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Rice Football: 2021 Wide Receiver Peyton Stevenson commits to Owls

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The 2021 Rice Football recruiting class has picked up their first commitment from a wide receiver. Alabama native Peyton Stevenson has committed to the Owls.

Rice football has been on the hunt for pass catchers to add to the 2021 class for some time. Tight end Jaggar Hebeisen was one of the first in the fold during the spring, but the Owls had yet to secure a pledge from a wide receiver as the calendar crept out of the summer and towards the fall.

Then Rice offered Demopolis, AL wide receiver Peyton Stevenson on Sep. 10. A week later the big-bodied pass catcher had pledged his commitment to the Owls. Stevenson will fill a pressing need on the outside, giving Rice some more options to “rebound” and outjump defenders in the redzone. Brad Rozner has taken up that role for the time being, but he won’t be around forever.

With his decision, Stevenson becomes the second quickest from offer to commit in the 2021 recruiting class. Only Ethan Onianwa who committed two days after his offer was quicker. The rest of class, which is likely more typical of college recruiting these days, took weeks to sift through their options. Stevenson clearly knew what he was after an made the jump.

“The academic excellence as well as the high caliber football is what initially turned my head,” Stevenson said, “I was also comfortable with the coaching staff because of the way they communicated and the effort they put into me and my family. I felt like it was a great opportunity, and I’m glad to be a part of the family!”

Premium: 2021 Rice Football Recruiting Offer and Commitment Tracker

Rice also continued their trend of identifying talent early. The Owls were the first FBS program to offer Stevenson, who also had offers from Jacksonville State, North Alabama and Culver-Stockton and the time of his Rice commitment.

Versatility is a huge plus in the Rice football offense. Stevenson’s playmaking ability with the ball in his hands as a quarterback will only aid to what he’s able to do as a wide receiver. This was a good pickup for the Owls who now have 12 commitments and a Top 5 class among their Conference USA peers.

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Rice Baseball: 2020 MLB Owls update – September 17

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The 2020 MLB season is underway and Rice baseball alums are making noise. Here’s the latest on the MLB Owls from the week of September 17.

Anthony Rendon – Los Angeles Angels

The shortened season hasn’t put a damper on Anthony Rendon’s effectiveness. He and Mike Trout have been the bright spots in an otherwise erratic Angels lineup that ranks a tad south of the midpoint among MLB offenses. At the plate, Rendon is pushing the former MVP with a strong season of his own. As of this week, Rendon was on pace for several career-bests:

Holding up these numbers over the course of a 162 game season would be more arduous than this shortened campaign, but the eye-popping nature of some of these rates is impressive nonetheless. Rendon has proven to be everything the Angels could have hoped for when they signed him this offseason.

Through September 16, Rendon is hitting .277 with 17 extra-base hits, 33 walks and 24 strikeouts.

Tyler Duffey – Minnesota Twins

Duffey was off for five days following his first blown save of the year last week. He entered a Sep. 12 game against the Indians in the eighth inning with one out and finished the frame, walking one and striking out another. Duffey, who always wears the No. 21 jersey, was joined that day by teammates Nelson Cruz, José Berríos and Eddie Rosario who also wore the number in honor of Roberto Clemente. He tossed three more scoreless innings over the next five days, allowing one hit and striking out four.

Through September 16, Duffey has a 1.77 ERA with a .836 WHIP. He’s averaging 12.9 strikeouts per nine innings.

Brock Holt – Washington Nationals

Holt appeared in 12 games with the Nationals following his release from the Brewers. His next appearance in DC will have to wait, but for good reason. Holt was placed on the Paternity list this week. During the offseason, he announced he and his wife were expecting a baby in late September.

Through September 16, Holt is hitting .221 overall and .316 with the Nationals. Since signing with Washington, Holt is 12-for-38 with four extra-base hits.

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Rice Football: What happened to playing in the spring?

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The 2020 Rice Football season is cloaked in uncertainty, but playing in the spring is unlikely to be the answer for the Owls.

Over the past several months I’ve had conversations with several folks about the feasibility of spring football. Should Rice football not play a fall season, could they play later in the academic year? The answer: it’s theoretically possible, but unlikely.

I’ll start with something that most everyone I’ve spoken to at Rice seems to agree with. If a fall season can be played, that’s the best option.

Plan A, if you were to call it such, would enable Rice to play for a conference championship. That would be the closest semblance to a “normal” schedule the Owls could achieve. Rice has already chopped that “normal” down to a slightly less recognizable “familiar”, but the general theme remains.

Moving to the spring would bring with it a new set of challenges that go beyond whatever the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic were at that point.

It’s hard to count on relief from other conferences. The Big Ten announced today they’re going to attempt a fall season after all. The Pac-12, which (as of now) is not playing this fall, could reconsider too.

