RICE OFFENSE

After five seasons at Stanford, head coach Mike Bloomgren made sure to implement the Cardinal rules at Rice. The Owls now employ a power offense with a north-south running game, tight ends and fullbacks as additional blockers, and play-action passes. The Owls can align in a three-wide formation, mostly to take advantage of possession receiver Austin Trammell and deep threat Aaron Cephus. Last season, Cephus led FBS receivers with an average of 24.9 yards per catch, boosted by six grabs of 50-plus yards. During Cephus’ 12-game Rice career, 83.9 percent of his catches resulted in first downs. Shawn Stankavage, whose father, Scott, played three NFL seasons, is a graduate transfer who threw only one pass in four years at Vanderbilt. He missed the 2015 and 2016 seasons because of a leg injury. But Stankavage, when healthy, has shown to be a reliable passer who takes advantage of rollouts and play-action plays. Tight ends Jaeger Bull and Jordan Myers are utilized mostly for their blocking. Fullbacks Will Phillips and Giovanni Gentosi fire out of three-point stances. Running back Emmanuel Esukpa spends much of his time in the “lab,” the name of Rice’s video room. “I watch so much film on different running backs,” Esukpa said. “NFL, college, I watch a lot of film. Sometimes I’ll watch cut-ups, sometimes I’ll watch full games. Sometimes I’ll watch YouTube highlights. Anything I can get my hands on, I’ll watch.” Esukpa, who can run 40-yards in 4.5 seconds, averages 6.35 yards on first-down carries.

X—28 Aaron Cephus 6-4 200 So.

TE—82 Jaeger Bull 6-4 226 Fr.

LT—77 Uzoma Osuji 6-6 300 So.

LG—66 Jack Greene 6-4 318 So.

C—58 Shea Baker 6-1 289 Fr.

RG—79 Joseph Dill 6-4 324 Jr.

RT—76 Sam Pierce 6-6 295 Sr.

Z—10 Austin Trammell 5-10 182 So.

QB—3 Shawn Stankavage 6-2 201 Sr.

FB—35 Will Phillips 6-4 251 So.

HB—33 Emmanuel Esukpa 5-11 232 Jr.

RICE DEFENSE

Although defensive coordinator Brian Smith has the same name as UH’s offensive coordinator, his football association is with two of the sport’s’ most aggressive defensive play-callers — Rex Ryan and Don Brown. Smith was a quality-control coach for the New York Jets under Ryan and the secondary coach at Michigan under Brown. Both mentors preached high-pressure attacks out of a 3–4 base, a style — and approach — employed at Rice. At Michigan, Smith coached Jabrill Peppers and Jourdan Lewis, both of whom are now drawing NFL paychecks. At Rice, Smith has Houston Robert, a multi-skilled safety who can play anywhere from in the box to up to 18 yards off the line of scrimmage. Dylan Silcox is a tough inside linebacker who used to hunt wild boar and work on an alligator farm. Zach Abercrumbia relishes the rock-‘em-sock’em role of nose tackle. “I love getting in there and mixing it up with the centers and guards,” Abercrumbia said. “Every game, you’re going to get some form of double team or combo block. You appreciate the one-on-one blocks.” Abercrumbia, who can align at any point between the guards, studies NFL linemen Kawaan Short, Star Lotulelei, Mike Daniels, Gino Atkins and Aaron Donald. But the best lessons come from the trenches. “It’s kind of like learning how to swim in the deep end,” Abercrumbia said. “At first you might have a hard time, but if you want to live, you’ll figure it out.”

DT—95 Roe Wilkins 6-3 260 Jr.

NT—96 Zach Abercrumbia 6-2 286 Jr.

DT—92 Elijah Garcia 6-5 296 So.

RE—94 Graysen Schantz 6-3 242 Sr.

ILB—8 Dylan Silcox 6-2 217 So.

MLB—31 Martin Nwakamma 6-1 218 Sr.

SLB—33 Anthony Ekpe 6-0 231 So.

LCB—7 Justin Bickham 6-1 196 Jr.

FS—20 George Nyakwol 6-0 184 So.

SS—29 Houston Robert 6-0 188 So.

RCB—3 Brandon Douglas-Dotson 5-9 177 Sr.

RICE SPECIALISTS

The Owls did not have to search far to add to the place-kicking competition. Punter Jack Fox has converted three field goals, the first three-pointers of his college career. Fox continues to be an impact punter, averaging 46.3 yards. In the opener, four punts were downed inside the 7. He also is the kickoff specialist, averaging 62.6 yards per drive, with eight of 12 resulting in touchbacks. Austin Trammell is the primary returner on punts and kickoffs.

PK/P—2 Jack Fox 6-1 224 Sr.

LS—36 Campbell Riddle 6-2 224 Fr.

KR/PR—10 Austin Trammell 5-10 182 So.

