to death with Vernon and what he's other. The other linebackers are doing well; Emeke Alikor has done a good job. But I've really been pleased; I think Vernon's done great."

The bandit position appeared to be well under the control of Chad Price, who was all over the field and created some big turnovers during spring scrimmages. Justin Abt also had a good spring and improved greatly, the Rice mentor said.

Defensive secondary:  At the onset of spring drills, Coach Hatfield admitted no small degree of concern about the greenness of his incoming crew of DBs. "That was our biggest area of concern --  especially our cornerback play," he admitted. "And I've been pleased with our cornerbacks this spring. Matt Ginn has been doing really good."

"The rover position found Matt and Aubrey White each learning a lot," Coach added.. Matt was especially impressive early in the spring, playing tough as nails, consistently running to the ball and getting into the defensive mix, whatever the call. Jonathan Turner, Trey Coleman and Lance Byrd both got in a lot of work, getting in plenty of play reps defending pass routes.

"I think our  freshmen have done a good job, there," Coach added. "B.K. King, Bencil Smith and JaCorey Shepherd – the three freshmen that we signed; I think they're all going to do an outstanding job, in giving us some more depth. I like the way they tackle; I like the way they're always around the ball. These are new kids who, I think, are definitely going to help us. And Jonathan Turner's played well."

"With those guys coming along after all, that's one area that, a couple of times last year, we only had, like, one healthy guy available to practice all week. It's hard to play with one cornerback! So anyway, to be able to get four or five ready, I think that's going to do us a lot of good."

Cornerbacks Turner and Byrd were pushed hard by B.K. and Ja'Corey, Coach Hafield added, while the free safety spot was well run by Andray Downs and Bencil Smith. Dustin Haynes was held out of spring drills recovering from his injury, but is expected back in August, as well.

"In the scrimmage on Monday, the last week of practice, we had, like, five interceptions, and the defensive coaches had people who really caught the ball," Coach noted, "and I thought our defensive folks did one heck of a job in getting a lot of turnovers."

"I've been pleased with all of our defensive backs. The thing is, they had to think a lot more, to be sure. So in having to think more, they weren't putting pressure on themselves, they were hoping just to try to make the right plays. But I think it helped us, overall."

Kicking game:   The Rice kicking game, especially the field goal unit, was one area where Rice coaches were willing to admit something less than satisfaction with the progress made this spring.

"The only area we really didn't do good this spring; and we've got to improve there, is the field goal kicking," Coach Hatfield said. But he added, "To be fair and honest, this spring we probably had more wind blowing, and more swirling than any other time since I've been here -- which is the toughest you're going to have, as a kicker."

Going down the list of participants, the Rice coach noted that snapper Drew Clardy had a consistent and solid spring. Punter Jared Scruggs improved greatly in hang time and consistency, he said, and kickoffs will be solid with Luke Juist.

"We worked hard on the kicking game," he said. "You know, we had a great one two years ago, but last year we just were not good at all. And so spent a going to d lot of time on it."

"We've done a lot of live punt returns; and did some live kicking, every day we were out there. We just need to have a good, solid kicking game going into that new conference."

Luke Juist or Brennan Landry, one, has got to get some more ice water in his veins and improve accuracy inside 40 yards, coaches said, to give Rice a chance to score every time it gets inside the opponent’s 25. That kind of accuracy didn’t happen often enough this spring to make a happy man out of kicking teams assistant coach Steve Kidd.

"But I think they're humbled," Coach Hatfield concluded, "and I think they know they've got to do a good, credible job. We've got to find the right yard line from where they can be consistent and effective. That's what we've got to find. Those long field goals are hard to do. They'll do it; they're good kids; we knew that when we signed them, and we knew they've got the ability, and they'll do a good job for us."

Editor's Note:  We tried to cover as broad a territory as we could with Coach Hatfield, obtaining his comments on as many players as time would allow.  If we missed mention of one of your favorite Owls, we apologize.  E-mail us and let us know, and we'll keep a special eye out for him in August!

-- P.T.H.

Tommy Henderson tries to evade Chad Price in Friday's scrimmage

Owls cap spring drills
Offense, defense
take their turns

HOUSTON (April 17) – The Rice Owls put a cap on their spring drills with a spirited 90–minute scrimmage on the grass practice field here Friday afternoon. The spring’s largest contingent of onlookers viewed the proceedings, which featured big plays on both sides of the ball, and marked the Owls’ first exposure to Conference USA officiating.

The referees from Rice’s new conference affiliation were all in town for a training clinic, and Rice coaches arranged for several of them to put on the stripes and come out and officiate the scrimmage.

"We enjoyed having them out here," Rice head coach Ken Hatfield said afterwards. "I think we had seven Conference USA officials out here, and then maybe three more who are on the verge of joining the league, too. They had a hundred-something people in town for their meeting, so I thought gave them a good chance to work. You saw they had a couple of holding calls, and that made a difference in the drives."

The unverbalized message in Coach Hatfield’s comments reflected the opinion of a number of the observers:  these guys are just better at what they do than the striped shirts employed by the WAC. And thank heaven for that.

Bio Bilaye-Benibo fights off would-be tacklers in scrimmage Wednesday

But about the scrimmage.....it was a day that was dominated early by the defense, and late by the offense, and the net result was essentially a standoff that had both defensive and offensive assistants smiling on the way to the club house.

"Today, the defense started out the scrimmage really big," the Rice Head Man told us. "Chad Price has a big fumble recovery; and we had a couple of other turnovers that were really impressive."

The hyperactivity on the defensive side mirrored action in Monday’s limited scrimmage, when Owl defenders really got out the stickum. "In that scrimmage a couple of days ago, we had, like, five interceptions, and the defensive coaches had people who really caught the ball," Coach said. "And I thought our defensive folks did one heck of a job today, again, in getting a lot of turnovers."

