Thought you would like to see a scouting report of Owls from Rice perspective.
We have 18 of 22 starters back and went 6-1 down stretch last year beating Air Force handily by a few TD's in our bowl game. Here is one site that has us ranked #36 in the country above a bunch of SEC names and other 'big time' programs. http://www.sports-ratings.com/college_football/ This team is not the typical Rice team of years ago. We are hoping that you approach us like a scrimmage and continue all the off-the-field drama/distractions….
Offense
We run the spread and a lot of 4WR formations but like to run first/pass second. QB's are both run/pass guys. I'm sure against A&M, will be even more run first to eat clock to keep A&M offense off-the-field. We will move the ball and likely be one of the top 5-6 offensive teams you will see this year. It is solid. Problem/Concern for us will be our D.
QB
We have two QB's that will see time. Taylor McHargue is leader of team and starter. Very good w/ feet, calls a good game, will make plays scrambling out of trouble, and throws a decent but not great ball. No jokes here but he was at Manning Camp and reports are that he has improved his throwing accuracy and deep ball throwing. We are anxious to see if that is true. Other guy, Driphius Jackson, is Soph. who has more talent and is future for program but still a bit raw. Very fast and good on perimeter.
RB
Our deepest position. Have 5-6 guys that will get touches. Our OC wants to run the ball first, pass second. Charles Ross is starter who has good size/speed and many at Rice are excited to see debut of frosh Darik Dillard who has really impressed in Spring and Fall Camp (brother Jarett played at Rice and set a bunch of national receiving records..now at Arizona Cardinals). You will likely see some 'Wild Owl' (Wildcat) formation likely as we have some ex HS QB's at RB who can run and throw.
WR
Jordan Taylor is our 6-5 all-conference WR and guy that will get most looks by our QB's. Good jumper and hands and deceptive speed. Other WR is Donte Moore is 4.4 guy that is fastest on team. Texans coach's and Aggie alum's son, Klein Kubiak, will get some touches as well. He has really improved.
TE
Biggest concern as we had our 1st team TE from last year now starts on 49ers as their 2nd round pick (McDonald), our second string guy was drafted by Seahawks and now starting there (Willson). So we have to replace some talented TE's. We have some big young guys and one of our big RB's (Eddington) who was also moved over to TE. Many close to Owls interested to see how Eddington is used in hybrid TE/RB role that we used w James Casey (former Texan, now w/ Eagles) successfully a few years ago.
OL
Historically a weakness at Rice as we have not had size, nor depth to compete against a big time school but after some really good recruiting, we finally have size, depth, and experience with all starters back to compete here… They got much better as a unit working together as season progressed last year so we are glad that your best DL is out for our game and some other young guys are playing for your DL which would make this part a very big mismatch of years past…a more even match-up.
Defense.
We run a 4-2-5 and have been horrible on defense for last 6+ years despite our head coach (Bailiff) being a former DC at TCU under Patterson. They finally showed some signs of life towards back-end of last year but no question that the D's ability to step-up will be the difference between this being a competitive game w/ Aggie fans nervous about their team vs. 2+ TD blow-out game.
DL
We lost one of our best DL and All-Conference guys (Shahin) in Spring Camp. We are thin here and it is probably biggest area of concern. Our DE's are decent with Bauer being the best guy who can get pressure but this group needs to step-up to have a chance.
LB
Nwosu is our best guy and we have a variety of other guys Radcliffe, Lyons, Kutzler that will get snaps. Lyons is a highly touted recruit that is going to see his first action in this game. Owls very excited to see how he does.
DB
Our best position on D. We have two all-conference CB's who will be playing in the NFL (Gaines and Callahan). Gaines was named as pre-season defensive player of year in C-USA. That allows us to overcome some our other issues up-front as we can load a bunch in the box and have guys who can lock down outside the hashes. Corey Frazier (son of Vikings head coach) is our safety who is back after missing all last year and Paul Porras is strong safety who is good tackler and will probably have 10+ tackles in this game as he will be the guy coming up filling in holes to make sure that 3-5 yd gains don't become 10-20 yd gains.
Special Teams.
We have arguably the best kicker in the country (Boswell) who was second-team All-American and Lou Groza Award list guy. Strong leg and can make anything inside 60. I think he has NCAA record for most FG's of 50+ yards. We don't have a good punter and this is an area of concern. Return teams and coverage teams have both improved dramatically from years past but by SEC standards, nothing special..but they are finally competitive.
Coaching/Other Notes
Bailiff is in year seven of building a program. A year ago at this time most wanted him fired as the results had not matched the recruiting success he has had. Knows how to recruit in Texas. However, his success down-the-stretch has earned him an extension. He is very close to Sumlin. They are good friends. Bailiff is a very nice guy, good ambassador for Rice, graduated 100% of the kids last year, and has integrated into the Rice community.. The only thing missing has been the on-the-field W's which everyone sees this as the year for him. Historically, one of the knocks on Bailiff is that he does not play aggressive in big out-of-conference games early in season. Conservative approach which I think many have asked him about as it relates to this game to ensure that he does not do that. In general, Rice is a disciplined team that will not have a bunch of penalties and does not turn the ball over much.
My $.02 after watching us for a long time will be our ability to come out of the gate strong. Most experts believe that this game could be even at half w/ A&M pulling away in 2H. I actually think the opposite. In game one last year, we actually beat UCLA last year after the first six min of game. We came out slow, could not adjust to speed of game (vs camp speed) and once we got settled in, looked fine/evenly matched but it was too late. I think same is true for this game. If we can withstand the crowd, noise, game speed, etc. of the 1Q and keep it close, I think we have a chance to surprise some people…not necessarily with a W but with a competitive game that can have many Aggie fans concerned about the rest of the season….
Bottom line is that we are definitely not Alabama but we are not Sam Houston either. Failure to show-up ready-to-play thinking this is the Rice team of years past could cause some concern in Aggieland.. Good Luck…
