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Rice Athletics: Top 10 Moments from 2021

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2021 was filled with highs and lows for Rice Athletics. The Roost picked out 10 moments that stood out the most along the way.

10. Rice Basketball goes on C-USA Tournament run

For the first time since 2007, Rice basketball won multiple games in the Conference USA Tournament. The Owls beat Southern Miss and knocked off Marshall before falling to UAB. After sneaking into the tournament as the sixth seed in the West, Rice put their best foot forward when it counted the most, building momentum as the team heads into the 2021-2022 season.

9. Owls shine at Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics

The realm of collegiate athletics wasn’t the only area where Rice impressed. The Owls also faired well on one of the world’s greatest stages: the Olympics. Ariana Ince competed in the Tokyo Olympics in the javelin throw. Soon after, Ahalya Lettenberger took home a silver medal in the Paralympic Games.

8. Rice Women’s basketball wins WNIT

It feels like forever ago at this point, but Rice Women’s Basketball marched through the WNIT in March, thumping Ole Miss to win the program’s first-ever WNIT Championship. The roster has changed dramatically since then, but the accomplishments of Tina Langley, Nancy Mulkey and Co. will not be forgotten.

7. Rice Football signs another Top 5 recruiting class

Recruiting has been one of the brightest spots for Rice football under head coach Mike Bloomgren and the most recent 2022 recruiting class appears to be no exception. The Owls took home a Top 5 class in Conference USA and the No. 2 rated class in program history. Each of the last three classes currently ranks in the Top 5 highest-rated classes in school history. More recruiting notes here.

6. Grace Forbes wins C-USA Female Track, XC Athlete of the Year

While track and field might not draw the same spotlight as other collegiate sports, it’s hard not to be transfixed by the level of dominance Grace Forbes has displayed in her young Rice career. Forbes was named C-USA Female Track Athlete of the Year and C-USA Cross Country Athlete of the Year. From start to end, she was the best of the best.

5. Rice baseball hires Jose Cruz Jr. as next head coach

Rice elected to make a change at the top of the baseball program following the 2021 season and athletic director Joe Karlgaard made a splash with the hiring of former Rice great Jose Cruz Jr. Cruz has already made notable additions on the transfer front and increased the visibility of the program within the city and on social media. The 2022 season can’t come soon enough.

4. Rice Soccer upsets WVU in NCAA Tournament

Making the NCAA Tournament is an accomplishment. Winning a game is another. Rice soccer went beyond both bars in their spring season, knocking off 5-seed West Virginia in route to the first Sweet 16 appearance by a Conference USA school since 2011 and tying the program record for wins a season with 14.

3. Rice Volleyball makes NCAA Tournament, twice!

Rice arrived in Omaha in mid-April but had their first NCAA Tournament appearance of the year ended by COVID-19 cases within the program. Undeterred, they bounced back and earned another NCAA bid in their traditional fall season. Finally given the opportunity to compete, Rice beat San Diego in the first round before falling to Texas in the second round.

2. Rice football beats UAB

For the second consecutive season, Rice football won a game as a three-touchdown underdog on the road. In 2020, Marshall was the victim a dominant defensive performance by the Owls. This time around, UAB was caught in the crosshairs of what was indisputably the most complete performance by all phases in the 2021 season with team-favorite Wiley Green at the helm.

1. Rice Athletics accepts AAC invite

The giant of conference realignment awoke during the summer when Texas and Oklahoma announced moves to the SEC. That decision sent ripple effects across college athletics all the way to Houston, Tx where Rice Athletics was invited to join the American Athletic Conference. The Owls don’t have a date when the move becomes official yet, but the announcement itself is a massive moment in Rice Athletics history.

Honorable Mentions…

How about you? Which of these moments from Rice Athletics did you enjoy the most? Cutting this down to 10 was challenging. Which Rice Athletics events should be added to the list?

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Rice Basketball navigates COVID-19 — December 2021 Patreon Q&A

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Both Rice basketball programs have missed multiple games because of COVID-19 issues. Is there an end in sight?

It’s been a quiet month on the court for Rice basketball. COVID-19 issues within both the men’s and women’s programs have forced both squads to cancel multiple games. Is there an end in sight? What’s next for both teams? We’ll provide some updates below.

