Rice Football has a quarterback. Former Nebraska signal-caller Luke McCaffrey has committed to play for the Owls.
On the surface, the Rice football roster looks more or less complete. The Owls have one of the best defenses in Conference USA. They’ve got talented wide receivers, a couple of good running backs and an offensive line that’s been reasonably effective. What they’ve lacked, for multiple years now, is a surefire quarterback. Enter Luke McCaffrey.
McCaffrey’s college football career began in 2019 with the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He played in 11 games over two seasons in Lincoln, throwing for 608 yards and three touchdowns with six interceptions. He added 540 yards and four touchdowns with his legs. He would later transfer from Nebraska to Louisville, but shortly after arriving on campus at Louisville, decided the fit wasn’t right for him.
It was at that point the Owls swooped in. Head coach Mike Bloomgren coached Luke’s older brother, Panthers’ running back Christian McCaffrey, while the two were at Stanford. That connection, combined with McCaffrey’s interest to start and the Owls nebulous quarterback situation, made for a perfect pairing between McCaffrey and Rice.
At the time of his original recruitment, McCaffrey was the No. 1 athlete in the state of Colorado, the No. 13 athlete in the nation and a four-star rated recruit. From a pure composite score perspective, when McCaffrey takes his first snap he’ll become the most highly-rated player to ever play for Rice football. That distinction is currently held by safety Gabe Taylor, who took over the top spot last season.
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McCaffrey instantly becomes the favorite to be the quarterback for the Owls in 2021. He’ll have to get caught up on the playbook and work diligently to understand the scheme, but his talent level, particularly as a runner, has the potential to revolutionize the Rice offense. This was a big get for the Owls.
