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Rice Football Recruiting: Offensive lineman John Long commits to Owls

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The 2021 Rice Football recruiting class has landed its second commitment in a week. Offensive lineman John Long has committed to the Owls.

Intellectual Brutality is at the core of the Rice football recruiting philosophy. The desire to win in the trenches led to the first commit of the 2021 class, offensive lineman Faaeanuu Pepe. Ethan Onianwa was the next offensive lineman to join the fold. The Owls added their third big man up front today with the commitment of Lampasas guard John Long.

Long commits to Rice football just three days removed from his first official offer. Long was offered on Oct. 11 and pulled the trigger soon after, committing on Oct. 14. He’s the second member of the 2021 class to commit within a week of receiving his offer from the Owls. Wide receiver Peyton Stevenson committed one week following his offer in mid-September.

Long chose Rice football over offers from UCF, Tulane and North Texas. Beating out a Conference USA peer and two prominent AAC programs is notable for the Owls who continue to raise their recruiting profile as they bring in waves of new talent with each successive recruiting class.

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Standing 6-foot-4 and weighing 300 pounds, Long looks the part of a people mover in the offensive trenches. He marks the 15th commitment in the 2021 Rice Football recruiting class, the third on the offensive line and the seventh offensive commit.

Long is a powerful off the line of scrimmage, capable of pushing defenders around. For a big guy, he’s fairly fleet of foot, pulling from the line and getting out in front as a lead blocker in space. He creates massive holes in the running game, something Rice running backs will appreciate when they have the opportunity to run behind his pads.

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Rice Football 2020: Owls get multiple starters back to practice this week

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Rice football has been hit hard by injuries prior to their season opener. Several of those players were back at practice this week.

Rice football is less than two weeks away from their first game of the 2020 season. The Owls remain on track to host Middle Tennessee on Oct. 24, with no fans. If you haven’t yet, check out some of the virtual offerings Rice has put together for the game. There should be a few more things in store this week.

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Perhaps the most notable happening in prior Rice football practices was the number of players who weren’t on the field. The injury bug hit Rice hard during fall camp. It’s already cost them the entire seasons of Cam Montgomery and Bradley Rozner. The Owls’ are still a ways from being fully healthy, but this week brought with it much more encouraging news.

First, Rice football is COVID-19 free after reporting one positive test on Oct. 3. They do not have any players unavailable because of positive tests or contact tracing right now. In non-COVID related news, we’ve seen a turn for the better with several key players who were on the field this week after missing time earlier in camp.

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What’s coming next?

I’ve got a few breakout freshmen that I’ll be sharing soon. It’s probably safe to say a few of them could play important roles this fall, especially if the Owls enter the season banged up. I have some more depth chart updates that I’ll work to have finalized following the third and final scrimmage on Saturday. Stay tuned for another update then, the last before we get to game week against Middle Tennessee.

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Conference USA Football: Championship game moved to Dec. 18

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The 2020 Conference USA Football championship game has been moved to Dec. 18, a two-week delay to allow the conference scheduling flexibility.

In an announcement that seemed several weeks in the making, the Conference USA football championship game will be delayed two weeks. The game was initially scheduled to take place on Dec. 5, but will now take place on Dec. 18. Per the league office, it will be televised at 6 p.m. CT and be hosted by the team with the highest league winning percentage.

In their release, Conference USA cited scheduling flexibility as a driving force for the change.

The shift of the Championship Game from its originally scheduled December 5th date will create two additional weeks to schedule games that were postponed due to COVID-19-related issues.  Dates and matchups for those re-scheduled games will be announced at a later date.

More: Week 6 Conference USA Football Roundup

It should be noted the conference opted to delay the game two weeks rather than one. This gives two additional weekends to play games. There have been multiple league games already postponed and one team, FAU, had already scheduled a game for Dec. 5 prior to the conference formally moving the championship game. The Owls are slated to take on Georgia Southern on that date, a makeup of a game postponed earlier in the year.

For Rice Football, this move allows for two additional weeks on the back end of the current schedule. I expect a rescheduling of the UAB to be among the Owls’ most pressing items, completing a full C-USA West schedule.

There’s also a chance the Bayou Bucket game against Houston is rescheduled later in the year. Houston is tentatively free on Dec. 5. One would assume conference games would be the priority, but if those are played as scheduled don’t rule an intra-city matchup between the Owls and Cougars this fall.

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Rice Football 2020: Owls in the NFL Week 5 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 5.