Later in the day, though, came the offense’s turn to shine. "To be honest with you, on the last couple of drives, the offense had some great, great individual efforts," Coach said.

A couple of sustained drives were extended by acrobatic, third-down receptions. "I mean, (Jarett) Dillard makes a couple of tremendous plays," Hat noted. "Nick Aranda came in there and made a clutch catch on that last two-minute drill, which was really good; we’ve been trying to find a place for Nick to play. He’s done well this spring."

One area of endeavor continued to be source of frustration for the Rice staff, and that was with the field goal unit. The scrimmage ended with both placekickers, Luke Juist and Brennan Landry, trying to get it over and between the uprights from 45 yards out. But no dice. Brennan had the accuracy, and Luke had the leg, but neither could manage to put the ball through.

The Rice coach talked earnestly to his two kickers afterwards, and the conversation ended with a friendly slap on the back for both of them.

"The only area we really didn’t do good this spring; and we’ve got to improve there, is the field goal kicking," Coach Hatfield told us a few minutes later. "To be fair and honest this spring, we probably had more wind blowing, and more swirling than any other time since I’ve been here – which is the toughest thing you have to deal with, as a kicker."

"But I think they’re humbled, and I think they know they’ve got to do a good, creditable job – we’ve got to find the right yard line from where they can be consistent and effective. That’s what we’ve got to find. Those long field goals today were hard to do."

"They’ll do it; they’re good kids; we knew that when we signed them, and we know they’ve got the ability, and they’ll do a good job for us."

With that, the remaining squadmen, many of them surrounded by family and friends, trudged off the field and into the showers, a good supper ahead of them, seasoned by the satisfaction of having just completed a hard month’s work.

Amigos Three

Joel Armstrong:  "It’s just about getting out on the field and having fun"   Chase Clement:  "Whatever Coach Hatfield does; whatever he decides to do, is what I’m prepared to do"   Tommy Henderson:  "This offense will allow a lot of people touch the ball. More positions will be able to get involved in the whole offensive game"

Rice’s quarterback
candidates stand
out, but together

HOUSTON (April 12) – One clear trend that’s come out of Rice’s ongoing spring practice routine is the high level of compatibility and camaraderie of this year’s squad, which definitely fits a ‘Band of Brothers’ mold, one that likes to have its share of fun, both on the field and (we can guess) in the players’ off-time as well.

No group of position players shows that tendency better than the three guys Ken Hatfield has running at the quarterback position this spring -- the men he and his staff are depending on to implement same major new wrinkles in the offense. Each quarterback brings something different to the table, both in terms of skill set and personality – but they all appear to genuinely like each other, and they all say they're ready to get out there and just give it their best shot and enjoy the experience.

Soph redshirt Joel Armstrong is the presumptive starter, his having taken over at the starting spot as a redshirt freshman in the Texas game last year when senior Greg Henderson got just too banged up to go. Joel more or less fits the general running back mold that has been typical of recent Rice quarterbacks – he’s fast, slippery, and likes to tuck it under and run.

Chase Clement is  next on the totem pole, being a redshirt freshman who did scout team duty last year. He’s the best pure passer, the most elusive in the pocket, and looks like a quarterback that you’d get if you could build him from the ground up, from big toe to cowlick.

Redshirt freshman Tommy Henderson brings up the rear, among the three, but then again not exactly, because he’s also running at second-string H-back and probably several other places on special teams so that Rice coaches are able to get that boy on the field and utilize his talent.

In the Hatfield system, three quarterbacks are needed to be ready to contribute at any given time, and it looks as if that requisite will go double this fall, when Joel Armstrong and Chase Clement are both expected to get ample playing time at the man-under spot, while erstwhile third-teamer Tommy Henderson gets his share of PT doubling up at H-back and playing on special teams.

These three amigos stayed after practice Wednesday and spoke to us about their experiences this spring, and their expectations for the coming season.

Q: Everybody was saying, ‘you need to talk to the quarterbacks,’   because we’re supposed to be getting this new and improved offense going this year. The alumni section’s really curious about it, so we’ll go right to the horse’s mouth. Is this a brand new deal, or is it just putting lipstick on the wishbone?

Joel: I’ll start off. Well, I think, it’s pretty much like the same offense, but it’s kind of like more spread out. Maybe, then, you’ll have more opportunity for bigger pass plays and a more consistent passing game. It just spreads out the defense more, and gives you a lot of one-on-one opportunties, that gives a guy with a little talent the chance to make a move on somebody – and get the big play.

Tommy: I thinks it’s mainly a case of adapting to and taking advantage of the talent that we have. This offense will allow a lot of people touch the ball. More positions will be able to get involved in the whole offensive game.

Q: That’s pretty obvious – because the coaches have got you playing like, what, four different positions? You’re the Craig Biggio of Rice football!

Tommy: It’s fun. I’m enjoying it a lot.

Q: Chase, you’ve show the all-around skill set of a polished quarterback, but you’ve yet to play a college down. Does this new system make it easier for you to get acclimated back there, than would, perhaps, strictly a wishbone offense?

Chase: Oh, definitely. I think the way the whole offense has been able to move the ball so well this spring; it’s allowing everybody to be able to do different things and use the talents that they have, so it’s taking a lot of pressure off the quarterback having to execute every play perfectly – which is pretty much what you have to do in the straight wishbone. It helps us be more comfortable and just do a lot better job.

Q: Coach used the expression, last week, to the effect that "we’ve got to get these guys to stop thinking." He was talking about the defense, but it applies to playing quarterback, as well, does it not? Today, Joel, you looked as good as you’ve looked since your first few downs last year in the Texas game. In the Texas game, you probably didn’t think because you were so scared, but today you didn’t have to think because you were so relaxed. Is that what it takes? Do you have to just suspend thinking about all the things you need to be doing, and just get back there and let 'er rip?