HAWAII OFFENSE

There are four staffers with college experience as offensive coordinators — head coach Nick Rolovich (UH, Nevada), and assistants Brian Smith (Occidental), Craig Stutzmann (Emory & Henry), and Andre Allen (City College of San Francisco). “We all come from the same tree,” Stutzmann said. Rolovich, Smith and Stutzmann played in the run-and-shoot under June Jones. Allen was Rolovich’s JC coach. “There’s always been a lot of similar elements in some of the things we developed as we branched off on our own,” Stutzmann added. In UH’s current version of the run-and-shoot, there are pre- and post-snap reads, receivers who run rub routes — legal non-contact patterns — to open the passing lanes for teammates, and some read-option concepts. “Stutz and Brian have great stuff,” said Rolovich, noting Allen concocted a play that resulted in a TD catch by slotback John Ursua. Quarterback Cole McDonald is off to a blistering start, completing 56 of 78 passes (there have been five drops) with nine touchdowns. He has not been intercepted in his two-season UH career. Ursua, slotback Cedric Byrd and right wideout JoJo Ward have combined for 46 receptions and nine TDs. They have an aggregate yards-after-catch (YAC) average of 5.57. Ward’s YAC is 8.83. The Warriors have made an impact early in the game (TDs on their two opening drives) and count (6.7 yards per first-down play). The Warriors have converted all five of their fourth-down plays. They also have scored on 17 of 22 possessions.

LWO—85 Marcus Armstrong-Brown 6-3 210 Sr.

LSB—5 John Ursua 5-10 175 Jr.

LT—75 Ilm Manning 6-4 280 Fr.

LG—57 J.R. Hensley 6-5 310 Jr.

C—63 Taaga Tuulima 6-2 290 So.

RG—60 Solo Vaipulu 6-2 310 Fr.

RT—72 Kohl Levao 6-6 340 Fr.

RSB—6 Cedric Byrd 5-9 170 Jr.

RWO—19 JoJo Ward 5-9 175 Jr.

QB—13 Cole McDonald 6-4 205 So.

RB—21 Fred Holly 6-0 200 So.

HAWAII DEFENSE

The Warriors are yielding 37.5 points per game, but that only tells half the story. In the first half, when they have had an aggregate 57-21 advantage, the Warriors are holding opponents to 35.5 yards per possession. In the opening quarter, opponents are averaging 3.5 points, 4.34 yards per play and 25.2 yards each drive. Under defensive coordinator Corey Batoon, the Warriors have mixed and matched schemes. In the opener against Colorado State, they started in a 4-2-5 alignment. A week ago, they ran a five-man front with as many as 10 defenders in the tackle box. Against Navy, the Warriors played the angles. On separate safety blitzes, Ikem Okeke and Kalen Hicks targeted the backfield corner — not the pocket — in burying the quarterback on roll outs. Co-captain Jahlani Tavai, who usually plays middle linebacker, was aligned at defensive end. But instead of being used as a pass rusher against a triple-option QB, Tavai relied on lateral moves to cut off dives up the middle. Tavai amassed a team-high nine tackles. In the first two weeks, the Warriors received a boost from the hybrid linebacker/end position. Against CSU, Kaimana Padello proved to be disruptive with his under-the-strike-zone rushes. Against Navy, Manly “Pumba” Williams used his quickness to bracket the pocket. He finished with two sacks.

DE—99 Zeno Choi 6-3 280 Sr.

NT—54 Blessman Ta‘ala 6-1 310 Fr.

DT—91 Samiuela Akoteu 6-2 280 Jr.

DE—48 Derek Thomas 6-3 225 So.

LB—27 Solomon Matautia 6-1 230 Jr.

LB—31 Jahlani Tavai 6-4 235 Sr.

LB—33 Penei Pavihi 6-2 230 So.

CB—4 Roe Farris 6-1 180 Jr.

S—22 Ikem Okeke 6-0 200 Jr.

S—16 Kalen Hicks 6-3 200 Jr.

CB—8 Eugene Ford 6-2 195 So.

HAWAII SPECIALISTS

Of the 18 drives initiated by UH kickoffs, only two opponents’ possessions started outside their 25. Credit kickoff specialist Michael Boyle, who has mastered the art of strength and placement. In the opener, seven of his kickoffs landed in the end zone. Against Navy last week, Boyle placed five kickoffs between the 1 and 5, all resulting in fair catches. Each of Navy’s nine drives started on the 25. “Lots of practice,” Boyle said of his 64-yard kickoffs. “I get to practice different kicks.”

PK—94 Ryan Meskell 6-0 185 Jr.

KO—52 Michael Boyle 6-1 175 Fr.

LS—1 Noah Borden 6-1 220 Sr.

P/H—99 Stan Gaudion 6-3 210 So.

KR/PR—6 Cedric Byrd 5-9 170 Jr.