Spring football starts tomorrow. Adam Coleman has a Five Things to Watch article. Spring football practice schedule, with the spring game set for April 7.

The riceowls.com roster has been updated. I compared it to the 2016 end-of-season roster to see what changes there were. Here is a list of changes (alphabetically). I underlined the guys who are no longer on the roster without exhausting their eligibility and bolded the addition to the roster:

Carter, Ty - RS Jr DS apparently not coming back for a 5th season
Cella, Conner - Sr TE exhausted eligibility
Davis, Jowan - Sr RB exhausted eligibility
Dawkins, Brandon - RS Sr exhausted eligibility
Decell, Cameron - RS Sr WR (former punter) exhausted eligibility
Dillard, Darrick - RS Sr RB exhausted eligibility
Edwards, Isaiah - RS Fr OL removed from roster
Gotelli, TJ - RS Fr walk-on removed from roster
Henessee, Cody - RS Sr DL exhausted eligibility
Johnson, Collin - RS Sr DE exhausted eligibility
Johnson, Connor - RS Sr DE exhausted eligibility
Lyons, Alex - RS Sr LB exhausted eligibility
Mayden, James - Jr WR removed from roster
McGaskey, Tabari - RS Sr S exhausted eligibility
Mitchell, Reid - RS Sr TE exhausted eligibility
Neumeyer, Castin - RS Fr OL removed from roster
Patterson, Connor - RS Sr OL exhausted eligibility
Pollard, Darrion - RS Sr WR exhausted eligibility
Sanchez, Jonathan - Fr TE added to roster greyshirt from 2016 recruiting class
Stehling, Tyler - RS Sr QB exhausted eligiblity
Thompson, JP - RS So S removed from roster
Tracy, Kevin - RS So K walk-on removed from roster
Wright, Zach - RS Sr WR exhausted eligilibity

I think it had been mentioned in other threads, but Mayden is gone, along with Edwards and Neumeyer, 2 OL players from the 2015 recruiting class. Not sure how much that hurts OL depth moving forward.

Edwards is now at Independence CC in Kansas, and Mayden is at New Mexico Highlands University.

I didn't realize that Castin Neumeyer wasn't on the roster. That explains the concerns about O line depth during signing day given that Isaiah Edwards was missing as well.

Neumeyer is still at Rice. Medical casualty.

Can't say that any of the changes make me feel worse about the upcoming season.

I am actually a bit hopeful that the removal of some good RBs means that we can pick one or two guys to focus on now. To me, Stewart seems like a potential All Conference back, but we would so often sub him out or not even play him that I don't think it was easy for him to find a rhythm.

The key, like it has been the past few years, is to see if we can find a competent QB and an o-line to protect them. Well, and a defense that knows how to play.

Dang, that's a lot of keys.

I would think Lyons and McGaskey the biggest losses...

Edwards was a man-mountain. Sure wish we could've held on to him. I shook hands with him last year and he was a monster. I'm a big guy and he had to look down at me. Very little body fat.

(03-01-2017 01:33 PM)RiceLad15 Wrote:  Can't say that any of the changes make me feel worse about the upcoming season.

I am actually a bit hopeful that the removal of some good RBs means that we can pick one or two guys to focus on now. To me, Stewart seems like a potential All Conference back, but we would so often sub him out or not even play him that I don't think it was easy for him to find a rhythm.

The key, like it has been the past few years, is to see if we can find a competent QB and an o-line to protect them. Well, and a defense that knows how to play.

Dang, that's a lot of keys.

The defense will improve, but the key is to find a reliable QB.

(03-01-2017 09:43 PM)Buho00 Wrote:  

(03-01-2017 01:33 PM)RiceLad15 Wrote:  Can't say that any of the changes make me feel worse about the upcoming season.

I am actually a bit hopeful that the removal of some good RBs means that we can pick one or two guys to focus on now. To me, Stewart seems like a potential All Conference back, but we would so often sub him out or not even play him that I don't think it was easy for him to find a rhythm.

The key, like it has been the past few years, is to see if we can find a competent QB and an o-line to protect them. Well, and a defense that knows how to play.

Dang, that's a lot of keys.

The defense will improve, but the key is to find a reliable QB.

Wasting the opportunity last season to get our young backup QB's some meaningful minutes is baffling.

