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August 25, 2006 > Sports > Football shows new looks on new field

Football shows new looks on new field

By Nathan Bledsoe | Thresher Editorial Staff

The football team capped its summer workout sessions with a scrimmage on Rice Stadium’s new turf Saturday in preparation for its season opener against the University of Houston Sept. 2. The contest came at the end of two months of schooling and conditioning, all part of a program that is new to Rice but now commonplace among Division I-A programs.

“As far as I know, all the teams in Division I have a summer school program in place, head football coach Todd Graham said. “But they certainly don’t all get a 100 percent participation rate. We even had our (incoming) freshmen out here with us.”

Players spent a taxing few months taking up to six hours per summer term while undergoing intense workouts with strength and conditioning coach Yancy McKnight. In addition to the workouts, the team ate and spent leisure time together, with the intent of building camaraderie and team spirit.

Players said they were pleased with the outcome of the training sessions, which served as a much needed confidence boost before preseason workouts began August 7th.

“The days were so long, but we all really worked hard,” redshirt freshman defensive end Travis Mason said. “You can really see the results.”

The team, faced with learning new schemes on top of physical preparation, is adjusting well. Graham has held one or two practices a day, with walk-throughs and position meetings throughout the day.

On Saturday, the team brought in Conference USA officials for an intrasquad scrimmage in front of Rice Orientation Week advisers. The team gave old Western Athletic Conference jerseys to advisers of new recruits.

The game was marked by penalties, which is normal for preseason play. The defense looked slightly ahead of the offense, but both sides showed flashes of promise, as well as streaks of ineffectiveness.

The Owl defense showed a wide variety of fronts and personnel sets, and the offense similarly varied formations — both under-center and shotgun sets were shown with various player combinations.

Sophomore starting quarterback Chase Clement showed sound decision-making when pressured in the pocket. Despite the penalties, both the offensive and defensive lines adjusted well to their new responsibilities. The option play that characterized former head coach Ken Hatfield’s offense did appear in the scrimmage, but it was used as a change-up and not as the basis of the offense.

In addition to the progress made on the field, the football team welcomed a new look to Rice Stadium. The seats in both end zones have been removed, dropping the capacity from about 70,000 to less than 50,000. The spaces formerly filled by the old bleachers have been partially covered in black tarps. At some point, the spaces may be converted to event areas or other usable space. All of the wooden bleachers have been replaced with the metal ones, and the entire stadium has been power-washed.

While the renovations are noticeable, the project is an ongoing one, as there are supports awaiting bleachers in the upper deck. Graham’s raised close to $6 million so and said the renovations will continue.

At the time of press, the new info-center scoreboard had not been erected, but Graham said that the scoreboard would be ready for the Sept. 2 opener against the University of Houston.

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