Joel:  It’s pretty simple, really. It’s just about getting out on the field and having fun – having fun playing football. As far as this spring is concerned, especially with the new offensive wrinkles we had to start out thinking about the steps and the numbers. For one thing, the coaches changed just about every number in our system – every play has a new number. So we had to wrestle with that for a while. But now, once you get this deep into the spring, if you’ve been paying attention, you get to where you don’t have to think too much. You just play off of instinct. Once you’ve learned the system, you’re a lot more confident. And it shows on the field; you just play better. I feel like I’m more confident, and I guess that’s why it looked like I played better today.

Q: Tommy, you’ve got a big brother who played quarterback at Rice for four years. We suspect he’s given you at least a little advice on what it takes to be successful as a quarterback in Division 1A college football...

Tommy: Oh, you know Greg. He picked up his share of bumps and bruises during his career, so his first word of advice is, "Be tough." He spent a lot of time in the weight room, and he’s told me more than once that you’ve got to be tough to play quarterback – mentally and physically.

Q: Looks like this fall Joel and Chase and both going to play a lot of quarterback – and Tommy is going to play a lot, period, because Coach is going to find some place to get you onto the playing field. Are youall comfortable with basically a rotation system where everybody gets his share of playing time, but no-one dominates?

Chase: I have to say honestly I don’t really have an opinion on it.  I think that whatever Coach Hatfield does; whatever he decides to do, is what I’m prepared to do.  If one person’s in, if two guys are rotating, or even all three of us, we’ve all got to just go with the system, and do as best we can under the system, to help this team win.

Q: When we see you guys take the field in September, what’s the main difference we’re going to see from the Rice offense, compared to the last time you took the field last November?

Tommy: I think we’re doing just a whole lot of new, different things. We’re moving around a lot more; we’re using a lot more formations, to throw the defense. I think that this time around, defenses are really going to have to be on top of their gain to really be able to stop all the things that we throw at them. They may be able to stop some of the things, but they won’t be able to stop all of them.

Q: Here’s an alumni question for you: with this new, purportedly more wide-open offense, does that mean, expressed in numbers, that we’ll be throwing more, say on the lines of 18 to 20 times a game next season compared to our average six or eight passes per game in prior years?

Chase: With the offense that we have, I think it’s definitely possible to wind up throwing that many more times a game. But it all depends on the team that we play. Sometimes they might just give us the run – we’re going to have to take what they give us.

Q: What’s it stacking up like over the summer? Will there be a lot of players to try to stick together and work out together, at least some?

Joel: We try to get as many players as we can to stay down here over the summer, so we can develop a chemistry. A lot of other teams require their players to stay in town over the summer. We don’t do that. But even if the players go home for the summer, they can come in when they can, even on weekends, to work on play reps, or just to be together as a team and bond. Anything that you do over the summer helps you to bond as a team, and it’s good for us.

Q: What can you guys do, as quarterbacks, in the summertime to sharpen your game?

Tommy:  Well, you’re always trying to come up with ways to work on your passing game -- accuracy, distance, form. But beyond that, speed’s a big thing for the quarterbacks in our system, so you need to work on improving your speed as well as your arm strength.

Q: The offensive line lost a lot of senior starters after last season. It’s an area where we’re considered green, if not vulnerable. What do youall think about the way the OL has been performing this spring?

Tommy:  Our guys in the line have been working really hard this spring. They’ve got a lot of speed up there; they’ve been improving every day. I think they’ve done a great job and that a lot of people are going to be surprised at how well they play together.

Joel:  Look, our top two linemen are on the injured list right now. And we really don’t even notice that they’ve gone, because the line has been doing such an exceptional job. And when we get the injured guys back and have that added depth, I think it will be that much better. I’m looking forward to playing in games behind those guys.

Q: Speaking of playing with the offensive line, today the coaches pulled the red cross shirts off you guys and let the defense hit away on the quarterbacks.

Chase: Today was the first time, and I think it was actually good for us. It allowed us to have the experience of a full-speed football game.

Tommy: These two guys (gesturing to Chase and Joel) showed they were pretty tough out there today.

Q: Have you guys given any thought to the tough schedule that faces you when you open the season in September? You’re at UCLA, then at Texas, then have Navy at home.

Tommy: I think we see it as an opportunity. All three teams are really quality football teams, no doubt about it. But we see the early schedule as an opportunity to improve – both to get better, each game, and to come out with some victories.

--P.T.H.

QB Chase Clement evades grasp of  Chad Price in Wednesday's scrimmage action   Scott Austin (L), Todd Mohr square off like two cautious wrestlers   Andy Hall (80) makes downfield block while Stephen Wood (30) closes in from behind on Quinton Smith

Offense shines,
defense frets
in scrimmage

HOUSTON (April 7) – The Rice offense shined as brightly as the voluminous spring sunlight here Wednesday afternoon, as Rice coaches played mix ‘n match with substitutions, and in the event, the Owls’ most talented offensive skill positions had a field day.

Both Rice’s tandem of quarterbacks performed up to par and impressed their coaches. The Rice staff took the red-cross shirts off both Joel Armstrong and Chase Clement for the first time this spring, allowing would-be tacklers to come at them full-bore.  And the results were encouraging.  Joel consistently was able to get outside and turn the ball upfield, while Chase had a good day, both running and throwing the football as well.

"I think the biggest thing that helped us today was our two quarterbacks," head coach Ken Hatfield remarked afterwards. "They’ve been out here now for 11 days, and you can easily see the experience factor kick in, with their being out here the whole time. It’s made a difference. They keep improving. And I think they’re both exciting runners."

