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Rice Football 2021: NFL Owls Regular Season Recap

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Rice Football is well represented on 2021 NFL rosters. Here’s the latest from the NFL Owls from this week and the season as a whole.

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 17 Result Next
LA Chargers Christian Covington (DL) at Las Vegas (SNF) L, 35-32 (OT)  —
Denver Calvin Anderson (OL)
Bryce Callahan (CB)		 vs Kansas City L, 28-24  —
Pittsburgh Chris Boswell (PK) at Baltimore W, 16-13 (OT) at Kansas City
Detroit Jack Fox (P) vs Green Bay W, 37-30  —
Tampa Bay Nick Leverett (OL) vs Carolina W, 41-17 vs Eagles
Indianapolis Andrew Sendejo (Saf) at Jacksonville L, 26-11  —
Falcons Austin Trammell (WR) vs Saints L, 30-20  —
New York Jets Austin Walter (RB) at Buffalo L, 27-10  —

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 18 game against the Chiefs. He made three starts this season.

Nick Leverett – OT, Buccaneers

Leverett was inactive for the Bucs’ Week 18 game against the Panthers. He’d been active in recent weeks and saw action against those same Panthers in Week 16. He’ll be ready should he be needed in relief in the playoffs after making two appearances in the regular season.

Austin Trammell – WR, Falcons

Trammell was active once again this week after being elevated to the active roster from the practice squad. In a seemingly related move, the team released Marvin Hall earlier in the week, clearing room for Trammell to see the field. Trammell played six special teams snaps, a career-high after registering just one official play in his Week 17 debut.

Austin Watler – RB, Jets

With most of the running back room healthy this week, Walter was kept off the stat sheet after totaling a career-high 49 rushing yards in Week 17. He finishes the season with 101 rushing yards on 26 caries and two receptions for nine yards. He scored his first carer touchdown in Week 7 against the Texans in Houston.

Defense

Bryce Callahan – CB, Broncos

After missing the Broncos’ Week 17 game because of a short stint on the COVID-19 IR, Callahan returned for the season finale against the Chiefs, finishing with four tackles, three of which were solo takedowns. He finishes the season with 29 total tackles, three tackles for a loss and four passes defended.

Christian Covington – DL, Chargers

Covington’picked up two tackles in a wild Sunday Night Football loss at the hands of the Raiders. He finishes the season with 52 total tackles, three tackles for a loss and one quarterback hit.

Andrew Sendejo – S, Colts

Sendejo was placed on the COVID 19 list, forcing him to miss the Colts’ Week 18 game. He finishes the season with 40 total tackles, two tackles for a loss and two passes defended.

Special Teams

Jack Fox – P, Lions

Fox punted twice against the Packers, including a long punt of 67 yards. He also attempted one pass, which fell incomplete. He finishes the season with 65 punts with an average of 49.2, the second-best mark in the NFL. He booted a 70-yard punt against the Bears, his career-long.

Chris Boswell – K, Steelers

Boswell was perfect once again, including the game-winning field goal in overtime to lift the Steelers over the Ravens and ultimately send his team to the playoffs. He was 3-for-3 on the day with his field goal attempts and made his lone extra point try as well.

Boswell finishes the regular season 36-of-40 on field goals with a long of 56 yards. He made 8-of-9 kicks from 50+ yards and contributed 135 total points.

More Owls in the NFL

Former Rice football alums Justin Hill and James Casey are on the coaching staff of the Cincinnati Bengals, who play the Raiders in the Wild Card Round.

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 Recruiting Director Alex Brown hired by SMU

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Rice Football Recruiting Director Alex Brown to be named Director of Scouting at SMU, The Roost can confirm.

First reported by Yahoo’s Pete Thamel, The Roost can confirm that now-former Rice football director of recruiting Alex Brown is leaving to take a position at SMU. Although his work was mostly behind the scenes, the impact Brown had on this program was tremendous. Initially hired away from Houston, Brown revamped the full scope of recruiting operations at South Main.

Brown was with Rice football from the spring of 2019 through the 2022 Early Signing Period. Rice signed some of its most highly-rated recruiting classes under his tenure. Beginning with the 2019 signing class, Brown helped Rice land four consecutive Top 6 classes in program history. The last Rice recruiting class to rank inside the Top 10 all-time was the 2015 class.

