OFFENSE: A new era and new style of offensive attack begins in 2006 for the Owls and that all has to do with first-year head coach Todd Graham.
The former Tulsa defensive coordinator has decided to dump the Owls' option attack and instead open up the offense with a spread formation. Chase Clement is slated to be the starting quarterback, although now converted wideout Joel Armstrong may be in the running as well.
Clement, however, is the more accurate passer and is coming off a freshman campaign in which he threw for 582 yards with five touchdowns and six interceptions. However, one of the biggest problems for Clement and coach Graham is the lack of experience at receiver now that the team is switching offensive philosophies.
Jarett Dillard highlights a thin corps of wide receivers after catching a team-high 35 passes for five touchdowns last season. The 35 receptions were the most by a Rice player since 1993. Taking some of the pressure off the passing attack will be running back Quinton Smith, who earned Second Team All-CUSA honors in '05 after rushing for 902 yards (6.4 ypc). He will be aided by an offensive line that welcomes back three starters.
DEFENSE: Much like the offense, the Rice defense will have a new look this fall as the switch has been made to a 3-3-5 formation. That is good news for Rice which ranked 116th in the nation in scoring defense (40.6 ppg) last season.
The Owls welcome back six defensive starters, including two in the trenches. Nose guard George Chukwu is the team's top returning defensive lineman as he posted 30 stops a year ago. In the middle of the field is where Rice lacks experience, as Brian Raines, Vernon James and Marcus Rucker will debut as starters at linebacker. None of the trio played much last season and will need to catch on quickly if the Owls are to show any significant improvement on defense.
As for the secondary, it should be the strength of this unit considering four of five starters are back. Safeties Chad Price (52 stops) and Andray Downs (58 tackles) have started more than 25 games in their careers, and should provide the team with a great deal of experience.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Luke Juist takes over the field goal kicking duties after splitting time with Brennan Landry last year. Juist has a powerful leg, but lacks accuracy. He made two field goals last season, including one from 53 yards. Jared Scruggs will once again handle the punting chores after averaging 42.8 yards per boot last season.
OUTLOOK: Rice made the right move by hiring Graham, who has already made an impact by switching from a run-oriented attack to a spread offense. It will take a few years before Graham has all the pieces in place, but at least the Owls are on the right track. A tough non-conference schedule that includes bouts against UCLA, Texas and Florida State will have Rice among the worst teams in the nation once again this season, although it should be able to at least match its one win from 2005.
© 2006 The Sports Network
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