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Rice Football Recruiting: JUCO TE Boden Groen commits to Owls

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The 2022 Rice Football recruiting classes solidified their tight end haul this week with the commitment of JUCO tight end Boden Groen, formerly of Mater Dei High School in California.

The first wave of 2022 Rice Football commitments came from the high school ranks. Once the Owls had established a base from the younger ranks, they turned toward the Transfer Portal. Rice picked up four transfer additions to the class in December. They’ve now added their first transfer commitment of the New Year in the form of JUCO tight end Boden Groen.

Groen, together with former Cal tight end Gavin Reinwald, provide reinforcements for a tight end room that has experienced a sizable amount of change in the past year. Jordan Myers moved to running back and Jaeger Bull opted to transfer. That leaves Jack Bradley and Robert French as the only remaining players in the tight end room that have seen meaningful snaps in the regular season. Reinforcements were needed and Rice has found them.

Standing 6-foot-5 and weighing 230 pounds, Groen appeared in nine games at Saddleback. He caught 14 passes for 152 yards and one touchdown, average 10.9 yards per catch. But that might not paint a complete picture regarding how Rice plans to involve him in the offense.

Premium: Rice Football Recruiting Offer and Commitment Tracker

Groen has already updated his Twitter bio to reflect his recent pledge and it reads very simply, “Rice FB”. Fullbacks don’t exactly grow on trees and often are developed from able players who slide backward from the offensive line or tight end.

Departing tight end Bull is a great example of how the Owls might utilize Groen, primarily as a blocker with the ability to leak out of the formation as needed. The first few clips of his highlight reel showcase that ability. He moves well in the open field and can get to the next level. He’ll fit in well with what Rice wants to do.

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Rice Football 2021: NFL Owls Wild Card Round 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 the Wild Card Round.

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

Wild Card Round Schedule

Game NFL Owl(s) Result
Las Vegas at Cincinatti Coaches James Casey, Justin Hill Bengals win 26-19
New England at Buffalo  — Bills win 47-17
Philadelphia at Tampa Bay Nick Leverett (OL) Bucs win 31-15
San Francisco at Dallas  — 49ers win 23-17
Pittsburgh at Kansas City Chris Boswell (PK) Chiefs win 42-21

Divisional Round Schedule

Game NFL Owl(s) Date / Time
Cincinattiat at Tennessee Coaches James Casey, Justin Hill Sat. Jan. 22 at 3:30 pm
San Francisco at Green Bay  — Sat. Jan. 22 at 7:15 pm
LA Rams at Tampa Bay Nick Leverett (OL) Sun. Jan. 24 at 2:00 pm
Buffalo at Kansas City  — Sun. Jan. 24 at 5:30 pm

NFL Owls Update

Chris Boswell – PK, Steelers

Boswell did not attempt any field goals in his lone playoff appearance of the season but did drive all three of his extra points attempts through the posts. He and the Steelers were eliminated from the NFL Playoffs in the Wild Card Round.

Nick Leverett– OL, Bucs

Leverett was inactive for the Bucs Wild Card round game against the Eagles and did not see action. That proved perilous for the Bucs who lost tackl Tristian Wirfs midway through the game to injury and was unable to return. Center Ryan Jansen also missed time with an injury. Leverett has already seen spot duty because of injuries to players ahead of him on the depth chart this year. He may be needed again in the Playoffs.

Offseason Owls

  • The Atlanta Falcons have signed wide receiver Austin Trammell to a futures contract.
  • The Seattle Seahawks have signed defensive tackle Myles Adams to a futures contract.

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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Conference USA Basketball 2022: Mid-January Roundup

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Conference USA Basketball is midway through the month of January. What have we learned so far and where does each team stack up against the rest?

Team NET  KenPom Record
Charlotte 141 195 9-5 (2-0)
FAU 196 193 8-8 (1-2)
FIU 251 257 10-7 (0-4)
LA Tech 81 73 15-3 (6-0)
Marshall 247 205 7-10 (0-4)
MTSU 126 153 11-6 (2-2)
North Texas 55 72 11-4 (4-1)
Old Dominion 209 181 7-9 (2-1)
Rice 157 164 10-6 (3-2)
Southern Miss 324 311 5-11 (1-3)
UAB 42 45 15-4 (4-1)
UTEP 174 168 9-8 (2-3)
UTSA 340 325 7-11 (0-5)
WKU 127 112 10-7 (2-2)
Kenpom rankings and standings as of 1/16/2022

Key Storylines

One above the rest, sort of

On the court, it’s hard to argue any Conference USA basketball team has been more impressive this season than Louisiana Tech. The Bulldogs boast a sterling 15-3 record and are one of two unbeaten programs in league play — they’ve also played four more games than Charlotte.  But they’re still behind both North Texas and UAB in KenPom and NET, partly because their best C-USA win came over 10-7 WKU. They’ll have the opportunity to change that this coming weekend with a home tilt against UAB.

Big movers

Two programs have seen big movements in their KenPom ratings since our last Conference USA basketball update, Marshall and Middle Tennessee. The Thundering Herd have toppled 50 spots from 155 to 205 thanks to an 0-4 start in league play, Meanwhile, Middle Tennessee is u 47 slots despite their 2-2 start. Wins against Florida Atlantic and FIU aren’t too impressive, but at least their losses (North Texas and Rice, both on the road) are excusable, all things considered.

