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Chase Clement and Jarrett Dillard are not household names. They are probably not even names known by a majority of college football fans.
But Rice’s quarterback-wide receiver duo is on its way to becoming the most prolific tandem in NCAA history.
When the pair was recruited in 2004 to play in then-head coach Ken Hatfield’s option offense, not even they could have imagined this. But the two have come a long way from learning who to pitch the ball to in the wishbone and how to block defensive backs.
The duo comes to Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium this Saturday with 37 career touchdowns between them — just two shy of tying the NCAA record of 39 held jointly by Tim Rattay and Troy Edwards of Louisiana Tech and Colt Brennan and Devone Bess of Hawaii.
Interestingly enough, the two played high school football at rival schools in the San Antonio area and began throwing the ball around together shortly after signing their letters of intent with Rice. They have translated those pitch-and-catch sessions into an uncanny connection on the football field.
“I know exactly where he is going to be,” Clement said. “I don’t ever have to worry about him running the wrong route or taking seven steps when he should take six.”
“I can tell by his eyes if I’m open or not, if somebody’s on my tail,” Dillard said. “If he gives me those eyes, I know it’s coming and I’ll just run with him. It’s just natural between us.”
In three games this season, Clement and Dillard have hooked up 22 times for 260 yards and five touchdowns. However, neither player has had much success against the Longhorns. Last season, which was the first time Clement started against Texas, they failed to connect for a touchdown. Clement finished the game with one touchdown and two interceptions, and Dillard was held to three receptions for just 30 yards. The pair hopes improve upon those numbers this weekend against a very young Longhorn secondary.
Texas running backs coach Major Applewhite, who coached both players when he served as the Owls offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2006, praised their focus and ability to capitalize on opportunities.
“They’re disciplined with their eyes, they’re disciplined with their assignments and every time there’s a chance for an exposure, those guys are disciplined enough to be in the right position, to have their eyes right and make the play,” he said. “Very seldom does the defense give them an exposure and they don’t take advantage of it.”
Clement and Dillard, who own virtually every quarterback and receiver record at Rice, insist that even with the NCAA landmark in their sights, their focus remains solely on winning football games.
“I would say right now [the record] is not important to us at all,” Dillard said in an interview with ESPN. “At the moment it’s just about football, it’s just about, ‘Hey, let’s go out there and let’s win some games.’”
But they do admit that they would like to one day be able to reflect on the record and appreciate what they were able to do together.
“Hopefully, later down the road we will look back and look at what we accomplished and say that it was a lot of fun doing it,” Clement said.
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