The Rice football roster is built primarily with Texas players but still boasts athletes from coast to coast. Where are the 2024 Owls from?
Rice football head coach Mike Bloomgren committed to a national recruiting strategy when he took over the program prior to the 2018 season. Since then he’s stayed true to his word, searching the nation to build the best possible roster he can. The 2024 roster is expected to feature players from 21 different states (and the District of Colombia), up from 18 states a year ago.
The 2024 roster includes new arrivals from Phoenix, Arizona (EJ Warner), Alpine, Utah (Michael Daley) and Hinesburg, Vermont (Graham Walker), among others.
Here’s a visual breakdown of the 2024 roster upon the conclusion of spring practices, with the announced 2024 signing class and transfers included.
2024 Rice Football Roster by State
Not pictured: Hawaii (4)
Breaking down the roster
Of the projected 122 players, 69 (57 percent) hail from Texas. The next highest totals come to Rice from California (10) and Florida (six), noted college football recruiting hotbeds. After that, the pool diversifies quickly. New Jersey is the home to five Owls, four from Hawaii and five other states have three Rice players apiece. Rice has developed a sizable footprint in the northeast in addition to the traditional southern recruiting grounds.
Breaking down the incoming class
Of the incoming commits and signees, 67 percent are from Texas. That’s an uptick of 10 percentage points from the full scope of the roster. A sizable portion of those new players are walk-ons, typically arriving on campus from nearby.
