Major Applewhite to be named Offensive Coordinator at Rice?

Hmmm.


I am real interested to hear texxx and conquistadors thoughts on this.

 

Now I'm going to have to root for Rice. I hope he turns them into a great team so we can steal him away to replace greg davis.

 

The Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year gets displaced by an unproven son of a former NFL quarterback. I still haven't gotten over that. I'm curious to see how much my feelings about UT football change now that Vince will be leaving (I assume).

 

this biggest surprise is that apparantly rice is looking to move away from the option! if major goes onto rice, you will see a nice balanced offense. if this is true, rice has made a MAJOR improvement to their team.

 

He didn't get displaced so much as shred the ligaments in his knee and kill his mobility.

 

Major didn't do a good job at Syracuse as the QB coach. Their QBs completed 46% of their passes, throwing 6TDs and 15INTS.

 

Bigtexx is having a bad week.

 

If Major comes aboard, I will officially be a Rice fan.

Graham is lining up a good staff.

 

I'll have to go back and check. I remember Applewhite shredding his knee, but after he came back he was still the better QB. Simms never stepped it up to Major's level. I'm a fair critic and I remember it being obvious Major was being pushed out of the way for Simms. It was more than just the knee injury.

 

I love the mob...I've always rooted for Rice.

Guess that makes me a t-shirt fan. Oh well.

 

What does Graham's track record look like? Where has he coached before, etc?

 

this would be sweet. i was concerned that with the way syracuse blew this year that Major's coaching career might take a long time to get going, but to get a coordinator position this quickly would be great (assuming he gets it). i mean, i know it's just rice, but i kinda like rice and it brings him back to Texas and closer to UT. hope he does great.

 

same thing here. my dad took me to rice games all the time. love the view of the city from that stadium. love pulling for the owls.

now my 2nd favorite college football player of all time is coaching there???

go owls!!!

 

BCS here they come!

 

poor bigtexxx. this clearly signals the beginning of the end of his beloved institution.

 

Todd Graham Named New Head Football Coach
Owls' 17th Head Coach

Jan. 1, 2006

HOUSTON - Todd Graham has been named Rice University's 17th head football coach, athletic director Bobby May announced Sunday.

Graham, 41, had been the assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and secondary coach at the University of Tulsa the past three seasons, helping the Hurricane to the 2005 Conference USA championship and a 31-24 win over Fresno State in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, played Dec. 31 at Memphis, Tenn. Tulsa finished with a 9-4 record in 2005.

Graham replaces Ken Hatfield as the leader of the Rice football program. Hatfield resigned on Nov. 30 after 12 seasons as the Owls' head coach.


Five Named To New Owl Football Staff
Three From Tulsa, Two From HS Ranks

Jan. 4, 2006

Houston - Five assistant coaches have been named to the new Rice football staff, head coach Todd Graham has announced.

The first members of the new staff are Danny Phillips, defensive line/special teams coordinator; Jason Jones, defensive backs; Jess Loepp, tight ends; Todd Dilbeck, offensive line; and David Beaty, wide receivers.

Phillips, Jones and Loepp join the Rice staff after working with Graham at the University of Tulsa. Dilbeck has been the head football coach at Mustang, Okla., High School, while Beaty was the head coach at MacArthur High in Irving.

"These are five guys who possess the same type philosophies of positive attitude and energy as I do," said Graham. "They come from diverse settings, from a conference and bowl champion at Tulsa, to successful high school programs in Texas and Oklahoma."

Phillips, 36, has coached with Graham during eight of the past nine seasons. Prior to the 2003-05 seasons at Tulsa, where he also coached the defensive line, he was a defensive graduate assistant at West Virginia University in 2002, and an assistant coach under Graham at Allen High School during the 1997-2000 seasons. He's a graduate of East Central (Okla.) University after playing linebacker at Southeastern Oklahoma State.