Signees like Gabe Taylor, DJ Arkansas and Jake Bailey all rank among the Top 10 signees in program history. Fellow signees Rawson MacNeil, Sean Fresch and Davion Carter round out three more from the Top 20 players ever signed by the Owls.

The results on the field didn’t always live up to the level of talent being brought to campus, but as far as Brown’s role was concerned, there was never a lack of playmakers on the way in. Replacing his contributions to the Rice football recruiting operation will be challenging. Fortunately for the Owls, the structure and strategies he put in place should pay dividends for many classes to come.

No formal announcement has been made by Rice football at this time regarding a replacement. Recruiting assistant Daniel Clements will handle duties in the interim.

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Rice Football Recruiting: Owls target o-line in latest run of offers

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The Transfer Portal has been a focal point of Rice football recruiting in recent weeks, including a flurry of offers on the offensive line.

The 2022 Rice Football recruiting class got off to a great start during the early signing period, but there’s more work to do before the class is completed later this spring. For the time being, the Transfer Portal has taken center stage. Rice has been active in recent weeks, shifting their focus to transfer targets with much of their high school contingent now signed.

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It only takes a brief look at the Owls’ most recent offer list to identify the current priority: offensive line.  The five most recent offers for the upcoming 2022 Rice Football recruiting class have all come at that position, including four transfer targets and one high school senior.

For those checking in for the first time, or those returning, a quick programming note. Recruiting analysis like this piece is reserved for our subscribers. Get access to all practice notes, recruiting updates and special features like this one when you subscribe on Patreon today.

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“I don’t remember one bigger than this”: Rice basketball upsets UAB

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Rice basketball upset conference favorite UAB at home on Saturday, earning the marquee win of head coach Scott Pera’s tenure to date.

Ranked No. 38 in the NET rankings and No. 48 in KenPom, UAB entered Tudor Fieldhouse on Saturday as the overwhelming favorites in Conference USA. They left with a loss at the hands of a now surging Rice basketball squad that has won two in a row at home.

When asked where the win ranked among the top moments of his tenure, Rice basketball head coach Scott Pera formed his hand into a thumbs up and raised it higher and higher until it left the screen of the Zoom call and continued to climb. “The Marshall win last year was tremendous. We’ve had some other big ones here too,” he said with a grin,” but I don’t remember one bigger than this.”

Wins like that don’t come easy. UAB led Rice by five points at halftime. The Blazers were shooting a staggering 60 percent from the field at that point and had seemed very much like the same team that had knocked Rice out of the conference tournament last March.

Pera and his team persevered. The fifth-year headman gave a nod to his assistant coaches that helped develop the game plan and reinforced to his team it would work.

“They never wavered in their belief that they can win the game. And that’s where it started,” he said. “If you don’t believe, you have no chance. And we believed.”

More: Rice Basketball grinds out win over Middle Tennessee

The Owls’ belief was tested early in the second half. UAB opened up a 10 point lead, but just when it seemed like the Blazers might pull away, the Owls’ shots started to fall. Travis Evee scored 17 of his 25 points in the second half. Carl Pierre contributed 13 of his 19 points after the break. Likewise, Mylyjael Poteat scored 14 of his 18 in the final 20 minutes.

Rice basketball also doubled down on their early control of the glass. They whipped the Blazers on the boards, outrebounding their foes 38-27. The 10 point lead by the visitors slowly dwindled. Pierre connected on a triple with 4:33 to put Rice in front for good before Evee iced the game with eight free throws in the final minute.

Player Spotlight | Mylyjael Poteat

Poteat battled injuries last season but was able to play a modest role down the stretch. He’s continued to grow this year, flashing here and there, but never truly becoming a consistent fixture on the floor, at least not until Saturday.

“Tonight, he was the difference. There’s no question about it. He was tremendous,” coach Pera said following the win. He praised Poteat’s renewed work ethic and credited his willingness to put in the extra work that paid off for Rice in this game. Poteat’s 18 points were a career-high. He also added seven rebounds.

