Rice Owls College Football Pregame Quote, 10/12/2021

It was great to be back on the field yesterday and back on a normal Monday if you will in the swing of game week. It was also beneficial to have the recovery time for our players. Allow them to rest up and catch up on their books and academics. It was also great for our staff to get out and recruit nationally and get to some unbelievable players here in the state of Texas. That was a lot of fun.

This weekend, we play a very experienced, tough UTSA football team. I have a lot of respect for Coach Traylor and what he’s done with that program but also what he did as a head high school football coach in the state. Obviously, he’s an unbelievable coach. They’re the top team in our conference and they are sound in all three phases. They bring a lot to the table and they are a good football team. I’m confident in how we’ve been preparing thus far and I know the team shares the same excitement that I do about playing in San Antonio on Saturday.

On what makes him so enthusiastic to play UTSA after having the game canceled last year due to COVID:

There’s two things. It’s a conference game and those things matter. The ability to play every one and to try to go 1-0 every time you get to play one. Also, the fact that it is in the state. A lot of our kids played with those guys or against those guys in high school and have known them for years. So that was just a big one. I can’t honestly remember the order that they got canceled. It just seemed like every time one got canceled, the rug was swept out from under us. That was tough. But, we want to play these games and we love the fact that they are an in-state and a conference opponent.

On the bye week:

It was a great week because we were able to get healthier. Nobody is healthy in Week 7 of the season. But, we got some guys back and they looked great. We also got some young guys some work. We had an opportunity to have an ‘Opportunity Bowl’ if you will. We got to see those guys fly around and that’s going to be awesome because it will allow us to move some of those guys up the depth chart and get them more involved this year. Whether it’s in special teams or a role on offense and defense. So I would say it was a very good bye week. We got exactly what we needed out of it.

On where Jake Constantine and Luke McCaffrey are on the progression of the offense:

They took some really good steps. Every week is just reps on top of reps. That’s how we all learn and that’s how we get more comfortable within systems. We’ve talked about it many times. Some people learn visually by seeing or auditorially by hearing. But we all learn best by doing. The more times on task and the more reps they can get; I just believe reps are the mother of all learning. So they’re all doing better. We’re pleased where our two quarterbacks are and they are continuing to come along.

On what stands out on UTSA:

I think they are an outstanding defense. We got a chance to start watching their tape last week and here’s what I see. I see a bunch of guys that feel like they can dazzle you with dance instead of BS. They do such a good job. You watch their explosive cutup and I don’t know if there’s a single run when they are just in their 3-4 technique. They have these strong guys that are unbelievable with their hands. They get their hands on you like a two-gapper does and they’re blocked until they’re not. They violently shed. It reminds me a lot of playing the Pittsburgh Steelers back in the 2008, 2009 and 2010 seasons. They are just so good at their hands at shedding. So anyway, you watch the explosive cutup and the only time you see explosive runs are when they are out of position. But they are so good at what they do. They’re safeties are so active. I don’t know that our conference has seen a defense like this since maybe 2018 UAB. It is just a dominant group out there. It’s an old, veteran group. I think nine of their 11 starters are seniors or super seniors. They are a very good group. They’re very well-coached.

Offensively, it all starts with Sincere(McCormick). He’s such a great runner. He’s as productive as any running back in our conference. I think he’s over 3,000 yards rushing now. They have two explosive guys on the outside. Zakhari Franklin, who we saw live and in-person two years ago and Josh Cephus, who our fans know because we had Aaron here. The biggest difference, to me, in their last game was the growth of their quarterback. Frank Harris is playing like a pro. He’s looking like a pro and making throws down the stretch when they need him to. Special teams-wise, they are as sound as you’re going to be with probably the best specialist in the conference. So they are, from top to bottom, an outstanding team. I believe they have 18 super seniors, which is outstanding. That’s why they are so experienced. But, my hat is off to them for how well they’ve coached up every area, every phase in terms of offense, defense and special teams. They’re just a great challenge. Every area you look at, there’s just no holes. They’re just a solid football team that is going to make you earn everything.