Jones, 28, coached Tulsa's cornerbacks in 2005 after two years as a graduate assistant at Alabama, his alma mater. As a coach, the Crimson Tide had the nation's top-ranked pass defense in 2004, and the Tulsa secondary led Conference USA with 22 interceptions in 2005. As a player, Jones was a four-year letterman as a defensive back, helping the Crimson Tide to Bowl games during three of his four seasons.

Leopp, 28, has been a defensive graduate assistant for the past three seasons at Tulsa. Previously, he worked with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and held coaching positions at Oklahoma Bible Academy and the Cassady School in Oklahoma City. He was an all-Lone Star Conference linebacker for the University of Central Oklahoma where he earned his undergraduate degree.

Dilbeck, 44, comes to Rice after serving as the district athletic director and head football coach at Mustang High near Oklahoma City for the past five seasons. He won coach of the year honors after leading Mustang to the Class 6A state finals in 2005. Dilbeck is a 1982 graduate of UCO.

Beaty, 35, has been the head coach and athletic coordinator at MacArthur High in Irving for the past four years. He previously coached at North Dallas High and Garland High after graduating from Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo.

 

We are talking about it here. ESPN had a story on it. All the Big 12 message boards are talking about it. Sounds like it's been a good move so far.

Rice's football program needs a lot of things to revive itself, two of the largest being improved recruiting and greater publicity. Major helps in both areas. Part of Rice's problem is attendance. If all of Rice's living alumni attended a home football game, the lower bowl wouldn't even be filled. Considering that the majority of Rice grads don't care about football, you have a recipe for low attendance. Rice must reach out to non-Rice graduates in the Houston community to help boost attendance and interest. Given that many Texas grads live in Houston, why not attempt to appeal to them? Given that many HS football players are familiar with Major, why not appeal to them in recruiting?

He is very young, but is surrounded by what is looking like a good staff. He will bring youth, energy and enthusiasm to the program -- three things that were obviously missing from Hatfield's program. Why not take a chance on a young coach with a high profile if you are Rice? It's not like their situation can get any worse, coming off a 1-win season. I like the hire and the interest it has stirred up.

 

Applewhite Named Offensive Coordinator/QB Coach
Former Texas Star Had Been at Syracuse

Jan. 8, 2006

Major Applewhite will be the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach on new Rice head coach Todd Graham's first coaching staff.

One of the top quarterbacks in University of Texas history, Applewhite was the quarterbacks coach at Syracuse University in 2005. In 2003-04, he was the graduate assistant on the offensive staff at Texas, where he was influential in the development of all-America quarterback Vince Young.

"Major Applewhite, just that name speaks for itself," said Graham. "He's a winner. Watching him as a competitor at Texas, seeing the type guy he was as a winner and acheiver, he brings us instant credibility to where we want to go offensively.

"We want to spread the field and throw the football, and every quarterback and receiver in this state will be interested in Rice with Major as our offensive coordinator."

In addition, Graham announced that David Beaty, the Owls' new offensive line coach, will also coordinate the running game, and Todd Dilbeck, the new wide receivers coach, will coordinate the passing game in the new Rice offense.

Applewhite, 26, had a 22-8 record as a starting quarterback with the Longhorns. Finishing his career in 2001, he is UT's all-time leader in passing yards (8,353), passing touchdowns (60), passing attempts (1,065), and total offense (8,059).

The Longhorns' team captain in '01, he helped Texas to wins in four straight bowl games: the 1999-2000 Cotton Bowls, and the 2000-01 Holiday Bowls. He was the Holiday Bowl's co-offensive MVP in his final college game in '01, leading the Longhorns to a 47-43 comeback win over Washington.

Applewhite was the Big 12's freshman of the year in '98 and shared the league's offensive player of the year honors as a sophomore in '99.

A native of Baton Rouge, La., Applewhite threw for 50 TDs and ran for eight more in two years as a starter at Catholic High School. He was tabbed an honorable mention prep all-America by USA Today after leading Catholic High to a 13-1 record and number-10 national ranking as a senior. He was 25-2 as a schoolboy starter.

Applewhite completed his UT degree in sport management in Dec., 2002.

 

Wow, I missed this.

Bigtexx