The first specialist is on board in the 2023 Rice Football recruiting class. Punter/Kicker Reese Keeney has committed to the Owls.
Scholarships for specialists don’t grow on trees. That’s what makes the most recent commitment to the 2023 Rice football recruiting class most notable. A dual-skilled punter and kicker, Farragut (TN) product Reese Keeney has committed to the Owls.
Keeney was one of two specialists that picked up offers from the Owls this month. He quickly took Rice up on their bid, making his pledge official two weeks later.
Noted kicking specialist Chris Sailer had high praise for Keeney. In Sailer’s profile on Keeney, he calls him “an outstanding kicker” who “hits a clean ball and easily has 50+ yard range.” He also noted that Keeney “excels at directional punting” and can handle kickoffs as well.
The kicking game was an adventure for Rice football last fall, so the renewed emphasis on finding a longer-term solution at the position seems prudent. Rice brought in several options for the 2022 season, but isn’t leaving the future to chance, either.
Keeney is the 14th commitment in the 2023 Rice football recruiting class that has picked up significant steam this summer. He’s the first — and likely last — specialist.
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For those who don’t spend hours grinding punter and kicker tape, the highlights should suffice. Keeney puts his field goals between the pipes and boots his punts down the field.
During his junior season, Keeney averaged 39.5 yards per punt with a long of 62 yards. He placed 15 of his 40 punts inside the 20. He’s converted 74-of-76 extra-point tries (97.4 percent) in his high school career and made 6-of-12 field goals (50 percent), including a long of 43 yards this past season.
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