Aug. 18, 2007

Chase Clement threw for 117 yards and a score in limited playing time as the Rice Owls went through a nearly two-hour scrimmage on Saturday morning at Rice Stadium.

Rice head coach David Bailiff and staff had decided heading into the scrimmage that a number of players, including Clement and All American receiver Jarett Dillard would get minimal action as they focused on evaluating the newest members of the squad. Minor injuries also held a number of players out of action and Bailiff noted that the ragged play at times was a result of extensive playing time for a number of freshmen as well as the different combinations of players on the field who normally did not work together.

"We had way too many mental mistakes today," Bailiff noted. "A lot of them were by freshmen, but we will be able to take the film from today and sit down with them and show them how badly those kinds of mistakes can hurt the team. I would have liked it to have been crisper, but with the number of people we had out, it's to be expected," he added.

Bailiff singled out several players for their efforts. "Chase (Clement) impressed me today. He did some nice things while he was in there," Bailiff noted. "Scott Solomon (freshman defensive end from San Antonio) keeps making plays, but he has been doing that in every practice this fall. There is no doubt that he is going to be playing this season," Bailiff added.

Clement opened the scoring in the scrimmage, hitting Bio Bilaye-Benibo with a 67-yard scoring pass on the second play of the day. Freshman running back Justin Hill scored the only other touchdown of the scrimmage, carrying the ball in from five yards out. Benibo led all rushers with 26 yards on five carries and caught a pair of passes for 71 yards. Sophomore Taylor Wardlow led all receivers with three catches for 27 yards.

After battling the heat and humidity Saturday morning, the members of the team will have the afternoon off from practice. Sunday marks the start of "O Week" at Rice, a weeklong series of orientation events designed to introduce the entire 2007 freshmen class to the traditions of the school as well as ease them into the college routine. The members of the team, along with the coaching staff and members of the Athletics Department will be on hand at the various colleges to held incoming freshmen move into their rooms. As an unofficial kickoff to "O Week", the upperclassmen who serve as advisors to the freshmen on the football team attended Saturday's scrimmage. Additional events, including a rally at Rice Stadium, are scheduled throughout the upcoming week.