Number three quarterback Tommy Henderson wasn’t included in the aforementioned list only because he’s been running so well at "H" back that the running back spot has now become his primary position. Yet, he’ll continue to get some reps at quarterback, as the Hatfield staff has consistently had three men available and ready to go at  man-under, and isn't planning on changing that policy in the foreseeable future.

The play calling Wednesday  was as wide open as it gets, among the usual the drudgery of spring drills. And although both sides of the ball turned in their share of big plays, it was the Owl offense that appeared to have the measure of the defense, this day.

"The receivers were able to pull in some some critical passes today," Coach Hatfield noted. "(Jarrett) Dillard caught a big one; Joe (Wood) did too.   Joe has shown a lot this spring – it’s really been a big plus, moving him to fullback. He’ll continue to play tight end and a fullback; he has the potential to be a big factor to us in both positions."

All three of the Owls’ healthy tailbacks shined in Wednesday’s scrimmage as well, the Owl mentor allowed.  "We’re glad to get Bio (Bilaye-Benibo) back at tailback," he said, referring to the redshirt soph’s return from injury with no apparent ill effects. "Our other tailbacks, Q. Smith and Marcus Rucker, have both had an outstanding spring as well. And we knew that Bio could help us, too, with his speed, if he gets out here to play. And I think he really showed some good things."

One encouraging development for the alumni section: this Rice offense, at last, appears to feature a playbook that includes plays featured so as to punish a defense for overloading. Big plays for the Rice offense included reverses, shovel passes, inside traps.

The defense, with coaches sending in a duke’s mixture of defenders, more often found itself on the short end of the stick. Part of it would have to be attributed to the need for the anticipation and familiarity that breeds successful teamwork.    Owl defenders looked better to onlookers last week, playing more in groups of first team and second team, with familiar personnel combinations astride.

This time around, Rice assistants were experimenting with different combinations, and the result often was a defensive breakdown or two.  But then, a hard-blitzing defensive unit, more than once, would come back and nail the quarterback or running back in the backfield, next play.

Still, Rice senior defensive leader  John Syptak wasn’t at all pleased with the way the defenders handled the new stuff that was being thrown at them. His conclusion: "We played like (bleep), all day."

In fairness, the Rice assistants’ substitution pattern meant that, at times, second and third -teamers on defense were going against the Owls’ front-line offensive players.

Not a problem, the Head Man averred afterwards. "I thought it was a good practice," Coach Hatfield concluded. "The weather was good; I think we learned a lot. We scrimmaged about 90 plays, so it gave us a chance to learn a lot about our team. With three days left to go, I think we’re going to be in good shape."

The team will take the rest of the week off in observance of the school holiday, and will resume practice on Monday.

--P.T.H.

Redshirt QB Chase Clement tucks it under as Tommy Henderson (L) blocks out Friday

Aggressiveness the
watchword for Owls
in first scrimmage

HOUSTON (April 2) – The Rice Owls went through their first regulated scrimmage of the spring here Friday on the grass practice fields, and Rice coaches uniformly pronounced the results satisfactory.

"This was really our first good evaluation, because we had officials out here the whole day," head coach Ken Hatfield told us afterwards. "You saw what happened – they called several holding penalties, and times where they’d been offsides....that’s why we need the officials out here. And we’re going to get them out here the other two major scrimmages we’ve got planned.. That’s the only way you learn to play – by making mistakes."

Rice defensive coaches placed special emphasis on reaction and aggression – in the words of Coach Hatfield, his coaching crew wanted the Owl defenders "to quit thinking."

And guess what? Our boys, indeed, are capable of such suspension of intellectual rigor. "I thought they did," Coach said. "They came up with a big interception; they came up with a fumble, when Charlie (Curtis) caught the pass, and they still knocked the ball loose, and so I thought they came up and were a lot more aggressive. That’s the main thing – I was wanting more aggression. And I thought we saw that."

Number one, number two show different styles

Syp in a familiar spot DL John Syptak swoops in to single-handedly nail QB Joel Armstrong

The game plan was offensive first unit against defensive first unit, and offensive second unit against defensive second unit. With defenders flooding the backfield, the diversity of styles shown by the guys who’re running number one and number two at the quarterback spot was apparent.

When the traffic got congested, first-teamer Joel Armstrong tended merely to tuck it under and get the heck out of Dodge. Meanwhile, redshirt freshman quarterback Chase Clement struggled at times with his steps, but showed, overall, the skill set of a born quarterback. While he may have been tentative in some of his play execution, he nevertheless was able to command the confidence of his teammates on the field with him – and move the ball.

The implication: both guys need to work hard the rest of this spring to improve, but if they do, the Institute will have an interesting one-two punch at the man-under spot this fall.

Of course, redshirt frosh Tommy Henderson is another quarterback who’s in the mix, although he’s also being mixed in concoctions other than those involving sitting in the captain’s chair.

"Tommy is too good an athlete not to be on the field," Coach Hatfield emphasized. "And so that’s why we’re trying to move him into a couple of positions, to get him on the field more, both at quarterback and at running back, and I think he’s definitely going to stay both of those places."

Against the second-team defense, Chase Clement, Tommy Henderson and Marcus Rucker made an effective backfield trio. Marcus ran well and he ran hard, carrying the ball five times in a row on an 80-yard touchdown drive.

Windy day opportune challenge for kicking game

Rolf  at the head of the class Rolf Krueger, here shown blocking for Quinton Smith, leads this year's class of offensive line hopefuls

The day was almost too windy to provide an effective meter of the passing game, as gusts swirled in the range of 35 miles an hour and kicked up dust consistently. Perfect weather, in fact, for testing the mettle of a team’s kicking game.

"I’m glad we hit our field goals," Coach said, "even on a windy day like that. That was good, when you do that. We got the live kicking game going in that wind, both the punt and the punt return team live, which was good."