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Rice Football 2021 Team MVP: Jake Bailey

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The glue guy for a revamped offensive attack, Jake Bailey’s consistency and big-play ability led to him being named our 2021 Rice Football Team MVP.

There are countless ways to determine what “most valuable player” actually means. Raw numbers tell one story. Anecdotes and narrative can tell another. Then there’s that feeling on one’s gut. The kind one gets when you just know that one particular player contributes more to his team than one can distill down into one statistic or any singular storyline. For Rice football in 2021, the answer to all of those questions was Jake Bailey.

In modern football, MVP honors seemingly always default to quarterbacks. Rice had four different signal-callers appear in crucial moments this season. Wiley Green won the biggest game. Jake Constantine won the most. Luke McCaffrey and TJ McMahon accounted for perhaps the most improbable comeback.

But the only unifying factor among those four passers was the constant churn. In large part because of injuries, no one player in that room consistently put the team on his back every single week and found ways to will them to victories. Jake Bailey did.

Despite being knocked out of the UTEP game in the second half and missing the finale against Louisiana Tech entirely, Bailey still led all Rice pass-catchers in receiving yardage. He scored twice and had on remarkable endzone grab that would have been a touchdown called back by a questionable penalty. The raw numbers were good, really good.

When those catches game were perhaps even more important. Bailey led all Rice players in third-down receptions (17) and third-down receiving yards (209). He caught five passes on fourth down. All five moved the sticks, including a diving 36-yard stretch on a scramble from Constantine to help Rice mount a fourth-quarter comeback bid.

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It probably shouldn’t be surprising Bailey became the focal point of the Rice offense. Head coach Mike Bloomgren noted Bailey was “becoming somebody the quarterbacks trust completely” in the early portions of fall camp, adding that Bailey was the kind of player that was always “finding a way to get open.”

There was a period of time when the Jake-to-Jake connection between Constantine and Bailey was the most productive dynamic on the entire roster. With Constantine at the controls and the pocket wavering, he’d often roll out and immediately fix his eyes on Bailey, who was seemingly always ready to make a play and move the sticks.

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That almost innate connection is part of what Bailey so effective on the gridiron. “It was never scripted,” Bailey said of one such schoolyard play. “There’s no formula for it, but it’s always great when it can work out and be something big.”

Big might be the perfect word to describe the size at which Bailey played. Standing 5-foot-10, there were only five players on the roster with a listed height shorter than Bailey. Yet Bailey never let that stop him. If anything, his stature aided his quickness and made him just that more difficult to bring down in the open field.

Bailey is one of the most dynamic playmakers Rice football has at its disposal, and the talented wideout still has two more seasons of eligibility remaining. As a redshirt sophomore, he’s taken home our Rice Football Team MVP honors. The rise of Jake Bailey might only be beginning. Those are some lofty expectations, but Bailey says he’s ready to embrace them.

“When there’s pressure in the situation that means you’re doing something important. That means you’re doing something where people have to look at you, expect from you. It’s always a great place to be. I think pressure is a privilege,” he said. Here’s to seeing where that pressure leads him in 2022 and beyond.

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Rice Football 2021: NFL Owls Week 16 Stats Update

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Rice Football is well represented on 2021 NFL rosters. Here’s the latest from the NFL Owls in action in Week 16.

There are former Rice football players scattered across the NFL. Stay tuned each week for their game results and notables from each player.

Team NFL Owl(s) Week 16 Result Week 17
LA Chargers Christian Covington (DL) at Houston L, 41-29 vs Denver
Denver Calvin Anderson (OL)
Bryce Callahan (CB)		 vs Las Vegas L, 17-13 at Los Angeles
Pittsburgh Chris Boswell (PK) at Kansas City L, 36-10 vs Cleveland (MNF)
Detroit Jack Fox (P) at Atlanta L, 20-16 at Seattle
Tampa Bay Nick Leverett (OL) at Carolina W, 32-6 at New York Jets
Indianapolis Andrew Sendejo (Saf) at Arizona (SAT) W, 22-16 vs Las Vegas

Offense

Calvin Anderson – OT, Broncos

Anderson was placed on injured reserve following a leg injury suffered in the Broncos’ Week 13 loss to the Chiefs. He did not play in their Week 16 game against the Raiders.