Unless the Mountain West or the MAC choose to have multiple schools make Rice their non-conference game in a hypothetical spring slate, the pickings for opponents will be slim to none.

Without any conference affiliated opponents, a spring slate might not be plausible. Rice’s best-case scenario might be two home-and-homes with New Mexico State and Old Dominion. That might be better than no season at all, but the optics certainly don’t look great. For those reasons, the focus remains squarely on playing this fall.

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Rice Football 2020: Owls in the NFL Week 1 Update

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Rice Football is well represented on 2020 NFL rosters. Here’s the latest from the NFL Owls in action in Week 1.

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

Week 1 results

Tennessee def. Denver (Anderson, Callahan), 16-14
Pittsburgh (Boswell, McDonald) def. New York Giants, 26-16
Seattle (Willson) def. Atlanta, 38-25
Los Angeles Chargers def. Cincinnati (Covington), 16-13
Chicago def. Detroit (Fox), 27-23
Kansas City def. Houston (Gaines), 34-20
Baltimore def. Cleveland (Sendejo), 38-6

Offense

Calvin Anderson – OT, Broncos

Anderson was active for the team’s Monday Night Football game against the Titans. This was the first game he was active since signing with Denver last year. The Broncos visit the Steelers in Week 2.

Vance McDonald – TE, Steelers

Pittsburgh had their way through the air against the Giants in Week 1. McDonald caught one of two targets for three years with most of the offense running through receivers Juju Smith-Schuster and Diontae Johnson. The Steelers host the Broncos in Week 2.

Luke Willson – TE, Seahawks

Russell Willson connected with nine different pass catchers on Sunday but did not complete a pass to Willson. The Seahawks host the Patriots on Sunday Night Football in Week 2.

Defense and Special Teams

Chris Boswell – K, Steelers

Boswell connected on field goals of 36- and 41-yards against the Giants on Monday Night Football. He made two of three extra points with the miss hitting the right upright. Last season Boswell was a perfect 28-of-28 on point-after tries. The Steelers host the Broncos in Week 2.

Bryce Callahan – CB, Broncos

Callahan finished second on the team in tackles with eight in his debut game with Denver. Six of those were solo tackles. The Broncos visit the Steelers in Week 2.

Christian Covington – DL, Bengals

Covington had three tackles in his Cincinnati debut, playing on 51 percent of the defensive snaps. Earlier in the week, he had this to say about learning the ropes with a new team:

The Bengals visit the Browns on Thursday Night Football in Week 2.

Jack Fox – P, Lions

Fox shined in his NFL debut, blasting a 55-yard punt and a 54-yard punt, both of which were downed inside the 15-yard line. He also registered his first career tackle. The Lions visit the Packers in Week 2.

Phillip Gaines – CB, Texans

Gaines saw all of his action on special teams in his 2020 debut with Houston, playing seven snaps on Thursday night against the Chiefs. The Texans host the Ravens in Week 2.

Andrew Sendejo – Saf, Browns

Sendejo finished fourth on the Browns in tackles in Week 1 with four. Fellow safety Karl Joseph was the only member of the Cleveland secondary who had more (five). The Browns host the Bengals in Week 2.

More Owls in the NFL

From practice squads to current free agents, there are others 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: Jack Fox dazzles in NFL debut with Lions

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Jack Fox made Rice Football fans proud in his NFL debut, excelling as the starting punter and kickoff specialist for the Detroit Lions.

Former Rice Football punter Jack Fox kicked played in his first NFL game this weekend. He showed no signs of any first-game jitters, blasting the opening kickoff for a touchback to start the game. He would go on to excel in a variety of roles in his pro debut.

Fox tallied two other touchbacks, put six kickoffs into the endzone. He had two punts travel more than 50 yards, both of which were downed inside the 15-yard line. He also handled holding duties for kicker Matt Prater. If that wasn’t enough already, he registered his first career tackle on kick coverage.

“Honestly I think I built it up in my head leading up to the game,” Fox said. “When I got on the field it just felt like a normal football game. But still a cool experience.”

For Fox, it took a “redshirt” year to master the finer details of the punting profession. A season spent on and off practice squads combined with an offseason working out with fellow specialists in Birmingham (at what has been dubbed the Punter Conclave on Fox’s recent appearance on The Roost Podcast) ended in a heated battle for the starting job in Detroit. Fox won the job at the end of camp. He proved on Sunday he was more than deserving.

Despite Fox’s efforts, the Lions were unable to win the game. Running back D’Andre Swift dropped what would have been the go-ahead touchdown pass from in the closing seconds. Had he hauled it in, the Lions would have won and made Fox’s NFL debut that much sweeter. Even still, Fox had a stellar start to what continues to look like a promising professional career.

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