All spring, the performance of the incoming defensive secondary has been a source of major concern for the Rice coaching staff. But both some lightly-used veterans and some out-and-out newcomers are stepping up, Coach Hatfield noted.

"That’s our biggest area of concern -- our cornerback play," he admitted. "And I’ve been pleased with our cornerbacks. Matt Ginn has been doing really good. I think our two freshmen have done a good job, there. B. K. King and JaCorey Shepherd both are playing a lot more aggressively and playing with a lot of confidence. Jonathan Turner’s playing well."

"With those guys coming along – after all, that’s one area that, a couple of times last year, we only had, like, one healthy guy available to practice all week. It’s hard to play with one cornerback! So anyway, to be able to get four or five ready, I think that’s going to do us a lot of good."

The mistakes were obvious, on both sides of the ball, but that’s what you expect during spring drills, Coach Hatfield pointedly stated.

"Offensively, we’ve been pleased with some individual efforts and things that we’re doing overall," he noted. "We’re still doing so much that we’re not executing all the time, very well, and we’re leaving the ball on the ground."

"But I understand that. I knew it was going to be that way; I didn’t expect us to be perfect yet."

"I think the approach we’re taking is right, and I like how the players have been performing out there with the new stuff, and I think it’s going to give us a lot more varied offense than what we’ve done in the past. So I’m happy with the things that we’re working on, and, at this point in time, after nine practices, we’re about, really, where I’d like to be."

--P.T.H.

"Your main goal here – Coach Hatfield always preaches it -- is to hit the books first, and then hit the field second"   "I’m feeling good about going into Conference USA.  I frankly feel it’s just going to be a better conference than the WAC"   "I’ve been surprised, a little, at the quickness of our offensive line this year. They’re moving pretty fast – so that means we have to, too"

Big Owl soph DL
quick to excel
both on, off field

HOUSTON (March 31) – Sophomore defensive lineman George Chukwu was one of the few Slimes who played enough last year to make an impression among a squad that was dominated by seniors.  But this spring, after coming off such a strong performance as a redshirt freshman, he’s stepped into the graduated Jeremy Calahan’s spot on the DL just as if he’d owned it all along.

In truth, Rice’s defensive mentors are looking to put strength on the field, in more ways than one. And George is a strong man both literally and figuratively.

The 6-1, 305-pound gentle giant from Fort Bend George Bush High excels in the weight room and also puts the shot for the Rice track team. Yet, also, in his brief time on the Rice campus he’s become one of more popular and well-known gridders, both among his teammates, his fellow collegians at Hanszen, and those among the Rice fan faithful who began to notice him as someone special from the time he first picked up a few playing minutes last fall.

The double major in Civil Engineering and Health Sciences says combining a grid career in Division 1 football with a Rice engineering degree path is more than difficult, but the resulting demands on his time necessitate a simple approach to making it from day to day:   Give it your best shot, on the field and in the classroom;  give your teammates and fellow students the benefit of the doubt; and just smile and be friendly. Everything will work itself out, from there.

That’s pretty much the way George handles his time at Rice, and things have worked out quite well for him thus far.

"I was fortunate to be able to play some last year; I’ve had a good experience at Rice," George told us earlier this week. "Classes, let’s face it, they've been hard. I’ve had a lot of engineering classes. Your main goal here – Coach Hatfield always preaches it -- is to hit the books first, and then hit the field second. And hit them both as hard as you can."

His professed aim is to give it his all on the playing field for four years and try and bring a championship or two to Rice – and then double up on the labs in year five.

"I took a cue from Cotey-Joe (Cswaykus) last year," he said, of the Owls’ offensive lineman who's earning his engineering degree on time and in fine fashion. "He finished up his eligibility last year, but since it’s a five-year degree plan, anyway, he’s taking his labs right now, in his fifth year. That’s probably what I’m going to wind up doing, too."

Meanwhile, though, it’s time to focus on football.

Open season on depth chart, playing time

"It’s getting tougher out there now," George admitted. "Everybody wants to battle for a number one spot and they’re pretty much all giving it their best shots. We had some key losses from last year on defense – Jeremy Calahan, Terry Holley, Raymorris Barnes.... So the defensive coaches have been candid with us, in telling us that the positions are definitely not set. Nobody has a job guaranteed. We’re all going to have to earn our playing time."

The DL stays largely intact from last year, despite a major loss in the aforementioned Jeremy Calahan. Besides George and all-league veteran John Syptak, Rob Daniel, Courtney Gordon, and William Wood, among others, return with ample playing time under their belts.

But the secondary is going to be green, and at least the first few games, they’ll be engaged in some on-the-job training. That means that in ‘05, even more than usual, the defensive line will have to serve as defensive anchor.

"I think the defense, this year, is all going to begin with the defensive line," George said. "But I think it’s also going to be a mixture of every man at every position on the field," he added. "Everyone’s going to work together and pull together and we’re going to show everybody a better performance than we put on the field last year."

Coach Hatfield has opined that Conference USA is more of a defense-oriented conference than the WAC. The Owls know, at least, in this new league, hat they won’t be facing teams every week that put the ball up in the air on 75, 80 per cent of their plays. Now that the days of the pass-happy, "Wacky WAC" , are done, though, George said, it’s unproductive to think that CUSA football is going to be more of a war game fought out only in the trenches.

"No, it’s dangerous to assume that," the big fellow warned. "We can’t take for granted any particular style of play. You never know what you’re going to see thrown at you. You do know that everybody’s going to come out strong against you. So we just have to prepare thoroughly and come out strong ourselves."

In that regard, this spring the Rice offense is throwing up a considerably more diversified offensive package, with everything from full-house wishbone to empty backfield with multiple split receivers on both sides. That does, indeed, help prepare the defense to be able to go against a more diverse attack, he said.