Every other program is within 25 spots of where they were ranked two weeks ago.

COVID continues

Although last season was expected to face the strongest headwinds from COVID-19, this campaign has been almost equally challenging for some squads. While Louisiana Tech has gotten six conference games in over the span of three weeks, eight of the remaining 13 teams have played four or fewer games. For most, that meant multiple conference games have been postponed. Who plays whom and when could have a bearing on the standings down the road. If nothing else, it will be something to monitor closely.

 

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Rice Women’s Basketball: Early lead slips away as Owls fall to Marshall

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Once again, Rice women’s basketball came out strong but couldn’t stay in step through four quarters, falling to Marshall at home.

Rice women’s basketball couldn’t have asked for a much better start at home against Marshall. The Owls hit five of their first six shots to take an 11-0 lead over the visiting Thundering Herd. The offense would cool off, but not by much. Rice shot 60.9 percent in the first half, weathering Marshall runs with more buckets of their own.

Once Marshall regained their footing toward the end of the second quarter the two teams traded small leads throughout the next frame. Destiny Jackson and India Bellamy delivered crucial baskets in the third quarter to keep Rice in the mix heading into the fourth.

Last Time Out: Rice Women’s Basketball falls short at home vs WKU

The tight battle tilted away from Rice when the fourth quarter began. Marshall went on a 15-0 run to start the period. Rice made just one field goal in the 10-minute span, faltering down the stretch as the short bench and the second game in two days seemed to prove too much to overcome.

Player Spotlight |  Destiny Jackson

Jackson came up one rebound shy of what would have been her first career double-double. On a day when most Owls struggled from the field, Jackson connected on four of her five shots, adding two points from five free throws. She finished with a +9 plus/minus, the only player on the team to finish in the positive differential.

Stat Corner | Not locked in at the line

There are a myriad of external factors that have not fallen in the Owls’ favor this season. But the reality is those challenges — both expected and unforeseen — happen to some degree to every team in every season. That makes it all the more imperative for this team to control what they can control, and that starts with free throws.

Rice women’s basketball went 8-of-18 from the line against Marshall, leaving 10 points on the board. Five of those misses came in the second quarter when the Owls could have kept a double-digit lead but allowed the gap to close. Free throws won’t fix everything, but it’s a good place to start.

Final Box | Marshall 66 – Rice 53

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice women’s basketball goes back on the road after their brief two-game homestand. Next week they’ll play a set of games against Old Dominion and Charlotte.

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Rice Basketball: Dismal second-half dooms Owls at WKU

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Rice basketball played a great first half before all but disappearing after the break, falling to Western Kentucky on the road on Thursday night.

A tale of two halves might not even do true justice to just how disparate the two periods Rice basketball played against Western Kentucky on the road Thursday night. The Owls came out white-hot, converting on 51.5 percent of their shots from the field while draining seven threes. Then the bottom dropped out. Rice shot 29.6 percent in the second half and added just one triple to their eventual modest totals.

The Owls opponents actually shot worse from the floor in the second half than they had in the first. Where they found their edge was the charity stripe. Western Kentucky was 17-of-22 from the free throw line. Rice was 8-for-11. The Owls would go on to lose by nine.

Last Time Out : Rice Basketball pulls off thrilling upset of UAB at home

It’s not as if fouls determined this game, though. Rice basketball just wasn’t nearly as crisp after the halftime buzzer. Whether it was the right halftime adjustments made by Western Kentucky or a bad shooting slump for Rice — or both — the results were the same. A game that looked winnable at halftime slipped away.

The loss snuffs a short two-game winning streak that included perhaps the most impactful victory of head coach Scott Pera’s tenure at Rice, a home win over UAB. The Owls fall to 2-2 in Conference USA play.

Player Spotlight | Chris Mullins

Mullis has developed into a jack-of-all-trades for Rice basketball over the course of his career. Always known for his superb defensive ability, he added some well-timed buckets against the Hilltoppers. He tossed in a three-pointer to start off the second half on his way to a tie for the team-high in scoring with 13 points. He also added two rebounds and a steal.

Stat Corner | Don’t get dunked

Western Kentucky dunked seven times against Rice and scored 32 total points in the paint. 18 of those points came after halftime. They were a large part of what allowed Western Kentucky to run away with the game in the second half. The home team came out of the break on a 13-5 run. Six of those points came directly from dunks, the highest percentage shot you can take. Just three of them came from threes.

Three-pointers would help Western Kentucky maintain the lead down the stretch, but getting beat inside is what allowed the gap to manifest in the first place. The shots won’t fall every night. When they don’t, preventing easy buckets has to climb atop the priority list. Rice basketball didn’t do that very well on Thursday.

Final Box | WKU 80 – Rice 66

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice basketball closes out their brief road trip on Saturday with a visit to Marshall. The Owls bested the Thundering Herd in the Conference USA Tournament the last time these two squads met. After that they’ll return home for games against Old Dominion and Charlotte.

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