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

Week 5 results

Cleveland (Sendejo) def. Indianapolis, 32-23
Baltimore def. Cincinnati (Covington), 27-3
Denver (Anderson, Callahan) vs New England, postponed
Pittsburgh (Boswell, McDonald) def. Philadelphia, 38-29
Houston (Gaines) def. Jacksonville, 30-14
Seattle (Willson) def. Minnesota, 27-26
Detroit (Fox) — BYE

Offense

Calvin Anderson – OT, Broncos

The Broncos thought they were playing the Patriots in Week 5 and the Dolphins in Week 6. Neither of those things came to pass. A positive COVID-19 test in New England delayed the DEN-NE game to next weekend with Denver receiving an unexpected off weekend. The Broncos will now visit the Dolphins in Week 6.

Vance McDonald – TE, Steelers

McDonald caught the only pass thrown to him in Week 5, hauling in the four-yard reception which contributed to a 14-play, 62-yard drive which ended in the Steelers’ first touchdown of the day against the Eagles. McDonald has at least one reception in each of Pittsburgh’s first four games. The Steelers host the Browns in Week 6.

Luke Willson – TE, Seahawks

Willson continues to see most of his action on special teams. Through the first five weeks of the 2020 season, 77 percent of his snaps have come on special teams with just a handful of plays run with the offense. The Seahawks are on a bye in Week 6.

Defense and Special Teams

Chris Boswell – K, Steelers

Boswell was busy on Sunday with the Steelers scoring early and often against the Eagles. Boswell had at least one extra point made in each of the four quarters, five in total, and converted his lone field goal attempt of 41 yards. The Steelers host the Browns in Week 6.

Bryce Callahan – CB, Broncos

The Broncos thought they were playing the Patriots in Week 5 and the Dolphins in Week 6. Neither of those things came to pass. A positive COVID-19 test in New England delayed the DEN-NE game to next weekend with Denver receiving an unexpected off weekend. The Broncos will now visit the Dolphins in Week 6.

Christian Covington – DL, Bengals

Covington had three tackles in the Bengals’ Week 5 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. He tied Amani Bledsoe and Sam Hubbard with the most tackles among Cincinnati’s defensive linemen. The Bengals visit the Colts in Week 6.

Jack Fox – P, Lions

The Lions were off in Week 5, but Jack Fox still leads the NFL in net punting and average. Detroit visits the Jaguars in Week 6.

Phillip Gaines – CB, Texans

Gaines did not record a tackle but was active in coverage against the Jaguars in Week 5, Houston’s first win of the season. The Texans visit the Titans in Week 6.

Andrew Sendejo – Saf, Browns

Sendejo had four tackles in the Browns’ Week 5 victory over the Colts. He’s had four or more tackles in four of his five games this season. The Browns visit the Steelers in Week 6.

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 Recruiting: JUCO DL AJ Sargent commits to Owls

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The 2021 Rice Football recruiting class has picked up its first JUCO addition. Defensive lineman AJ Sargent has committed to the Owls.

The summer is in the books and Rice football is in the home stretch for its 2021 recruiting class. The early signing period is two months away and its time for Rice, and their peers to begin finishing up their classes. Rice has already turned some of its attention to offers for the 2022 class ($).  Rice entered October with a Top 5 class in Conference USA and 13 commitments from high school recruits.

On Saturday they added their first junior college player to the fold. Coffeyville C.C. defensive lineman AJ Sargent has committed to the Owls. Rice offered Sargent in September. The Owls’ primary competition for Sargent was an offer from Missouri State.

Sargent will provide a much-needed injection of talent on the interior of the defensive line where numbers have grown a bit thin. De’Braylon Carroll is the Owls’ only interior defender with meaningful game experience that won’t be a senior this coming fall. Adding someone who can contribute quickly will be a big building block for this class.

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Beyond what he can do in the fall of 2021, Sargent is expected to enroll early. He’ll be on campus for the upcoming semester, ensuring he’ll be available for spring practice next February/March. Getting transfers on campus early is always a plus. Head coach Mike Bloomgren acknowledge its benefits multiple times this spring when grad transfer Mike Collins saw his first action on the field with the Owls.

For Sargent, it only takes one quick glance through the film to see how impactful he could be at South Main. The 6-foot-1, 290-pound tackle sheds blockers quickly and has great pursuit. Having him and Carroll along the same front could prove to be a powerful combination for the Owls in the trenches.

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