"Well, constant repetition, play after play, is one of the big keys to consistency on defense," George pointed out. "So the new offensive philosophy makes for a better workout on the defensive side, because it throws things at us that we haven’t seen before. Now we’re going up more against the type of offensive plays that we’ll be seeing each Saturday."

Redshirt frosh look to be grading out well

Owl linemen grapple during first controlled scrimmage

Rice’s biggest defender said he’s had a chance this spring to look at some of the redshirt talent that hasn’t been on the field in a game situation before – and he likes what he sees

"I really think the redshirts are going to be able to contribute – both on the defensive line and in the secondary," he noted of his fellow classmates.    It’s a little harder for me to judge the offense – we’re really just starting to get a good look at them this spring. But I will say that there are some new guys in the offensive line that are really putting out the effort during spring practice."

So does that mean that there actually won’t be a slack-off in the offensive line’s performance out on South Main, after losing all those guys to graduation?

"I think there’s really more speed," George replied. "It seems to me that everybody’s moving a lot faster than we did last spring. I think all the running and everything else we’ve been doing in the off-season has improved our speed and our quickness. I’ve been surprised, a little, at the quickness of our offensive line this year. They’re moving pretty fast – so that means we have to, too."

"That quickness could be a big equalizer this year when we go into Conference USA."

George and his teammates are all looking forward to playing against Tulane and more of the local and Southeastern schools in the new league.

"Oh, yeah. I’m feeling good about going into Conference USA," he said. "I frankly feel it’s just going to be a better conference than the WAC. The scheduling’s going to be better; the travel will be easier to take."

But even more than that, the Rice squad is beginning to focus already on this fall’s season opener in the Rose Bowl.

"We're really excited about opening up in Los Angeles against UCLA," George said, grinning. "UCLA has some really big offensive linemen, so it will be fun to see what we can do."

The Owls had to swallow some bitter medicine year before last in facing rookie U of H Coach Art Briles in the season opener, high-powered offense and all. George recalled that game.

"That UH game year before last was a disaster," he said. "With a new coaching staff, we didn’t have any idea what they were going to do on offense. And we played like it. What did they do, hang up something like, 48, on us?"

"This time, we get to put a new offensive scheme on UCLA, and see how they react. We’re really focused on that game. We’re looking forward to it."

Those new bends in the river ahead make the drudgery of spring drills just a little bit easier to take.

--P.T.H.

Who was that masked man? It's Jonathan Turner!  Owl rookie defender acrobatically bats ball away from receiver... ..then positions himself to catch tip on the fly... ...looks like he's got himself a pickoff... ...and, sure enough, he turns into a return man, right quick --  definitely the 'Play of the Day'

Owls compete,
knock heads,
learn playbook

HOUSTON (Mar. 29) – Stiff competition continues to reign on the grass practice fields as Rice spring drills approached the halfway mark with Monday’s workout. The drill was labeled a "C"-type, which means that the players could tackle to the ground, but nevertheless the event was anything but a scrimmage-condition day, as Rice assistants continually broke down play reps to dissect the goings-on.

Despite an obvously increasing  level of drudgery posited by the continued routine, there nevertheless was a good deal of spirited hitting taking place. The fact that there seem to be more positions wide open appears to have enhanced intensity, across the board, Owl players said.

"It’s getting tougher out there now," redshirt soph DL George Chukwu told us after practice Monday. "Everybody wants to battle for a number one spot and they’re pretty much all giving it their best shots. We had some key losses from last year on defense – Jeremy Calahan, Terry Holley, Raymorris Barnes.... So the defensive coaches have been candid with us, in telling us that the positions are definitely not set. Nobody has a job guaranteed. We’re all going to have to earn our playing time."

While the somewhat-experienced defensive line toils in the trenches, the new-kids-on-the-block defensive secondary has made noticeable progress in the past couple of sessions. It could just be that, before,  the DLs weren’t that used to being bombarded with aerials, but this spring, with the offense’s added emphasis on multiple sets and a more, shall we say, robust, passing game, Owl cornerbacks and safeties have gotten a good workout, to say the least.

The kicking game, meanwhile,  remains somewhat on the hit-or-miss side, pun intended. But Rice head coach Ken Hatfield told us that’s something he and his staff plan on doing something about.

"We’re working hard on our kicking game," he said. "You know, we had a great one two years ago, but last year we just were not good at all. And so we’ve been spending a lot of time on it."

"We’ve done a lot of live punt returns; and we’re going to do some live kicking, every day we’re out here. We just need to have a good, solid kicking game going into that new conference."

Monday’s 11-on-11 offensive play reps tended to focus on running the option on formations other than the basic ‘bone. The deep stable of Rice running backs was run in one at a time, and each got his chance see how fast he could turn the corner against the defense. 

Sometimes the offense won, sometimes the defense won.  Does that mean parity?

The Owl offensive attack has proven to be sufficiently diverse, this spring, that the defensive side has taken to extensive audibling, each time the play comes up to the line. That begs the question: will the things that work ever-so-smoothly in the spring, function quite so flawlessly in September when the Owls take to the floor of the Rose Bowl and Texas Memorial Stadium, before just a whole bunch of folks?

Never mind that, at least for now. This spring’s routine has made it clear that our Wise Owl student-athletes are having to digest a veritable Math-100 of a playbook. And in that, the squad’s performance has been sufficiently crisp so as to hearten the handful of Owl Clubbers who’ve been showing up to watch drills.

Speaking of same, a controlled scrimmage is scheduled for 4 p.m. Friday – and that’s the closest Ken Hatfield’s staff gets to a spring game. Might be a good time to come on out.

--P.T.H.

