Former Paul W. Bryant player making impact at Rice

Paul Randolph could cheer again for his son last Saturday.

Randolph, the defensive coordinator at Tulsa, was on the opposite sideline of his son, Rice junior wide receiver Patrick Randolph, on Oct. 3 in the Golden Hurricane’s 27-10 victory over the Owls.

But last Saturday, Paul could openly applaud his son’s efforts in Rice’s game against Navy. And Patrick gave his father plenty to cheer about.

Randolph, a junior wide receiver who starred at Paul W. Bryant High School, accounted for both Rice touchdowns with two scoring receptions in a 63-14 loss to Navy.

“My dad tells me there is every game except one each year that he can cheer for me,” the younger Randolph said. “It’s actually not too weird playing against him. This is the second time we’ve gone against each other.”

Dad owns a 2-0 advantage. Tulsa beat Rice 63-28 last season before the Owls won their last seven games, including a victory over Western Michigan in the Texas Bowl.

In the Oct. 3 game, Patrick Randolph took a pitch on a reverse and raced down the sideline in front of his father. He had only one defender to beat to take it all the way.

“I didn’t get past the last guy,” said Randolph, who had to settle for a 13-yard gain on the play. “My dad said he wanted to see me turn on the extra jets.”

Patrick Randolph is one of the fastest players on the Rice roster, but hasn’t touched the ball as much as planned at the start of the season. Last Saturday was the first time he reached the end zone this season.

“I expected to have way more than two touchdowns at this point of the season,” said Randolph, who ranks third on the team with 20 catches for 179 yards. “I figured I’d have a bigger role on the offense.”

Rice wide receivers coach Larry Edmondson said injuries on the offfensive line have limited the team’s ability to throw the ball downfield.

“Any good receiver wants the ball and feels like he can make the plays,” Edmondson said. “Pat is so fast, but there are some things we just can’t do with him right now because we’re so thin on the line. We have to try to put him in some spots in the formations where we can use him.”

Most frustrating for Patrick Randolph has been the Owls’ struggles. Rice goes into this weekend’s Conference USA game at East Carolina at 0-6 and 0-2 in league play.

“We have to pay attention to details and get an edge on the other team,” Randolph said. “We need to be more explosive on offense and find ways to get the ball to the right people at the right spots.”