Stat Corner | Win inside

The usual three-point-happy Owls were more balanced against the Blazers, repeating echoing traces of an inside-first mentality that helped propel them to a win over MTSU two days prior. UAB outscored Rice in the pain 42-34, but the 34 point total is night and day different from the 18 points in the paint they scored against Middle Tennessee or the 16 they mustered against North Texas.

Rice basketball made eight threes against UAB, tying the second-lowest total they’d had in a winning performance this year. Two games aren’t quite enough for a trend, but it’s a notable growth moment for a team that has lived and died by the three for so long.

Rice out physical-ed UAB in this game. They won on the boards. They found success in the paint. And most importantly. they played sound defense in key moments and hit their free throws. In every way, this looked like a complete basketball team on Saturday.

Final Box | Rice 85 – UAB 80

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice basketball will get a few extra days to enjoy this win. Their next tip doesn’t come until Thursday night when they kick off road trip against Western Kentucky before heading to Marshall on Saturday.

Photo credit Maria Lysaker
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Rice Women’s Basketball runs out of gas, falls to MTSU

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Rice women’s basketball finally opened conference play this weekend against Middle Tennessee, falling to the Blue Raiders on the road.

Head coach Lindsay Edmonds had always known the 2021-2022 Rice women’s basketball season was going to be challenging. Her transition to the school, plus a thinned roster and the seemingly inevitable bouts with COVID-19 posed a daunting challenge. But even forwarned those obstacles would come, it was hard for anyone within the program to prepare for what they faced over the course of the past month.

Rice last played a basketball game on December 16. They finally made their way to Murfreesboro, TN to open conference play against Middle Tennesse only to have the game delayed by a snowstorm. Exhausted, they took the court anyway and somehow managed to reel off a 13-2 run to open the contest.

Staked to an 11 point lead, the Owls had hope. Then the more seasoned Blue Raiders, who hadn’t been out of action for more than three weeks, overtook the Owls and turned a close game into a one-sided affair shortly before the halftime buzzer.

More: Rice Women’s Basketball Midseason State of the Program

Edmonds was honest in her comments after the loss, “It’s been a really rough couple of weeks for us,” she said, “From tests popping positive, to canceling games, to extending an already long Christmas break even longer, practicing with as few as 6 players for several days, weather delays – trying to get back into game shape after 10 days of quarantine has been extremely challenging.

“But I’m not into making excuses. That was the hand we were dealt and we needed to respond better. Middle [Tenneessee] was the much better team today and we didn’t step up to the opportunity. I’m disappointed in our showing today but do believe there are plenty of things we need to and will learn from these challenges.”

Player Spotlight | Maya Bokunewicz

Playing in only her ninth career game, redshirt freshman Maya Bokunewicz was the bright spot for Rice women’s basketball on Friday. She exploded for 20 points, a career-high, propelled by four made three-pointers. Her 41.9 percent clip from deep leads the team, as does her 18 three-pointers made. She also added an assist and five rebounds. Altogether it was a promising day for the second-year player.

Stat Corner | One step too slow

There were plenty of numbers that did not paint Rice women’s basketball in a favorable light following this loss, but two stood out from the boxscore in particular, points in the paint and fast break points. Middle Tennessee almost tripled up Rice in the paint, outscoring the Owls 52-18. They also edged Rice 20- 3 in fast break points.

The paint problem is a nod to physicality. Whether it be exhaustion from a long layoff or too long of gap between seeing live action, Rice was a step slow when it came to protecting the paint. That followed through to the fastbreak as well. Middle Tennessee was ready; Rice wasn’t.

The men exhibited a similar lull last weekend against North Texas before bouncing back and defeating Middle Tennessee on Saturday. Hopefully, the women just needed to get their feet under them and will bounce back in a similar fashion.

Final Box | MTSU 87 – Rice 63

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice women’s basketball has already had their next scheduled game against UAB postponed because of COVID-19 issues within the Blazers’ program. A replacement game was contemplated, but as of now, it seems likely the Owls will march forward as their current schedule dictates. That would mean home games against Western Kentucky (Thursday) and Marshall (Saturday) next time out.

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