Teammates egg on from the sideline as backs, linemen get down and dirty in Wednesday's 'Oklahoma' drills

Owl QB Joel Armstrong throws under pressure... ..and RB Quinton Smith is in the clear downfield to haul in the toss...   ...which prompts the sophomore QB to hustle downfield for a congratulatory chest-bump with his speedy teammate

‘Oklahoma’s OK
for feisty Owls

HOUSTON (March 23) – Perfect spring weather greeted the Rice Owls for the second practice session in a row as the Feathered Flock stretched its collective wings before several dozen gathered area high school coaches who were present on campus for an association meeting.

As the festivities revealed, this spring campaign is turning out, more than usual, as a free-for-all for open spots on the travel roster and in the starting lineup. So the competition is wide-open.

"A lot of the kids are playing with the enthusiasm that indicates they have a feeling that they’re really in a position, this spring, to earn themselves some playing time, come fall," Rice head coach Ken Hatfield told us on the way to the locker room afterwards.

One might add: the energy rush such wide-open roster engenders is made all the more evident to onlookers by the hoop-la associated with the Owls’ favorite spring activity, the so-called ‘Oklahoma’ drills.

Those ‘Oklahomas’ are a rough approximation to Marine boot camp’s Pugil Stick battles. In both cases, the whole squad lines up to form an arena and the combatants duke it out inside.

In this case, however, the cast of characters involves three offensive linemen, a quarterback and a running back going against a like number of defenders. When a score or a turnover occurs, pandemonium breaks loose and often it’s the assistant coaches who get even more worked up than do the players.

"We had a lot of fun, doing that today," Coach Hatfield said afterwards. "You’ve got to make your fun in the spring. It’s not all that much fun playing the same people over and over again every day."

The pleasant weather was a welcome turn from a spring calendar that kicked off in the midst of still-wintry weather conditions.

"Last week things started off cold and wet and that made us set everything back a day," Coach said. "But since then every day’s turned out like this," he added, gesturing to the clear, blue sky. "We backed up our spring schedule a few days just so if we had some rainy days we’d still be able to come on out."

With three young quarterbacks in need of grooming this spring, the initial nasty weather portended some scheduling difficulties. "When you’ve got quarterbacks trying to throw the ball and the weather is bad it gives you problems," Coach noted. "But in the spring in Houston you usually have so many pretty days like this you don’t have to worry about bad days."

"You’ve got 15 days; you know, we’re just going to scatter it out to where we get 15 good ones."

Another place where the Owl mentors are going to be looking at a lot of youngsters, and working them hard, is the offensive line. "You know, the offensive linemen are pretty much all new, anyway," Coach Hatfield noted. "And so we’re going to get a lot of scrimmage time with them, and the guys will have a chance to make the team."

Nice weather, plus high school spring breaks, plus the existence of eight area signees, means that some future Owls will likely be prowling the practice field sidelines some this spring. A couple of them were, Wednesday.

"We had an offensive lineman here visiting us here today, one of our signees," Coach said, "and the same thing; we told him, ‘we’re not redshirting ‘em, so you get ready to play.’

"It’s good when those signees can come in here and see the level of competition, what our practices are like. This year it’s especially good, because, of the 20 guys we’ve signed, eight of them are from the Houston area. So a lot of those guys will be here, watching our practices, at one time or another. They’ll get a chance to see the competition, the speed of the game – and that’s a real plus, having so many Houston boys on the team."

Still, there won’t be much time for socializing with onlookers, for the Rice staff has a full clipboard to contend with. Having to put in a lot of new offense, and run in a lot of new players, both at the same time, inevitably has got to complicate what coaches normally try to do during spring drills.

"It’s a tough combination because you’re trying to do everything with the offense," Coach allowed. "You want to get enough of it in, where you can scrimmage it, and see that parts that you think are going to help you, and then discard those that just don’t work for our kids or if it just doesn’t look good.."

But that’s an essential feature of spring drills, the Rice mentor added. "That’s what spring’s about, the experimentation," he said. "And it's about putting people at other positions."

As a case in point, the Rice staff took an encouraging step Wednesday in the effort to get its 22 most talented players on the field. "We moved Tommy Henderson   to a running back today," Coach told us, "just trying to get him on the field more. And he’s still going to take some quarterback snaps. But we are working him both places now.  That’s one."

That’s one down and a just whole bunch to go. So pray for more bluebird weather.

 --PTH

RB Mike Falco comes up with reception and turns downfield in Wednesday workout Rick Campbell showed his coaches a thing or two at wide receiver Monday

Spring drills hit stride
Hope springs anew
on grass practice field

HOUSTON (Mar. 21) – The Rice Owls engaged in their first serious head-butting of the spring practice campaign in a spirited two-hour, full-pads drill here on the grass practice fields Monday afternoon.

It’s clear that the Institute Boys are having to use their heads for something other than a battering-ram, though, this spring, for there’s a lot of new offensive formations and sets that are being fed by the Rice staff to their various charges, and the additional mental assignments are presenting a challenge on the field as well as in front of the chalk-board.

In Monday’s workout, for instance, a good 45 minutes was spent on pass routes, in which the center, quarterbacks, and receivers went through their steps against the defensive secondary.

At times, the workout seemed something like a Broadway-show rehearsal as players were calling out steps and counting out audibly. Other times, the practice took on a little of the characteristics of close-order drill at boot camp as the Rice assistants barked out orders on the fly, in mid-play.

What with all the on-the-job-training going on out there on the Rice practice field, it wasn’t easy to get the big picture of this team. There are a lot of newcomers, and a lot of spots that are going to have to be filled. That factor added, clearly, to the overall level of intensity. But a number of individuals did stand out, and received encouragment and compliments from their coaches and teammates.

