Rice Hires Major Applewhite as OC/QB Coach

[MrMustang1965]

from the Houston Chronicle:

In one week on the job, Rice football coach Todd Graham has made one thing clear: The task of resuscitating the Owls' moribund program will be tackled by assistant coaches with the same passion, energy and dedication Graham expects of himself.

If that fact wasn't driven home by the eager, fresh-faced trio — Danny Phillips, 36, Jason Jones, 28, and Jess Loepp, 28 — who flanked Graham when he was introduced as coach Jan. 1, it was reinforced when Graham added Todd Dilbeck, 44, and David Beaty, 35, to his staff last week.

And if those additions didn't drive home the point, the naming of Major Applewhite, 26, as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Sunday did.

Applewhite, one of the more beloved quarterbacks in University of Texas history, has only one season of coaching experience.

After completing a two-year stint as a graduate assistant at UT, Applewhite followed former UT defensive coordinator Greg Robinson to Syracuse, where he was quarterbacks coach last season.

That dearth of experience didn't concern Graham. The attributes that made Applewhite wildly popular in Austin were evident during his interview with Graham.

"I talked to coaches that coached him at Texas and ... visited with coach Robinson, who coached with him at Syracuse," Graham said. "His last two years at Texas they felt like he was a coach on the field.

"Then, as a graduate assistant there, they were very, very impressed with his knowledge. I'm not at all worried about that.

"We've got some experienced guys around him, guys that have been coaching 15, 20 years. I was looking for the right chemistry, and he's a guy that possesses great character and is very mature beyond his years as far as his knowledge of the game of football."

Graham made it clear Applewhite is the offensive coordinator.

But Applewhite will garner support from Dilbeck, who will coach the offensive line and coordinate the running game, and Beaty, the receivers coach who will coordinate the passing game.

But Graham expects the poise that was a hallmark of Applewhite's celebrated tenure with the Longhorns to guide his decision-making at the helm of the Owls' spread offense.

"He's a winner," Graham said of Applewhite, 22-8 at UT. "He's exactly what I was looking for — a young guy who gives us validity in recruiting.

"We want to be able to get in and recruit some of the top quarterbacks in Texas, and he definitely brings a big boost to our recruiting efforts.

"But more than that, he's a winner. He's just a really bright, young mind, and I couldn't be more excited about having him head up our offense."

It's no coincidence the average age of the six assistants Graham, 41, hired is 32 years and 10 months.

Former Rice coach Ken Hatfield was 62; his assistants' average age was 45.

"The biggest thing about turning a program around is it takes an enormous amount of energy and passion," Graham said. "The thing about the guys I've got is all of them have a connection with me. They all possess the same energy and passion."

Graham hasn't named a defensive coordinator, and he refused comment on rumors linking Alabama defensive ends coach Paul Randolph, 39, to the post. Graham hopes to have that vacancy filled today and two other openings this week.