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Rice Basketball Recruiting: Owls putting together strong 2022 class

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The 2022 Rice basketball recruiting class is coming together quite nicely with two players already in the fold for the Owls so far.

Head coach Scott Pera and company have returned to Tudor Fieldhouse and turned their focus to the upcoming season. Practice tipped off last week. For the past few weeks, though, the future of the program has been at the forefront of their minds as they look to put the finishing touches on the 2022 Rice basketball recruiting class.

The Owls have assembled a two-man class thus far, drawing from programs all over the nation to find the right pieces for the upcoming class. First came Andrew King, a guard from Arizona who stuck with Rice from October until March when he announced he was decommiting from the program. At that point, Rice had already added another commitment, this time from guard Mekhi Mason.

Mason made his pledge to the Owls in January and has stuck with Rice from that point onward. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard is an aggressive scorer who looks comfortable with the ball in his hands. He’s not afraid to attack the rim and should fit in well at #GreenLightU.

The most recent commitment came from Andrew Akuchie. The forward from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Florida gives the Owls some length in this class. Although he’s comfortable in the front court, he’s able to score from multiple levels and moves fluidly up and down the court.

Once they sign and become official, those two will be available to help the Owls on the court for the starting of the 2022 season. They’ll follow a 2021 class that includes transfers Carl Pierre and Terrance McBride, as well as freshmen Jaden Geron, Damion McDowell and Jackson Peakes.

Given the turnover and uncertainty that surrounds college basketball today, it’s entirely possible, if not likely, the Owls add at least one more to this class before it’s finalized. For now, it’s a very good start.

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Rice Football 2021: NFL Owls Week 4 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 4.

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 4 Result Week 5
Los Angeles Chargers Christian Covington (DL) vs Las Vegas (MNF) W, 28-14 at Seattle
Denver Calvin Anderson (OL)
Bryce Callahan (CB)		 vs Baltimore L, 23-7 at Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Chris Boswell (PK) at Green Bay L, 27-17 vs Denver
Detroit Jack Fox (P) at Chicago L, 24-14 at Minnesota
Tampa Bay Nick Leverett (OL) at New England (SNF) W, 19-17 vs Miami
Indianapolis Andrew Sendejo (Saf) at Miami W, 27-17 at Baltimore (MNF)

Offense

Calvin Anderson – OT, Broncos

The Broncos only scored once against the Ravens, rendering Anderson’s special team usage to just one snap in Week 4.

Nick Leverett – OT, Buccaneers

Leverett remained inactive for the Bucs Week 4 game against the New England Patriots. He still awaits his first regular season snaps with the defending Super Bowl champions.

Defense and Special Teams

Chris Boswell – K, Steelers

Boswell made his lone field goal attempt on Sunday against the Packers, connecting from 52 yards. He added two extra points on two tries.

Bryce Callahan – CB, Broncos

Callahan registered his fourth pass deflection of the season and his seventh tackle in the Broncos’ Week 4 loss to the Ravens.

Christian Covington – DL, Chargers

Covington was extremely production on Monday Night Football. In addition to two tackles, he added one sack, one quarterback hit and one pass deflection.

Jack Fox – P, Lions

Fox put together another impressive outing in the Lions’ Week 4 loss to the Bears. He punted three times, averaging 55.3 yards per punt with a long of 56. He pinned two of his kicks inside the 20.

Andrew Sendejo – S, Colts

Sendejo saw his most action of the season on Sunday against the Dolphins, playing every defensive snap for the Colts. He registered one pass deflection as well as four total tackles.

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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The Roost Podcast | Ep 94 – Rice Football vs Southern Miss Review

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Rice football has won two in a row, opening conference play with a win over Southern Miss. We delve into the victory in this week’s show.

Back-to-back victories has Rice football fans feeling much better about this team heading into the bye week. The Owls absolutely had to find a way to win their last two games, and they did. The offense looks much improved and the defense showed out. Special teams remain a concern. Matthew and Carter talk through all of the highs and lows in this week’s episode.

