Rice Owls 2003

by Otus Owl

As another football season approaches, we see yet another set of gloomy predictions by the pre-season publications for the Rice Owls. Even though Rice returns 30 letterman, and was, as collegefootballnews.com says "a far better team than the 4-7 record in 2002 might indicate", Rice is (again) frequently picked to finish at or near the bottom of the WAC.

That's OK, Rice fans are used to rooting for the underdog. The Rice defense is certainly going to be viewed as an underdog squad, and is the reason many are picking the Owls to struggle. The offense, on the other hand, is a veteran group that promises to run Coach Ken Hatfield's trademark version of the option the way he likes to see it run, and maybe drive a few defensive coordinators nuts in the process.

Offense:

The Rice rushing attack hopes to return to its 2001 form, when the Owls motored for 3375 yards. Despite losing some of its potency last year, the Rice offense still proved formidable, though inconsistent. This was due, in part, to the fact that Offensive Coordinator and Line Coach Scott Wachenheim had to replace five out of the six (if you count tight end) of his guys in the trenches.

Offensive Line

It bodes well for Coach Wachenheim, then, that this year he will see an experienced line to power the offensive attack. Veterans OT Greg Wilson (6-4/310), OT Chris DeMunbrun (6-4/295), Stanford transfer OG Mike Holman (6-4/285), OG Micah Meador (6-2/295), and C Ben Stephens (6-2/300) all have numerous starts under their belts. Because of the injuries of last year, they didn't always play together, so an early indicator of success will be how fast this unit can gel. Joe Wood will replace Travis Thompson at TE, and Wood demonstrated excellent blocking ability in the spring, which is good since that is mainly what the tight end does in the Rice offense.

Quarterbacks

Rice is both blessed and cursed with two excellent quarterbacks: Kyle Herm and Greg Henderson. It's a blessing to have two go-to guys that can run and throw so well, but a two-quarterback system always has the potential to disrupt offensive consistency.

Kyle Herm is a compact, elusive runner with the ability to throw the nice touch pass; he gave teams fits in 2001, coming close to both rushing and passing for 1000 yards each. Herm shared much more time with Greg Henderson last year -- interestingly, they both were WAC offensive players of the week last year.

Greg Henderson is more of a power runner and throws a harder pass, though with less accuracy than Herm. Both have the ability to hit the home run on the ground or through the air. It will be key for the coaching staff to blend and utilize both these talents in 2003.

Wide Receivers

Yes, Rice does have wide receivers, and some good ones, though the Owls will dearly miss Gavin Boothe, the gifted wideout who transferred to a more pass-oriented Tarleton State.

Hoping to duplicate the success of his exciting freshman season is Marcus Battle, . A deep threat on play-action fakes will be former quarterback Jeremy Hurd, who has been timed at 4.29 in the 40 and averaged 26 yards per catch last year. Hurd has fought through injuries during his career at Rice, but if he can stay healthy, he will be another weapon.

Running Backs

Fullback Robbie Beck will be the workhorse for Rice this year. Beck is a four-year starter and will likely end up in the top five in every career rushing category at Rice, and deservedly so. Beck is fast, tough, and gets stronger as the game goes on. His backup, Ed Bailey, is almost as good.

Starting at tailback will be former quarterback Joe Moore and Clint "no relation" Hatfield. Moore has power and speed to spare and played a bit last year, but will now be counted on to keep the chains moving as a starter. Hatfield was a human highlight reel two years ago, proving to be impossible to tackle. Though a bit less effective last year, he still showed flashes of brilliance to go with his trademark determination. If he can regain his 2001 form, he and Moore will make a nifty duo to complement Beck.

Players to watch:

Robbie Beck (FB), Kyle Herm (QB), Marcus Battle (WR)

Newcomers:

Mike Falco (RB), Thomas Lott (RB), Rolf Krueger (OL)

Defense:

The Rice defense has more question marks, and perhaps potential, than in recent years.

