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Rice Football Recruiting: WR Jordan Clark commits to Owls

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The 2025 Rice Football recruiting picked up another offensive weapon. Wide receiver Jordan Clark has committed to the Owls.

Following a run of Transfer Portal additions in the winter, the 2025 Rice Football recruiting class has hit the high school ranks in earnest this weekend with National Signing Day fast approaching. The Owls picked up three new pledges in the span of two days, including a new playmaker on offense. Wide receiver Jordan Clark has committed to the Owls.

Clark’s decision to come to South Main stemmed from what he described as an impactful official visit. “At most official visits, the head coach is the last coach you meet,” Clark told The Roost. “However, Coach Abell was the first coach I met on the official visit, so my first impression of Rice football came from him. From the introduction to the farewell, his message was consistent.”

Rice beat out offers from Air Force, Navy and FCS powerhouse Montana State, among others to land Clark’s pledge. He will be the third scholarship receiver from the high school ranks in the class, a new wave of young talent poised to impact the field for the Owls in the years ahead.

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The skill set revealed on film fits the Owls’ new offense well. “They really love to get their playmakers the ball in space,” Clark said. “And with my abilities, that’s where I thrive the most, yards after catch!” Explosive plays are going to play a significant role in making Abell’s offense effective. Clark has the talent to provide those in droves.

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Rice Football Recruiting Profile: S Max Lofy signs with Owls

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The 2025 Rice Football recruiting class added a pair of veteran defensive backs to its roster including former Wisconsin safety Max Lofy.

There was no public social media announcement, just a name posted on a spring roster. Fanfare or not, the 2025 Rice Football recruiting class needed some veteran players in the defensive backfield and picked up an important addition in time for spring ball. Former Wisconsin safety Max Lofy signed with the Owls and enrolled in classes this January.

Lofy joins the Owls after spending five seasons with the Badgers. He redshirted in 2020, his first year on campus then grew into a larger role in each of the subsequent two seasons, playing in 20 games and maxing one start with an interception against Washington State in that latter season. He missed the entire 2023 season with an injury, but returned to the field in 2024.

That offseason, head coach Luke Fickell called Lofy the player on the Wisconsin roster who “has made the biggest leap,” adding, “I don’t think there’s another guy in our program that I have as much respect for.”

Lofy plated in nine games with three starts and tallied a career-high 178 snaps on defense while allowing just five completions on 14 targets.

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At Wisconsin, Lofy was recruited under a previous staff before earning his way back onto the field under Fickell. That determination in perseverance suggests he’ll be more than up for the challenge of earning his way onto the field at Rice.

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AAC skid continues as Rice Basketball falls to Tulane

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A tough day from the floor made it impossible for Rice Basketball to keep up against Tulane, which handed the Owls their fifth straight AAC loss.

Rice basketball faced an uphill battle on Saturday afternoon in their quest to snap a four-game losing streak in conference play. Caden Powell opened the scoring but it was the visiting Tulane Green Wave who delivered the first run, rattling off 11 unanswered points.

The Owls wouldn’t be flustered that easily, though. Denver Anglin started the home team rally with a three, one of his four triples in the first half and Jacob Dar quickly came to his aid, leveling the score back at 28 apiece in the final minutes of the half. Seven straight points from Aaron Powell to close the period would send Rice to the break with a one-point advantage.

More: Rice Basketball 2024-2025 Midseason State of the Program

Tulane would open up a lead early in the second half as Rice struggled from the field. The Owls made six field goals after halftime, seeing a close, physical game get a little bit more out of reach as the Green Wave began to make baskets at better than a 50 percent clip and the Owls just couldn’t keep up.

After taking a modest two-point lead to start the half, Rice would trail for the remainder of the contest. A pair of threes with 20 seconds to play proved too little too late.

Final Box | Tulane 82, Rice 71

Key takeaway | Free Throws Unfullfilled

The free throw issues Rice basketball has experienced this season have been well documented. Rather than rehash that conversation, Saturday’s loss drew attention to a rather unusual statistical line for the team this season. Rice entered this contest fourth in the AAC with 24.5 free throw attempts per game, averaging just shy of one less attempt per game than league-leading Temple (25.9).