Nick Leverett – OT, Buccaneers

Leverett saw some work against the Panthers in Week 16. It was his first game action since being called upon in Week 12 against the Colts.

Defense

Bryce Callahan – CB, Broncos

Callahan has quickly returned to form and resumed his place in the starting lineup after missing six weeks on injured reserve. He had two tackles against the Raiders in Week 16.

Christian Covington – DL, Chargers

Covington notched his third start of the season in Week 16 on the road against the Texans, his former team. He posted a career-best nine tackles, including three solo takedowns.

Andrew Sendejo – S, Colts

Sendejo missed the Colts’ Week 16 game with a concussion.

Special Teams

Jack Fox – P, Lions

Fox punted two times against the Falcons, including a long punt of 57 yards, but it was the work he did with his arm — not his leg — that drew the most attention. Fox dialed up this magnificent throw on a fake punt attempt late in the second quarter:

Chris Boswell – K, Steelers

Boswell had a fairly quiet weekend along with the rest of the Steelers’ offense. He made his lone extra-point attempt and one of two field goal tries.

More Owls in the NFL

From practice squads to current free agents, there are other Owls on the cusp of returning to active rosters. Find more detail on current contractual agreements and former Rice football players waiting for their next opportunity here.

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Rice Football 2021 Defensive Player of the Year: Elijah Garcia

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A veteran leader and one of the most consistent players on the roster, defensive lineman Elijah Garcia is our 2021 Rice Football Defensive Player of the Year.

The pandemic altered everyday life as we know it with ripple effects spreading far past the gridiron. In 2020, there were real questions about whether or not the games would be played. One year later, the question turned to who’d be available to play. Granted an extra year of eligibility by the unprecedented COVID year, defensive lineman Elijah Garcia is our 2021 Rice Football Defensive Player of the Year

There was a time when Garcia didn’t believe he’d still be on campus in the fall of 2021. Whatever doubts had lingered were erased midway through the 2020 campaign when Rice upset Marshall on the road behind a stellar defensive effort. Garcia had four tackles and a pass deflection in that game, the moment he would go on to describe made his decision to return for one more season “a no brainer.”

When it was clear he’d be back on campus, the focus returned to getting better. That drive had always been a part of what made Garcia tick, dating back to his arrival on campus. When he arrived, there were stalwarts like Zach Abercrumbia blocking his path to playing time. Then De’Braylon Carroll and Izeya Floyd both arrived in the 2019 recruiting class. If Garcia wanted to see the field, he’d have to earn it. He did.

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Defensive line coach Cedric Calhoun put Garcia on notice when Carroll and Floyd arrived. Garcia responded by winning the starting job and leading all interior linemen with 50 tackles. He progressed to finishing second on the team in tackles in 2020 and one-upped that mark this season, racking up a team-best 67 tackles as well as career highs in sacks (five), quarterback hits (nine) and total pressures (33).

Those gaudy numbers didn’t come as a surprise to those who knew Garcia best. In the lead-up to the season, defensive coordinator Bryan Smith said Garcia was “just scratching the surface” of how good he could become.

His play spoke for itself, but Garcia did a fair amount of talking, too. Although he wasn’t named one of the team captains during the preseason, Garcia was the man asked to take the mic frequently during postgame press conferences. On those hard nights, he showed composure and poise. He was a leader, on and off the field.

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“In life, things are not always going to go your way, but what matters is the fight you have in you,” Garcia said following the loss to Western Kentucky that officially took six-wins and a bowl berth off the table. He’d recovered a fumble and registered six tackles during the contest. Another strong showing regardless of what the final box score reflected.

The stat sheets don’t offend do many favors to players of Garcia’s position. They do so much more to impact games than making tackles. Forcing double teams, opening up gaps for teammates to get pressure are as important to a team as tallying sacks of one’s own. Garcia had always been an asset in the former skills, this year he added the numbers, too.

Garcia is off to test the professional waters now, but that’s not that surprising. NFL scouts have been in and out of practices throughout the fall watching Garcia go through his paces.

If the growth he’s exhibited throughout his collegiate career is any indication, those scouts might not have seen the best version of Garcia that exists quite yet. He’s always had one more gear. His work on the field this season earned him our 2021 Rice Football Defensive Player of the Year honors. And the best might still be yet to come.

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