By Mark Anderson

HOUSTON (Aug. 29) -- Just shy of five years ago, the Rice Owls, fresh off a 31-30 loss to the Houston Cougars, traveled to the City of Angels to face the UCLA Bruins. It was a game that is difficult to erase from memory. The closeness of this game—which surprised UCLA and anybody else who cared to watch — told of the better things that were coming in 2006.

Sure enough, the '06 campaign culminated in a bowl berth, the Owls' first such reward in 45 years of frustrating seasons.

"We’re excited about this season," Coach Bailiff has said.."I am fired up. I really am."

"I'm a senior," Rice multiple threat Sam McGuffie told press. "It's my last bullet in the chamber."

Running back Turner Petersen was even more sanguine. "We expect to go to a bowl game," he insisted. "We expect to win that bowl game; we expect to compete for the league championship.''

Seems as if the gauntlet has been laid. Thursday night, the Owls have a chance to turn talk into action.

New DC, new attitude
Could this be the year Owl defense finally turns corner?

Phillip Gaines:  "I like the camaraderie. That makes it better on the field.   Paul Porras: "Coach Thurmond is a great guy. He’s definitely a player’s coach"   Jared Williams:  "He’s one of the best coaches I’ve ever had"

HOUSTON (Aug. 17) – Onlookers at Rice spring and fall drills could hardly have missed taking notice of a seemingly new-found sense of aggressiveness and abandon on the part of the Owl defensive unit.

That in no small part has taken place thanks to the defensive philosophy espoused by Chris Thurmond, who, in his second season at Rice, has assumed the duties of Defensive Coordinator in addition to continuing to coach the Owl cornerbacks.

To a man, Owl defensive players say the New Attitude can be attributed squarely to Coach Thurmond, and it can be expressed succinctly in a handful of simple sentences: "Be aggressive. Know your job. Don’t worry about making mistakes. And just have fun."

In recent years – seasons in which  Rice’s ‘bend but don’t break’ philosophy was often times carried to seemingly absurd lengths – the Owl defenders perenially found themselves at or near the bottom of NCAA Division 1 defensive statistics, including points allowed.

But this year, look for the Owls to turn a page in the defensive playbook, players said. Check out the litany of positives expressed by top-rank Rice defenders.

Junior cornerback Phillip Gaines: "I love Coach Thurmond. When he came in he brought a lot of that oomph to the secondary in the spring, and now that he’s been named defensive coordinator I expect him to bring that same attitude to the whole defense.

"I like the camaraderie. That makes it better on the field. Somehow it helps us play with more aggression and run to the ball more. We’re going to have a lot more three and outs this year, we’re going to have a lot of sacks this year and we’re going to be up in the offense’s face a lot more this year.

"Coach Thurmond has stressed to us to focus more on first down plays. This season, putting (the offense) in a bind on second and third – that’s what’s going to cause more three and outs. We’re looking forward to being to being able to execute that."

'Fast and fun,' goes the formula

Senior defensive end Jared Williams: "He brought in a deal that says ‘fast and fun,’ and he’s one of the best coaches I’ve ever had. He’s a great communicator; he keeps it light. He reminds you that it’s just a game; there’s not that much pressure, just go out there and play, and if you remember what you’re supposed to be doing, you’ll be fine."

Junior safety Paul Porras: "Coach Thurmond is a great guy. He’s definitely a player’s coach. He lets us command the defense in the secondary; he wants to have fun, that’s what he preaches every day – have fun, just make plays, and live carefree.

"(Under Coach Thurmond ) we’re playing more aggressive; we don’t worry too much about making mistakes. It's all about making plays."

So who is this wry, 58-year-old Oklahoman, who seemed to ride in to town on a white horse, but through the back streets and alleys, and with precious little fanfare?

Coach Thurmond is well-traveled, to say the least. He originally joined David Bailiff’s staff in February, 2011, after spending the previous three seasons at Kentucky. Between stints at Alabama (2001-02) and Kentucky (2008-10), Thurmond coached five seasons in the state of Texas. Highlighted by a trip to the Cotton Bowl following the 2004 season, he was the cornerbacks coach at Texas A&M from 2003-05.

He coached cornerbacks and was the recruiting coordinator for two seasons across town at the University of Houston (2006-07). He helped the Cougars advance to the 2006 Liberty Bowl and in 2007 was the interim head coach for UH when the team played in the Texas Bowl after head coach Art Briles became the coach at Baylor.

During his stint coaching the cornerbacks at Alabama, the 2002 Alabama team led the SEC and ranked third nationally in total defense, posting the best record in the SEC Western Division. Eight Alabama players he either coached or recruited signed National Football League contracts.