(03-01-2017 10:29 PM)Rice93 Wrote:  

(03-01-2017 09:43 PM)Buho00 Wrote:  

(03-01-2017 01:33 PM)RiceLad15 Wrote:  Can't say that any of the changes make me feel worse about the upcoming season.

I am actually a bit hopeful that the removal of some good RBs means that we can pick one or two guys to focus on now. To me, Stewart seems like a potential All Conference back, but we would so often sub him out or not even play him that I don't think it was easy for him to find a rhythm.

The key, like it has been the past few years, is to see if we can find a competent QB and an o-line to protect them. Well, and a defense that knows how to play.

Dang, that's a lot of keys.

The defense will improve, but the key is to find a reliable QB.

Wasting the opportunity last season to get our young backup QB's some meaningful minutes is baffling.

I think you mean significant minutes. They got some, but not nearly enough, especially once it was obvious the season was done.

(03-01-2017 10:29 PM)Rice93 Wrote:  

(03-01-2017 09:43 PM)Buho00 Wrote:  

(03-01-2017 01:33 PM)RiceLad15 Wrote:  Can't say that any of the changes make me feel worse about the upcoming season.

I am actually a bit hopeful that the removal of some good RBs means that we can pick one or two guys to focus on now. To me, Stewart seems like a potential All Conference back, but we would so often sub him out or not even play him that I don't think it was easy for him to find a rhythm.

The key, like it has been the past few years, is to see if we can find a competent QB and an o-line to protect them. Well, and a defense that knows how to play.

Dang, that's a lot of keys.

The defense will improve, but the key is to find a reliable QB.

Wasting the opportunity last season to get our young backup QB's some meaningful minutes is baffling.

Perhaps the term should be Bailiffing.

Is anyone else as saddened as I am by the overwhelming silence with regard to Spring football workouts?

(03-07-2017 04:43 PM)Pan95 Wrote:  Is anyone else as saddened as I am by the overwhelming silence with regard to Spring football workouts?

Just keep expectation low to avoid another heartbroken season.

after put the expectation low, i will be extremly happy with 6-6 season and a crappy R + L carrier bowl.

I think our Sports Information Department does a terrible job of publicizing the day-to-day goings-on of the football program. From roster updates to post-practice interviews with coaches, they are minimal at best. The only thing they do well is human interest stories.

They do the Morning Stretch. But I put it on the coaching staff, more than the athletic department. Coaches at some programs are all over social media hyping themselves and proving information. It would be nice if a few of the Rice coaches were more pro-active in that way.

(03-07-2017 06:28 PM)mrbig Wrote:  They do the Morning Stretch. But I put it on the coaching staff, more than the athletic department. Coaches at some programs are all over social media hyping themselves and proving information. It would be nice if a few of the Rice coaches were more pro-active in that way.

Our coaching staff likes flying under the radar so nobody outside of this board notices their record.

(03-07-2017 04:43 PM)Pan95 Wrote:  Is anyone else as saddened as I am by the overwhelming silence with regard to Spring football workouts?

I am saddened by the fact that nobody can think of a single upbeat thing to say, and nobody is even trying.

Nice article in the Thresher about the QB situation with some quotes from the players:

http://www.ricethresher.org/article/2017...g-practice

(03-08-2017 02:58 AM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(03-07-2017 04:43 PM)Pan95 Wrote:  Is anyone else as saddened as I am by the overwhelming silence with regard to Spring football workouts?

I am saddened by the fact that nobody can think of a single upbeat thing to say, and nobody is even trying.

I think the fact that we're trying out a new defense and have a new secondary coach is a positive.

Problem is that we won't know whether that bears fruit until September.

(03-08-2017 10:52 AM)Rick Gerlach Wrote:  

(03-08-2017 02:58 AM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(03-07-2017 04:43 PM)Pan95 Wrote:  Is anyone else as saddened as I am by the overwhelming silence with regard to Spring football workouts?

I am saddened by the fact that nobody can think of a single upbeat thing to say, and nobody is even trying.

I think the fact that we're trying out a new defense and have a new secondary coach is a positive.

Problem is that we won't know whether that bears fruit until September.

I can always depend on you to try and find the silver lining when all the others can do nothing more than point at the clouds.