You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 94.

Episode Notes

  • Housekeeping
    • Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to the podcast on your platform of choice. Every little bit helps.
    • Check out the Blue and Gray Preview Show every Wednesday at Noon, hosted by Matthew and Rice radio broadcaster JP Heath on the Rice Athletics Youtube Channel
    • Please support us on Patreon. Be the first to get the inside scoop on what’s going on with Rice football and stick around for even further analysis. That includes updates from fall camp, practices and more.
      Become a Patron!
  • Rice Football vs Southern Miss Game Review 
    • Many of the outstanding questions about this team answered in second-straight win
    • Rice offense starts strong, creates explosive plays
    • Defensive bounces back with five sacks, four interceptions
    • Rice starts 1-0 in conference play
    • Special teams remain concerning, in multiple phases
    • Outlook on this team moving forward after the bye week

Where can you find us?

Download and subscribe to The Roost Podcast on any of your favorite podcast providers. The show is available on iTunes, GooglePlay, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn and PodBean. Please consider leaving a review wherever you listen.

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Rice Baseball: 2021 MLB Owls post regular season update

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The 2021 MLB regular season is in the books and Rice baseball alums played big roles throughout the year. Here’s the latest from the MLB Owls this year.

Glen Otto – Texas Rangers

Originally a fifth-round draft pick by the Yankees in 2017, Otto worked his way through the Yankees organization. He rose from rookie ball to AAA in the span of four MiLB seasons before he was traded to the Rangers in a deadline deal this season.

Following the trade, Otto made his major league debut on August 27 against the Astros. He threw five scoreless innings in that game, striking out seven and allowing just two hits. That would be his best outing of the season.

Otto ends his first major league season with a 9.26 ERA and a 1.714 WHIP. He struck out 28 batters across 23.1 innings, averaging 10.8 punchouts per nine innings.

Brock Holt – Texas Rangers

Holt filled the utility role with the Red Sox for seven seasons before brief stints with the Brewers and Nationals in 2020. In his lone season with the Rangers, he played exclusively at third base, appearing in 76 games with 57 starts at the hot corner.

At the plate, Holt hit .209 on the season with 23 RBI and 16 extra base hits. After averaging .270 during his Red Sox tenure, Holt hasn’t found the same level of consistency elsewhere, scattering strong months here and there like August where he slashed .259/.232/.333 with a .656 OPS, some of his best marks of the season.

Anthony Rendon – Los Angeles Angels

Rendon appeared in 58 games for the Angels in 2021 before he was ruled out for the remainder of the season following hip surgery. This was the fewest games he played in any full 162-game season in his major league career.

Before his season came to an end, Rendon had accumulated 34 RBI in those 58 games. He had a .240 batting average and a .712 OPS, coming on and off the injured list multiple times throughout the year before eventually being shut down.

Jon Duplantier – Arizona Diamondbacks

Duplantier’s 2021 season was derailed by injury. He suffered a lat strain in July while pitching with the Diamondbacks’ AAA affiliate and was released, quickly resigning with the club on a minor league deal.

He appeared in four major league games with the club, finishing the year with an 0-3 record and a 13.15 ERA. He struck out 12 batters, allowed 19 hits in four starts.

Tyler Duffey – Minnesota Twins

Duffey wrapped up the 2021 season with a 3-3 record and a 3.18 ERA. His 64 appearances were a career high, as were his three saves. He threw 62.1 innings, the most he’s thrown in a single season since 2017.

Primarily seeing action as a setup man and middle reliever, Duffey was effective, despite seeing his walk rates tick upward and his strikeout numbers trend the wrong way. 2021 wasn’t his best season, but he still managed a 134 ERA+ (a weighted ERA that accounts for all other pitchers and ballparks).

Lucas Luetge – New York Yankees

Luetge’s reemergence in the big leagues was a tremendous success. He accounted for 1.5 WAR (wins above replacement) of his career 1.6 WAR this season alone, making one start and appearing in 56 games as a reliever. He finished with a 2.74 ERA and 78 strikeouts compared to just 15 walks.

