The 2027 Rice Football Recruiting class got off to a hot start in the trenches. Offensive lineman Jackson Koeppel has committed to the Owls.
The first official visit weekend has come and gone, and with it has arrived the first wave of new members of the 2027 Rice Football recruiting class. It should come as no surprise that the program secured some key offensive building blocks to get the class started, including one impressive people-mover up front. Lake Travis offensive lineman Jackson Koeppel has committed to the Owls.
There was a host of interested parties in Koeppel’s recruitment before he shut things down in favor of the Blue and Gray. Koeppel’s first offer came from Tulane, then he picked up offers from Boston College, East Carolina, North Texas, UTSA, Army, Navy, Ohio, Utah State and others. Ultimately, the trajectory Rice football was on made the difference.
“Coach Abell shows to have established a new culture at Rice,” Koeppel told The Roost. “It feels to me like the program is on the rise to do great things.”
Koeppel joins wide receiver Brody Diel as the first pair of pledges to the 2027 Rice Football recruiting class, which, as Koeppel hinted, is on the rise, too.
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Koeppel lines up at tackle and pushes people around on film, understandable given his 6-foot-4, 280-pound frame. His initial burst makes him dangerous and will come in handy with the run schemes the Owls like to utilize.
Above all else, he’s excited to get started. “I’m ready to embody that WE mentality and win at everything I do,” he said.