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Rice Football and the Transfer Portal: Are the Owls better off?

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Rice football has to deal with the Transfer Portal, just like every other program. Are the Owls better off or has the portal left at a deficit?

Every December the football season winds down and the Transfer Portal takes center stage. Rice football isn’t immune to players opting to leave the program for one reason or another. But is Rice winning in the transfer market or are they losing? How is this new adaptation specifically impacting the Owls? In short: the Transfer Portal has been a huge benefit to Rice football, and it’s not particularly close.

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I last did this study in 2019, evaluating players that came and went that season. The results were overwhelmingly positive. This look back will focus on players who came and went via the Portal for the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

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Rice Football: 2022 Spring semester roster notes

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The Rice football roster has seen some significant changes since the Owls last played a game. Here are the most prominent adjustments.

Roster churn impacts every college program in the country and the changes have only been exacerbated by the ever-changing transfer climate. Rice football has experienced a large number of adjustments to its roster from where things left off last season. Some of those shifts can be attributed to transfers, others involve players who have left the program for one reason or another.

This update highlights which key players have been left off the most recently released roster as of the end of January as well as incoming spring enrollees and various notes regarding position shifts, number changes and more.

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For those checking in for the first time, or those returning, a quick programming note. Special updates like this are reserved for our subscribers. Get access to all practice notes, features and more insights like this one when you subscribe on Patreon today.

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Conference USA Football 2021: Stop rate and defensive performance

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Conference USA football had some good defenses and some very bad ones in 2021. Which ones found ways to get off the field the most?

Recently published by The Athletic, stop rate is a useful tool for measuring college football defenses. Max Olson, who compiled the sat, defines stop rate as:

“a basic measurement of success: the percentage of a defense’s drives that end in punts, turnovers or a turnover on downs. This simple metric can offer a more accurate reflection of a defense’s effectiveness in today’s faster-tempo game than yards per game or even points per game.”

Although in previous years Olson had married stop rate with three-and-out rate, this year he’s placed points per drive data alongside the focal data point. Combined together, it paints a pretty compelling case when it comes to defining what elite-level defense looked like in college football this year. But what does it mean for Conference USA football, specifically?

Observations

You won’t find either UTSA or Western Kentucky in the Top 5 of Stop Rate or points per drive allowed. Both programs relied on their offenses to get the job done in 2021, but that doesn’t mean defense is dead either. UTSA’s defensive numbers are skewed upward a bit by multiple rounds against Bailey Zappe and the WKU offense. UAB, which was the runner-up in the West also was ranked in the Top 5 in Stop Rate.

The programs that failed to skirt .500 were the ones that didn’t have at least one or the other. Middle Tennessee and Old Dominions are great examples of programs that played solid defense and found just enough offensive pop at the right moments to reach the six win plateau and make a bowl game. Others like Rice, Charlotte and FIU were left on the outside looking in, largely because of mediocre to poor showings on both sides of the ball throughout the season.

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Rice Football Recruiting: Kicker Conor Hunt commits to Owls

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The 2022 Rice Football recruiting class isn’t done yet. Days after National Signing Day, the Owls have picked up a commitment from kicker Conor Hunt.

Head coach Mike Bloomgren made a point to note the 2022 Rice Football recruiting class was not complete when he stood in front of the microphone on National Signing Day to discuss the Owls’ newest crop of signees. It only took a few days from that address for Rice to add another important piece to the fold, picking up a commitment from Georgetown transfer kicker/punter Conor Hunt.

Special teams were a disaster for Rice football last season. The return game had its bright spots, but the Owls connected on 5-of-11 field goal attempts, demoting starting kicker Collin Riccitelli midway through the season in favor of Elon transfer Christian VanSickle who hadn’t attempted a field goal in a collegiate game prior to lining up for a 41-yard attempt against Southern Miss.

Riccitelli is no longer on the roster. VanSickle is. But the Owls made it clear by their willingness to go for it on fourth down rather than settle for even a moderately long field goal they needed help at the position

Hunt will join Washington transfer Tim Horn and walk-on Enoch Gota in a three-way battle for the starting kicker job. His experience as a punter will also push Charlie Mendes, who regressed in both average distance and net distance last season.

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Hunt made 7-of-12 field goal attempts for the Hoyas last season, hitting from a long of 45-yards with one kick blocked. He punted 48 times, averaging 41.7 yards per punt with nine punts of 50 yards or longer. His versatility has the potential to be invaluable to the Owls who need to shore up the kicking game headed into the 2022 season.

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Rice Women’s Basketball: Owls grind out narrow win at UTEP

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Locked in a close game with UTEP from wire to wire, Rice women’s basketball made the shots when it mattered to secure the road win.

It might be worth finding someone to whisper “it’s the first quarter” into the ear of every Rice women’s basketball player before they take the court. The Owls continue to be one of the fastest-starting teams in Conference USA as their trend of early scoring continued on Saturday against UTEP.

Rice jumped out to a 9-3 lead to start the contest, pushing their advantage to seven points late in the first quarter before UTEP was able to find any sort of rhythm. The Miners would narrow the deficit in the second quarter and tie the game up before a Destiny Jackson jumper at the buzzer put Rice back in front, 32-30.

Last Time Out: Rice Women’s Basketball can’t keep up with sharpshooting USM

The third and fourth quarters would be more of the same. Despite Rice outshooting UTEP 49.0 percent from the field compared to UTEP’s 39.3 percent, neither team led by more than three points in the second half until Haylee Swayze hit a three with 5:51 to play. From that point onward Rice simply had to weather the storm.

Turnovers by both teams made the finish tighter than the Owls would have hoped for, but Destiny Jackson delivered five free throws in the final 90 seconds to secure the win. After starting 0-5 in conference play, Rice women’s basketball has now won two of their last three.

Player Spotlight | Malia Fisher

Extended playing time for some of the Owls’ up-and-coming players was one of the subtle blessings of a short bench this season. Malia Fisher showcased the benefits of having her on the court quickly, notching double-doubles in three of her first six career games.

On Saturday against UTEP, it seemed as Fisher couldn’t miss. She connected on her first six shots from the field, ending the game 7-for-14 with seven rebounds, fives assist and two steals. The Owls’ streaky offense was sparked time and time again by a big play from Fisher.

Stat Corner | Five deep

Rice women’s basketball has relied heavily on their staters all season long. With little reinforcements behind them, the Owls’ starting five are going to have to carry the load. That’s exactly what they did on Saturday. Rice got two points from their bench, courtesy of India Bellamy’s lone shot attempt, splitting the remaining 70 points across their five starters. UTEP would only score 69 points with their starters and bench combined.

Four of the Owls’ five starters reached double-digits with Haylee Swayze coming up just short (eight points) but delivering the crucial three-pointer in the fourth quarter that all but put the game out of reach. It was a stellar performance from the starters. Rice will need more of that going forward.

Final Box | Rice 72 – UTEP 69

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice women’s basketball gets a home-and-away two-game slate with North Texas next weekend. The Owls will travel to Denton on Thursday, Feb. 10 and host the Mean Green on Sunday. Feb. 13.

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