Obviously, the place where the Owls stack up the deepest for the ‘05 campaign is at running back. Rice’s cache of halfbacks looked raring to go, although Thomas Lott sported the red-cross jersey and was held out of contact.

Two Rice backs really shined catching the ball coming out of the backfield, and you could just about guess who they were. Yup, number 22 and number 44.

Mike Falco returned to the field this spring bulkier, tougher and faster than before, and is now clearly being looked up to by some of the younger backs as a team leader. Mike made a couple of leaping, acrobatic catches, 15-20 yards deep in the flat – a place the Owls didn’t throw to, very often, last year. Similarly, on one pass pattern, Quinton Smith made an impressive, over-the-shoulder catch and outran the entire secondary to break into the clear. Q also looked to be the fastest hoss turning the corner on running plays, as well.

RB Bio Bilaye-Benibo gets pitch from QB Chase Clement and turns corner in Monday's workout

Andrew Cates ran tough and ran hard from the fullback position. On one play, he ripped through the entire center of the defense, dragging defenders with him 25 or 30 yards downfield.

Another development in the Rice backfield: Big tight end Joe Don Wood is now running at fullback, as well.  Joe played the position at least some in high school, and his height and bulk will give a dimension to the position that the Owls have mostly lacked since the days of Benji Wood. Joe appeared to be just getting his feet wet at the position, but his size will definitely be a plus.

And what about that stable of young quarterbacks? Well, there wasn’t much in the way of surprises here. The three youngsters, Joel Armstrong, Tommy Henderson and Chase Clement alternated, equal-time, at the man-under spot during 11-on-11 drills, and Joel, as last year’s starter, appeared to hold a slight edge over the other two based on his comfort zone at the position combined with his elusiveness.

Tommy Henderson is also running reps at wide-out and slot-back, so he’s got a huge playbook to memorize. His natural athleticism was apparent, wherever he lined up, but his unfamiliarity with the play repertoire meant that he was telegraphing his passes a bit more than his other two teammates.

Henderson took what was perhaps the biggest hit of the day as he went downfield as a pass receiver, only to get hammered by Andray Downs in a play that brought hoots and hollers from the guys watching the play on the sideline.

But, hey, no problem – this Henderson kid is every bit as tough as his big brother. After taking the hit, he hopped right up, dusted off his pants, and trotted back the huddle, no big deal.

Chase Clement got his share of reps, too, and showed perhaps the smoothest passing touch of the three quarterback hopefuls. While obviously less elusive than Armstrong and Henderson, Chase will present a different package of concerns for enemy defenses to engross themselves. With his height, he’s got excellent range of the playing field; he can throw under pressure, and he delivers an accurate, quick, but soft and easily catchable ball.

Naturally the amateur observer tends to focus on the offensive highlights, especially this early in the spring campaign. Yet, on the defensive side, it was apparent that Coach Farrar was calling out Matt Ginn’s name just a whole bunch of times during the workout, and he wasn’t taking it in vain.

Matt has not necessarily bulked up all that much, but played tough as nails, consistently running to the ball and getting into the defensive mix, whatever the call. Trey Coleman and Lance Byrd received a good workout, defending pass routes, and Aubrey White got his jersey plenty dirty, as well.

The Owls take Tuesday off, but return Wednesday for a workout before a gathering of the local high school coaches’ association members. That one might be a fun one to watch.

--P.T.H.

Practices kick off March 16
Rice staff extends 'open-door' policy
to Owl Clubbers for spring drills

Joel Armstrong enters spring drills as Owls' one experienced QB

HOUSTON (Mar. 7) – The Rice football Owls open spring drills March 16 on the grass practice fields in anticipation of a 2005 campaign that opens with consecutive road games at UCLA and Texas and then embarks on league play as a new member of Conference USA.

Rice coaches expect right at 70 players to dress out for spring practice, a mixture of veterans and greenhorns, lettermen and squadmen. Key skill position spots should be reasonably well-stocked, but spots in the offensive line and defensive secondary will be wide open, and may not be completely resolved until this year’s entering class of freshmen hit the campus in August.

"The NCAA allows us 15 days, total, for spring workouts," Rice head coach Ken Hatfield told us, "so we have to cram a lot of things into a short period of time."

"We must practice in shorts in 3 of the 15 days, and the first two workouts are definitely going to be in shorts."

"Our main goal, as always, will be to help the younger plays earn experience and gain confidence," he added.

The veteran Rice coach and his staff tend to focus on the fundamentals in the spring. Although a couple or three controlled scrimmages typically are held, once again this year there’ll be no game-condition scrimmages, and no spring game will take place.

One difference this time around, however, is the degree of welcome which is being extended to Owl fans. In the past, all practices were strictly closed to the public, although Owl fans who wanted to watch normally would be welcomed so long as the matter was cleared ahead of time with the coaching staff.

This year, however, the Welcome Wagon goes out to all Owl Club members.

"We usually practice on the grass practice field from 4 pm to 6 pm," Coach Hatfield said. "Owl Club members with their cards are most welcome at any time. If you have a portable stool or chair - you might want to bring it as there is shade but no sitting areas."

"This team has a great work ethic," he added, "and I’m anxious to begin football for the 2005 Conference USA season."

Names of squadmen and jersey numbers will be announced prior to the first workout. Depth charts are usually not kept – at least for public consumption – during the spring. A tentative schedule is set out below. But remember – no Owl Club card, no go.

2005 REVISED FIGHTIN’ OWL SPRING SCHEDULE

  A = No Contact, Headgear Only
B = No Tackle to Ground
C = Can Tackle 1/2 Practice
D = Can Tackle All Practice 

March/April 2005

 We'll have twice-a-week coverage of the workouts during this year's spring practice run, as well as photos, and player and coach's interviews on a regular basis starting March 17.

--PTH