Rice
Owls

Rice Team Report

Updated: February 03, 2012 03:29 EST

After posting his third straight losing record in 2010, and fourth in the past five years, David Bailiff needs to see Rice's win total improve in a hurry. It's appropriate, then, that Bailiff just wrapped up what he described as the fastest class of incoming recruits he's ever signed at Rice.

That influx of speed definitely should come in handy on defense. Rice allowed 462 yards per game last season, ranking among the bottom 20 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision for the fifth straight year under Bailiff. The Owls also were pretty generous in scoring defense, surrendering 40-plus points in five of their 12 games, including a 56-31 beat down at the hands of Baylor and Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III, and a 73-34 loss to crosstown foe Houston.

"You look at the issues that we've had and it's usually a speed issue," Bailiff told reporters in Houston when discussing his signing class. "We've got to continue to get faster. The game has changed so much with the spread (offense) you almost need to play with four corners. That's how the game's evolving, and we've got to keep up with the game."

The class includes six defensive backs -- comprising one-fourth of the entire signing class of 24 players.

Rice has to start keeping up with the rest of Conference USA, too. Since going 10-3 in 2008, the Owls have logged 10 wins -- total -- in the subsequent three seasons. Bailiff heads into 2012 with two years to go on his contract, and also does so with a revamped defensive staff after dismissing defensive coordinator Chuck Driesbach after the 2011 campaign concluded.

Typically, when a head coach makes major staff changes, it puts that coach behind the 8-ball should a team's win-loss record fail to improve. That definitely appears to be the case at Rice.

TOP OF THE CLASS

RB Darik Dillard (Cedar Hill High School/Cedar Hill, Tex.) -- The Dillard name is already well known to Rice faithful. The younger brother of former All-American Rice WR Jarrett Dillard rushed for 4,000-plus yards in his high school career and earned 5A all-state honors in Texas.

C Nate Richards (Trinity Valley Community College/Keller, Tex.) -- The tough academic requirements at Rice usually prevent the Owls from recruiting junior-college players. That makes Richards the exception and, at 6-4 and 305 pounds, a big exception. He enrolled in January and should challenge for the starting job at center this spring.

K/P Cameron Decell (Boyd High School/McKinney, Tex.) -- Rice has a huge void at punter, where former All-American Kyle Martens must be replaced. Decell, an accomplished punter, kicker and wide receiver, will have his chance to win the job.

--Rice coach David Bailiff decided not to bring back defensive coordinator Chuck Driesbach or running backs coach Rick LaFavers after the 2011 season. Chris Thurmond previously served as cornerbacks coach on Bailiff's staff. Bailiff also hired Larry Hoefer to coach safeties, filling the vacancy created by Driesbach's termination, and promoted quality control coach David Sloan to become the new position coach for tight ends.

As Bailiff celebrated his incoming recruiting class, he learned of another vacancy on the staff. Defensive line coach Derrick Jackson was set to leave and join the staff at Wake Forest, according to a Feb. 2 report by the Houston Chronicle.

--Athletic director Rick Greenspan told the Houston Chronicle he had "full confidence" that the Owls could become a bowl team again under Bailiff's direction, during a recent Q&A with the newspaper.

"I think the challenges of Rice are pretty well enunciated," Greenspan said. "We have very high academic expectations of our student-athletes, which therefore means you've got a more narrow recruiting slice. ... That being said, there's nothing that says you have to lose and be smart or you have to be smart and lose. They are not mutually exclusive."

SPRING SNAPSHOT:

Practice priorities: Where to begin? Rice has to adjust to a new defensive coordinator, albeit one promoted from within, and improve both a defense that ranked among the worst in Division I in yards allowed. The Owls also have to improve on a pedestrian offense that scored 30-plus points just three times with two of those occasions coming in blowout losses. In terms of personnel, the Owls will miss DE Scott Solomon and P Kyle Martens most of all.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "All these safeties and corners tackle in space; they've very physical. They're hard-hitting, and that's where this game is going. You've got to have those guys that have the ability to operate in space, especially in Conference USA with the space the offenses are creating." -- Rice coach David Bailiff, on national signing day, regarding the six DB prospects in his 2012 class.

KEY LOSSES: DE Scott Solomon tied the school career record for sacks. That type of production won't be replaced overnight. Rice also has to find a new punter after losing multiyear starter Kyle Martens, a former All-America honoree. Several of the starting offensive linemen also must be replaced, along with RB Tyler Smith, the team's leading rusher in 2011.

PLAYERS TO WATCH IN 2012:

QB Taylor McHargue -- He began the 2011 season as the starter but lost his job to Nick Fanuzzi due to a combination of ineffectiveness and injury. McHargue needs to put together a strong spring to assert his hold on the position once again. His chief competition should come from redshirt freshman Driphus Jackson.

LB Cameron Nwosu -- Nwosu racked up 108 tackles and scored two touchdowns last season, becoming the first Rice player with a triple-digit tackle total in the past few years. Not bad for a guy in his first go-around as a starter.

PK Chris Boswell -- Rice's specialist already is rapidly climbing the school chart for field goals made in a career, as well as total points.

TE Luke Wilson -- A former minor-league baseball player in the Toronto Blue Jays' system, Wilson looked like he was poised to break out for the Owls but after totaling 104 yards on seven catches in a midseason game with Tulsa, he hurt his ankle and barely dented the stat sheet in Rice's final five games. Having Wilson healthy for a full season would do wonders for the Rice offense.

PLAYER NOTES

--RB Sam McGuffie missed five games last season with a nagging ankle injury, but he's apparently back at full strength. McGuffie is competing in the heptathlon for the Owls' track team during its indoor season.

--CB Bryce Callahan and WR Mario Hull both were named to the Sporting News' Freshman All-America Team.

--DE David Wilganowski won't play a single down for Rice but he will still be a part of the 2012 class. Wilganowski's football career ended abruptly in September when he was diagnosed with a heart condition but Rice coach David Bailiff still decided to honor his scholarship offer and said Wilganowski will have some sort of role helping the program.

"Doing the right thing never goes out of style," Bailiff said on signing day. "I know that was the right thing for us to do."