JP Heath joins us to conclude our offseason preview series by breaking down the 2026 Rice Football defense and special teams.
Following up on his previous visit reviewing the Rice Football offense, Owls’ broadcast JP Heath completed the roster recap this week with a thorough discussion of the defense and special teams. This side of the ball has some unsettled position battles as fall camp winds down, with varying degrees of concern and plenty of reasons for optimism, particularly with the youth movement in the defensive trenches.
We talked through it all. You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 236.
Episode Notes
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Rice Football Preview: Defense
- The defensive line construction makes sense and looks right-sized. Can it be deployed effectively?
- The linebacker rotation is coming together with four primary pieces duking it out for playing time
- The corner room has plenty of uncertainty with JP and Matthew uncertain who has the edge for CB2
- There’s so much depth at safety, which might be the most established unit on the entire roster
- Joseph Mutombo
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