It was a banner year across the board for Luetge, who smashed most of his marks from his early days in Seattle, proving to be a reliable middle-relief option for the Yankees on their way to the postseason.

The Yankees play the Red Sox in the Wildcard Game on Tuesday, Oct. 5 at 7:08 PM CT.

J.T. Chargois – Tampa Bay Rays

Chargois had a bump 2019 season with the Dodgers and ended up spending the 2020 season playing overseas in Japan. That brief trip out of the states proved to be just what he needed. Chargois returned to the MLB triumphantly, posting career bests across two separate organizations, spending the first half of the season with the Mariners before being traded to the Rays.

Across both organizations, Chargois claimed a 2.52 ERA (which fell to 1.90 with the Rays) and struck out 53 battlers in 53.2 innings. His strikeouts per inning numbers were down, but his effectiveness rose. Chargois’ 1.081 WHIP was the lowest of his career.

The Rays await the winner of Tuesd;says wildcard matchup between the Yankees and Boston. Game 1 of the ALDS will be played on Thursday.

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“It was a grimy game, and we got it done”: Rice Football wins ugly

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Rice football found a way to win ugly, downing Southern Miss for their first 1-0 conference start under Mike Bloomgren.

After losing three of their last four games, Rice football was well aware of what could possibly go wrong in a college football game. The Owls had experienced their fair share of negative plays over the past month, including in their prior win against Texas Southern.

If there were looking for a perfect game on Saturday against Southern Miss, they didn’t get it. But they did win.  “It was a grimy game,” super senior defensive tackle Elijah Garcia said with a smile, “And we got it done. That’s something I’m really proud of this defense for.”

It wasn’t that long ago Garcia took the postgame podium and used words like “hurt” and embarrassing”. In fact, only two short weeks later, he praised a defensive unit that gave up 378 total yards to a team relying on what was essentially their third-string quarterback, a team that committed error after error on special teams.

The positive sentiment wasn’t rooted in the individual lines on the final box score. No, Garcia was referencing the scoreboard.

“I feel good man,” he said. “We fought to the end.”

Ultimately, that’s what made the biggest difference. Garcia called it “grimy”. At sometimes it was downright bad. But this time, Rice was able to win ugly. That’s not something this team has done in recent memory. Bad games have typically doomed them to bad results. This time was different. “Guys didn’t cry,” safety Kirk Lockhart said of the team’s mistakes. “They didn’t drop their heads.”

More: Rice football outlasts Southern Miss for first conference win

No, rather than drop their heads they raised their level of play. The defense forced two interceptions in the fourth quarter. They sacked quarterback Jake Lange twice. Running back Frank Gore Jr. was held in check, telling six total yards in the final frame. “We actually came out and finished,” Lockhart reiterated.

That in itself implies Rice has reached a certain level of maturity as a team they might not have fully embraced in prior seasons. Everything doesn’t have to go right for this team to win. They’d prefer it did, but they can cobble together enough good to get things done in a pinch. That in itself is a positive the Owls will certainly be hanging onto moving forward.

Equally jovial in his postgame remarks was Rice football head coach Mike Bloomgren. A winner of six of his last nine conference games, Bloomgren couldn’t suppress his smiles when he looked back at what was the first 1-0 start in Conference USA play in his Rice tenure.

“I don’t really give a dang how we win. Every win is beautiful to me,” he said with a grin. “We’re going to work on [the mistakes] whether we win or lose, and I promise you it’s a lot more fun to work on it when you win. The fun is in the winning.”

Rice hits the bye week on a two-game winning streak. There’s optimism the Owls could get several key players back following the bye, reloading for what they hope is a run toward their first bowl berth since 2014. Bloomgren himself called his special team’s unit “a work in progress”. There’s work to be done. But like Bloomgren said, the work will be just a bit more fun.

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