New faces

Last year saw tough veterans like Brandon Green, B.J. Forguson, and Greg Gatlin returning. This year will see many new faces. Unfortunately, for various reasons, Rice lost several defensive players expected to make solid contributions this year: Kevin Ford (SS), John White (FS), and Jason Benjamin (CB).

This means some players will have to step into roles sooner than they might have expected, especially in the secondary. But this is the WAC, so being thin in the secondary is no big deal, right? (cue nervous laughter)

Secondary

The good news for Owl fans is that Coach Hatfield has talent waiting in the wings to go with more experienced players. Two-year starter Raymorris Barnes will move from CB to FS, two-year starter Patrick Dendy will return at one CB spot, while redshirt freshman Lance Byrd will man the other corner spot.

Rice runs a 4-2-5, and the two other safeties will probably be sophomore Michael Merrick and seasoned junior Terry Holley. Merrick (who carries a 4.0 GPA in economics) and Byrd (who quarterbacked the practice squad last year) will have to grow up fast if Rice is going to have a chance of slowing down potent WAC offenses.

Interestingly, Merrick led the only high school defense to hold Cedric Benson to under 100 yards when the two players' teams squared off in the Texas High School playoffs. If Merrick can achieve the same feat when Rice plays the Texas Longhorns, the Owls might put a scare into the burnt orange faithful.

Linebackers

Rice's two linebackers will probably be sophomore Adam Herrin and senior Jeff Vanover, who was All-WAC last year and the team leader in tackles. Herrin and Vanover, both about 6-0/220 are a bit undersized by Big 10 standards (of course, Big 10 linebackers don't have to run as much as WAC linebackers); but these guys have the speed to cover and can also deliver a wallop. They will be effective if the Owl defensive line can keep opposing lineman from getting a straight shot at the linebackers.

Defensive Line

Speaking of defensive line, defensive coordinator Roger Hinshaw will have to find someone to fill the big shoes of the previously mentioned Brandon Green (now a Jacksonville Jaguar) and B.J. Forguson. Junior DT Jeremy Calahan (6-3/285) has two years of experience and plenty of starts under his belt; he's also strong and physical. The other half of the interior defensive line consists of Ross Lassley (6-3/295), a senior who has been a backup until this year.

Defensive ends Rob Daniel (6-3/245) and Jimmy Shaw (6-4/260) will probably end up as starters. Shaw, perhaps the first Pennsylvania player ever to play for Rice, is only a redshirt freshman, but is seen by some as a potential successor to Brandon Green.

It's interesting that collegefootballnews.com said "this is not a big line", when the Owls average exactly the same size (6-3/271) as Oklahoma's all-world line. Of course, I'm not trying to say Rice's is as good, but at least don't knock Rice for the size of their D-line.

Players to watch:

Jeff Vanover (LB), Raymorris Barnes (FS), Jimmy Shaw (DE)

Newcomers:

Jimmy Shaw (DE), Stephen Wood (FS), Omeke Alikor (LB)

Predictions

Predicted WAC finish (minus Rice):

Boise
Fresno
Hawaii
LaTech
Nevada
SMU
SJSU
UTEP
Tulsa

Predicted Regular Season Record: 8-4

Wins: Houston, Duke, San Jose State, Navy, Nevada, Tulsa, UTEP, LaTech
Losses: Texas, Hawaii, Fresno State, SMU

Schedule, with Predicted Results

W	at Houston	Houston has a new coach, Rice avenges last year
W	at Duke	Duke coach is a great guy, but he's no Coach K
L	Texas	Vincent Young or Chance Mock? Rice will likely go down either way
L	at Hawaii	Rice has never lost in the islands, but Timmy Chang is too much
W	San Jose State	Spartans ask: "How can it be so hot in October?"
W	Navy	Midshipmen will be improved -- so will Rice
L	at Fresno State	Rice at Fresno is usually ugly for the Owls
W	Nevada	Rice home advantage too much for Wolf Pack
W	Tulsa	Should be closer than last year's blowout
L	at SMU	Rice always lays an egg in Dallas
W	UTEP	Can the Miners kick another 59-yard field goal?
W	at LaTech	Rice finishes strong!