How much of Stanford can Mike Bloomgren bring to Rice?

As spring football begins across the state, we're examining the big questions for each program as they begin their set of 15 offseason practices. Next up: Rice.1. Do the Owls have the beef to play bully ball? Rice has four capable backs--Nahson Ellerbe, Austin Walter, Emmanuel Esukpa and Samuel Stewart--returning who combined for 1,741 yards of offense last season. But it loses three starting offensive linemen and will be forced to watch All-Conference USA tackle Calvin Anderson suit up elsewhere after choosing to play his final season elsewhere after graduating. Odds are, the Owls will be forced to play freshmen up front, but this will be Year Zero for new coach Mike Bloomgren after a 1-11 season in 2017. The vast majority of offenses in the C-USA run uptempo, spread attacks and defenses have adjusted, recruiting speed rushers and stocking rosters with double digit defensive backs. Bringing bully ball to the conference is a good idea as a curveball, but how far along can the roster be for Bloomgren to bring his Stanford-style offense to Houston? The spring should offer some indication. Last year, Rice spent most of its season playing from behind, so total rushing numbers aren't fair, but it was 47th in offensive yards per carry. That's serviceable, and you could do much worse to start with if you're building a scheme around establishing the run at a program with nine wins in three seasons. 2. Can the Owls produce some disruption in the passing game? In a league with big-time offenses like Florida Atlantic, North Texas and offenses that routinely throw the ball as often as any team in the country, you have to be able to throw off timing and produce big plays. Last year, Rice let opponents complete 69.7 percent of their passes--the worst mark in the country--and picked off just three passes, fewer than all but two teams in college football. Its 28 sacks ranked 50th nationally, which is a good indication that coverage is the bigger issue in slowing down opponents through the air. New defensive coordinator Brian Smith spent two seasons as Michigan's defensive backs coach under Jim Harbaugh and coached linebackers with the Eagles in 2015 after eight seasons with the Jets, spending the final two working with the secondary. He's well-suited to fix the problem area in the back end of the defense, as well as a depleted corps of linebackers. 3. Does Miklo Smalls take the reins at QB? Smalls took over the starting job for the final four games of 2017 as a true freshman and was slightly more effective as a dual-threat, accounting for four touchdowns and rushing for 302 yards in the four-game run. But a new scheme means new concepts, new reads and a fresh start with a new set of eyes assessing him. He'll have competition in fourth-year junior Jackson Tyner and sophomore Sam Glaesmann. All three threw more interceptions than touchdowns last season, so efficiency is an issue, but how Bloomgren chooses to use his quarterbacks' legs could affect the competition, too. More big questions for spring football: