Rice Owls

Head Coach

David Bailiff	2nd year
07-08	3-9
C-USA	3-5
FCR	104

Previous Season Wins

Head Coach - The Owls were a disappointing 3-9 in David Bailiff 1st season, this following their first bowl appearance in 45 years. Rice had the 15th ranked passing attack and return eight starters on offense including quarterback Chase Clements, so scoring won’t be a problem, but improvement is needed defensively and they’re simply not deep enough to overcome injuries in any numbers.

Quarterback - Record setting quarterback Chase Clements returns for his senior campaign poised to put up huge numbers in the potent Rice attack. He’s a dual threat option who threw for 3,377 yards and 29 TD’s while rushing for 535 yards and adding 8 TD’s on the ground, expect to see similar numbers in 08’.

Running Backs - At running back junior C.J. Ugokwe was the starter last year but was injured early on and missed much of the season. Competing for time with Ugokwe will be junior Marcus Knox and sophomore Justin Hill who had 321 yards rushing last season. Junior Terrance Garmon has moved from receiver to running back and he’ll add depth, he has the speed to get outside and be a factor.

Receivers - Senior Jarett Dillard returns for his final season and the 1st team All- C-USA player is poised for another monster year. He posted 79 catches for 1,057 yards and 14 TD’s , look for All-American honors for Dillard this season. Also returning are senior Tommy Henderson and junior Toren Nixon who combined for 82 receptions with 8 TD’s. At tight end is sophomore James Casey who earned Freshman All-American honors last season, he had 46 receptions for 585 yards and 4 TD’s, the powerful Casey was also used in short yardage situations and scored five times on the ground.

Offensive Line - Upfront and returning are at left tackle is sophomore Scott Mitchell, although he a bit light he’s extremely athletic and will be the units anchor for the next three season. The interior will be senior dominated with Jimmy Miller at left guard, at right guard David Berken and at center Austin Wilkinson, they’ll be joined by newcomer Tyler Parish a redshirt freshman who’ll be at right tackle.

Defensive Line - The Owls were 100th against the run last season and must replace both of their interior lineman, getting the chance to start will be at defensive tackle junior Chance Talbert and at nose guard senior Chris Ptaszek. On the outside at defensive end they return a pair of sophomores Scott Solomon and Cheta Ozougwu, they were forced to learn under fire last season and responded well, they combined for 91 tackles and Solomon added 4 ½ sacks.

Linebackers - Seniors Brian Raines and Vernon James both return, and in reserve they have juniors Terrance Garmon and Robert Calhoun. Raines led the way with 81 tackles and 3 sacks while James added 74 tackles and one sack. It’s a seasoned group who all possess good speed, but will need for the front four contribute better against the run for them to be effective.

Defensive Backs - Rice deploys a 4-2-5 defense and in the secondary and three starters return led by junior free safety Andrew Sendejo, led the team last season with 107 tackles and 5 INT’s. Senior Brandon King returns at one corner and at strong safety sophomore Willie Garley also returns, King is a three year starter and Garley had 33 tackles in his freshman campaign. At the other corner will be sophomore Joseph Leary and manning the KAT will be senior Bencil Smith.

Special Teams - Junior placekicker Clark Fangmeier returns, he was only 7 of 12 and lacks much range, redshirt freshman Mark Brundage has earned the job as punter coming out of spring. Rice was the worst team in America last season in combined returns and they’ll look to the incoming players for contributions.

Schedule - Non-conference they must travel to Vandy and Texas early but they should be able to get by North Texas and Army. At Tulsa’s another loss but they miss UCF and East Carolina and that’s a plus, they close at home against Houston and a winning record could be there for the taking. Look for the Owls to score and fight to get to .500 and a possible bowl invite, Rice gets 7+ wins in 08’.