Rice Fantasy Football Preview
Rule number one of college fantasy football is to get a quarterback out of Conference USA. There are certainly some, like Case Keenum, who will not last past the first pick or Dominique Davis, who should be a first round pick in larger leagues, but there are almost always deals to be found in later rounds out of C-USA. This year is no different and Rice quarterback Taylor McHargue is a good place to start.
Taylor McHargue, Sophomore, Quarterback
Selecting McHargue will be a risky pick, but he is the prototypical fantasy quarterback who can rack up points with his arm and his legs. McHargue was not healthy for much of his freshman campaign and really only played a lot during the last two games of the year. Rice won both of those games, which is saying something since they only won four games all year. McHargue led the Owls to a 62-38 victory over East Carolina and a 28-23 win over UAB. In those two games he passed for 345 yards and four touchdowns and added another 155 yards on the ground with one more score. He will not keep those numbers up for an entire season, but you can see why the Rice faithful have a lot of hope for their quarterback heading into the 2011 season.
Luke Wilson, Junior, Tight End
While McHargue develops his passing game, Rice will try to win games on the ground. However, McHargue always has a great outlet passing option in tight end Luke Wilson. The 6-5, 230 pounder is a superb red zone option, but he actually led the team in receiving yards last season. McHargue may take a few more shots down the field during his sophomore season, but McHargue will still play a big role in the Owls offense. Wilson did only catch three touchdown passes during his sophomore campaign and none of them came from the arm of McHargue, but there is little reason to believe that Wilson will not be a great target in the end zone and McHargue’s primary outlet target if all the receivers down field are covered.
Sam McGuffie, Junior, Running Back
Sam McGuffie’s reputation seems to always lead to unrealistic expectations. Before he even stepped foot on the campus of the University of Michigan as a freshman, fans and potential fantasy owners were drooling over his potential. The YouTube sensation certainly deserves a highlight reel or two, but there are problems when it comes to his fantasy value. McGuffie will get a majority of the touches out of the backfield and will add onto his yardage total with his ability to catch the ball, but there is a 6-2, 220 pound backup standing between McGuffie and fantasy stardom. Jeremy Eddington was just a freshman in 2010. He played in just seven games. Yet, he managed to rush for ten touchdowns. McGuffie had nearly four times as many carries and reached the end zone just six times on the ground. With a year in the system Eddington is going to get even more goal line carries. McGuffie will certainly get his carries and could even be a 1,000 yard rusher and pick-up 400 or 500 more yards in the receiving department, but he will not score as much as many would hope. He is a good fantasy player, but his value always seems to be too high and unless he happens to slip to the late rounds in your draft, there is usually a better option on the board.
Read the in-depth football preview for this team
