The 2019 Rice football recruiting class picked up a big addition in the secondary with the commitment of Cedar Hill corner Josh Landrum.
More: Complete list of 2019 Rice football commits after the early signing period
Josh Landrum and teammate Kirk Lockhart played their high school ball together at Cedar Hill. Next year they’ll share the same field in college. Landrum and Lockhart, who made their pledges to head coach Mike Bloomgren and the Owls over Homecoming weekend, have now both announced their commitments to Rice.
Rice beat out offers from Air Force, Delta State, Georgetown and others to secure Landrum’s commitment. At the time of his commitment, eight other programs had offered the talented defensive back. The Owls won the race.
He was able to step foot on campus on game day against UTEP and take in the facilities, speak with the staff and interact with some of the Owls many recruits who were in for the weekend. It was a big weekend for the Owls, who picked up 2019 safety Hunter Henry as well.
Brandon Douglas-Dotson and Justin Bickham have played the majority of the reps at corner for the Owls in 2018. Both are upperclassmen, Douglas-Dotson being in his final year of eligibility, with little in the way of experienced players behind them. Strengthening this unit will be a priority of the 2019 class and Landrum is an excellent start.
Landrum stands 6-foot, 165-pounds. 247 Sports tabs him as a 2-star recruit and a top 300 corner in the nation.
The accolades are nice, but what’s most important to the Owls is how he fits on the field with this secondary. He provides a skillset Rice desperately needs on the outside, a lockdown corner that can play on an island and win one-on-one battles — something that’s absolutely critical in Brian Smith’s defensive scheme.