It’s not just that Rice is inconsistent from the charity stripe, second worst in the AAC at 68.0 percent. That problem has been exacerbated by the volume of free throws they take. The Owls ran into that problem in this game. They nearly double-up Tulane from the line, taking 33 foul shots to their 17 attempts. That’s almost always a recipe for success, but it wasn’t this time given the number of misses.

Getting to the line is almost always a good thing. For Rice basketball, that general truism might finally be up for debate.

Up Next: at South Florida (Tues, Jan. 28)

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Rice Women’s Basketball falls to UAB in OT

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Rice Women’s Basketball went blow for blow with the UAB Blazers through four quarters before the shooting slumped for good in overtime.

Malia Fisher was the best show in town on Wednesday night as Rice Women’s Basketball slugged out a low-scoring affair in Birmingham against the UAB Blazers. Fisher’s season high 24-point fell just short of half the Owls’ game total and kept the team in the fight when everything else wasn’t going according to plan.

The teams combined for just 19 points in the first quarter, collectively before UAB took a 24-17 lead into halftime. A smatter of threes and free throws in the third quarter seemed to spark the visiting Owls who rallied from a seven point deficit to a three-point advantage, eventually entering the fourth with a two-point advantage.

More: Rice Women’s Basketball 2024-2025 Midseason State of the Program

Neither side did much in the last frame of regulation with UAB outscoring Rice 11-9 to set the stage for a winner-take-all overtime session. Victoria Flores got things started with a bucket, but a 9-0 run from the Blazers put the Owls too far behind to mount a comeback.

Final Box | UAB 63, Rice 56

Key takeaway | Shooting struggles persist

The number of subpar shooting performances has started to snow pile. Rice women’s basketball had 45 minutes of hoops on Wednesday night but only managed to come away with 56 points. More often than not a total that low isn’t going to cut it and that was the case this time around.

Through seven AAC games, Rice ranks 11th in the conference in field goal percentage and 12th in scoring. The Owls’ inability to create on that side of the ball has been a weight dragging them down all season and costing them winnable games.

That they’ve managed to tread water around the .500 mark is a testament to a tremendous defensive effort — Rice ranks third in opponent field goal percentage and scoring per game — but it’s not translated to nearly as many wins as this team expected.

Winning with defense is possible and it’s something this program has done tremendously well in the not-so-distant past, but it’s going to take something more consistent on offense. For whatever the reason, this season’s team hasn’t cracked the code on that vital component just yet.

Up Next: at Charlotte (Sat, 1/25)

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Scott Abell finalizes 2025 Rice Football Staff

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Rice football head coach Scott Abell has finalized his first coaching staff with the Owls, announcing four additional position coaches.

The newest Rice football position coaches are associate head coach and tight ends coach Wayne Lineburg, defensive line coach Ty Warren, running backs coach Johnathan Wilson and wide receivers coach Brian Brown.

“I am excited to announce the addition of these three coaches to our Rice Owl football staff,” Abell stated in a release from the Rice football program on Tuesday. “Each one brings a different background that will only add to our already strong coaching staff. The Rice Owl family will be proud of who they are as men and the impact they will have on our student-athletes on and off the field for the Owls.”

A further announcement confirmed Brown as the final assistant:

“I am so excited to finalize our coaching staff with the addition of Brian Brown,” Abell said. “His playing and coaching experience will be a huge addition. This completes our inaugural Rice football coaching staff, and I couldn’t be more excited.”

Abell previously announced the hiring of his first seven assistants in mid-December as well as a few important off-field staffers (new additions in bold)

Warren, a two-time Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots, had previously served as the assistant head coach and defensive line coach at SFA. Wilson, his coworker at SFA, coached the Lumberjacks’ wide receivers. Wilson is a graduate of Klein Forest High School and played four seasons for the Kansas Jayhawks.

Lineburg, the Owls’ associate head coach, spent the last eight seasons coaching tight ends and coordinating special teams at Wake Forest. Brown was an assistant with Abell at Davidson, coaching defensive backs.

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