Journeyman coach spent 9 years at alma mater Tulsa

Thurmond has also worked at Tulsa (1983-91, 1994), East Carolina (1992-93), Texas Christian (1995, 1998-2000) and Oklahoma (2996- 97), coaching the cornerbacks or entire secondary unit during each of the stints.

The nine cumulative years he spent at Tulsa marked a return to his alma mater – yes, this new DC is a "TU" man. Oughta be able to scheme a defense that will enable the Owls to break their five-year losing streak against the former Rice whipping boy, then?

Talk to Chris Thurmond, and what comes out is a bit of Lou Holtz, with a dash of Bobby Bowden and a smidgen of R. C. Slocum.

Enthusiasm is the primary motivator, he told us. But enthusiasm is of little use unless it is combined with the ability to impart a broad range of both strategies and tactics.

"What I hope we are, what we strive to be, is you've got to be a great teacher first," he said. "And to be a great teacher, you've got to be motivated enough and confident that your message comes across."

"If your message comes across as blase , vague, not definitive, then it's hard to create much excitement. But if your message comes across bang-bang-bang, then now guys get excited."

And they’re inclined toward better execution, the idea goes.

Coach Thurmond does not give short shrift to the concept of "Mens sana in corpore sano," either.

"We try to talk about a lot of things, not just football," he pointed out. After all, among his players, Thurmond, like any Rice football assistant, might well encounter accomplished musicians, champion debaters, Eagle Scouts, future engineers, lawyers and physicians.

Not a "Parks and Recreation" major in the bunch.

"We call that being a Renaissance Man," Coach T pointed out. "The ultimate compliment we can give anyone, is that he's well rounded. And the one thing we try to talk about every day, is that football is the most important thing when you come over to the stadium, but there's more to life than just football. We try and blend all personalities and interests together to create the complete person."

Speaking of blend, the task before Rice’s defensive mentor will be to combine and blend together existing experience with greenhorn talent. The raw ingredients are there to enable the Rice "D" to make substantial strides. But that will require leadership on part of the veterans, and a steep learning curve by the less experienced, but nonetheless physically talented, Owl defenders. And in that regard, there’s no use, really, in getting too psyched up over the depth chart.

"When the season gets going, nobody wants to hear about ‘OK, we've got a lot of experience here, and we've got this and that.’" Coach Thurmond said. "When the game starts, nobody gets to hold up a sign that says, ‘this is the first time Iv'e been out here.'"

"We try to get everybody to play at the highest level. One thing we talk about is, don't worry about making a making a mistake. Get lined up and play a thousand miles an hour, because if you play fast, most people won't even know you've made a mistake.

"So those are some of the things we're trying to talk about," he continued. "As for experience, we're blessed in some areas where we have quite a lot, whereas in others, not as much. But what we've got to do now is get together and plug the gaps and accentuate our strengths."

"I guess I'm fortunate in that I really like the kids, and the kids, so far, so far they really like me," Coach Thurmond confided. "I guess that's a good thing."

--PTH 

Media Day shows display of enthusiasm, confidence, maybe even a bit of swagger this time around

Sam McGuffie:  "All the pro-active work I’ve been doing this summer, I expect will help knock out those silly injuries that I was having

HOUSTON (Aug. 5) – Hope springs eternal, and about this time every year it pokes its head above the turf of Rice Stadium, where, as soon as the NCAA fathers allow, Owl coaches, players and fans commence their annual Easter egg hunt for positives and reasons for heightened expectations on the gridiron.

No different this year, it turns out. The unspoken thought that passed around the R Room during Saturday's kickoff Media Day was, "Can this season be another ‘08?"

Another ten-win season like that one would be cause for delirium on South Main, but at the end of the day Saturday, there was substantial evidence that this year’s version of the Owls just might be one to break over the .500 mark, compete for the league crown, and go bowling.

Call it quiet intensity mixed with just a little bit of sub rosa swagger, but veteran Rice players to a man say it's time to put up or shut up.

"There are no more excuses for us," presumptive Owl starting quarterback Taylor McHargue said. "This is a team that can absolutely compete for this conference championship."

"And a bowl game is the minimum expectation," he added.

Rice head coach David Bailiff said he feels a renewed confidence in the junior signal-caller, who season before last closed the season strongly to earn the starting position, but who faltered at times during last year’s campaign.

"We’ve have no doubt of his ability to take command of the game," DB said. "He's got his confidence back, and a little swagger back."

Summer conditioning program made its mark

At least part reason for such relatively lofty expectations lay in the physical condition attained by the Rice players during a vigorous summer conditioning program.

"You can’t get involved in their summer workouts, but coming back to the stadium and seeing what kind of shape they’re in gives me goose bumps," Coach Bailiff insisted. "Our strength coaches have simply done a great job."

Senior Owl key man Sam McGuffie said that conditioning wasn’t merely a matter of pumping iron and building up, but instead included a great deal of ‘soft-tissue work’ designed primarily for the prevention of injuries. He’s a hundred per cent, and so are the lot of his teammates, he noted, after a 2011 campaign that saw casualty figures rise rather dramatically as the season droned on.

"All the pro-active work I’ve been doing this summer, I expect will help knock out those silly injuries that I was having, just bad enough to keep me from playing," Sam told us.

Coach Bailiff hinted, albeit perhaps a bit jokingly, that he might take a page from the ‘08 playbook and boost Sam as another James Casey. What the heck, he might even play him at all eleven positions.

"We're going to be playing Sam everywhere," Coach Bailiff said with a grin. "We've even worked him a little bit at guard – because he's really quick at pulling and trapping on those linebackers."

In fact, a primary object of frustration for those who follow the Blue and Gray has been the frequency in which the Rice offensive game plan provided for Sam McGuffie to smash into a ton or two of beef on the hoof for attempted short yardage, when his considerable skills and tools would have been better put to use, say, one-on-one in the flat.

Now, for his senior season, Rice coaches have moved Sam from running back to slot receiver, and, you bet, the whole idea is to get him isolated and allow him to use some of that speed, elusiveness and –  almost forgot about it --  leaping ability, in order to aggravate enemy defenses.

"That’s mainly what brought on this move," Sam said. "That way, I can get more wideout touches, motions, give a lot of different looks. That’s just because it helps me get into space and sets up others for big plays as well. So whether I touch the ball or not, it’ll help the team."

Defense will exhibit heightened enthusiasm, aggressiveness

On the ‘D’, look for a new attitude, members of the Owl defensive unit insisted.

The elevation of former cornerbacks coach Chris Thurmond to Defensive Coordinator appeared to demonstrate immediate changes on the practice field this past spring. There was a sense of abandon and a willingness to take risks on part of Owl defenders – key missing ingredients in years of Rice’s wandering in the defensive wilderness, at or near the bottom of the statistical charts among BCS schools.

Even last year, the Rice defensive secondary appeared to have ramped up the aggression factor under Coach Thurmond’s tutelage. But the results were inconclusive, largely because the injury bug struck Owl D-backs particularly hard.

This season, the DB larder is well stocked with the return of a cast of characters including the likes of Phillip Gaines and Bryce Callahan. The intent is to throw a lot of different looks at opposing offenses. That means the 4-2, Cover Two base schematic will be augmented by an assortment of 3- and 4-man fronts.

Added to that, Coach Thurmond summed up to us a central coaching philosophy of his. "Don’t worry about making a mistake," he said. "Get lined up and play a thousand miles an hour; that way if you make a mistake it’ll go by so fast nobody’ll even know it."

Still and all, August drills are a time for honing and sharpening, Coach Bailiff noted. So it’s possible to come out of the blocks with perhaps a little excess exuberance that needs to be shaped and tailored, he said.

After Saturday afternoon’s initial workout of the season, he said "the guys actually were a little too competive out there, for not being in pads."

"When you’re not in pads, you don’t want to be on the ground, diving at balls." The idea, he pointed out, was the bring focus and up the intensity level gradually over the next four weeks, looking forward to the season opener on national television against UCLA.

But a few holes that are going to have to be plugged with relatively green wood require that several new or youngster Owls will have to be groomed for immediate on-field contributions. "We want to try to accelerate some of the young guys’ learning," DB said, "because we think they’re physical enough to be able to mature."

"When you get on the field, you don’t go out there wearing a sign that says ‘Experienced,’ Coach Thurman dead-panned. Or not.

Lagniappe: An exception to the general rule that the Owls reported for fall duty in tip top shape lay in the announcement Saturday that wide wide receiver and retun man Mario Hull will be out for the season with a torn pectoral muscle he sustained recently in the weight room. Arrrgh. The guy was only a freshman All-American, according to the Sporting News. Later in the season, he broke in as punt returner and turned heads while finishing fourth in the league and 21st in the nation with a 10.2-yard return average average on 16 punts. The plan, we’re told, is to petition for a medical redshirt for Mario, which, if granted – and one must assume it would be – would allow Mario to commence duty next year as a sophomore, giving him three remaining years of eligibility.

Another couple of men  on the red cross team include redshirt freshman DE Miles Lee and veteran DT Hosam Shanin. Miles is reported to have suffered a ruptured disc and Hosam sustained another one of those  pectoral muscle injuries. The jury’s still out on those two, but they’re sorely needed in an always-thin list of defensive front players.

--P.T.H.

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