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Rice Basketball: 2021 Guard Elijah Lawrence commits to Owls

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The 2021 Rice Basketball recruiting class picked up its third member, adding local guard Elijah Lawrence from Bellaire High School.

Rice basketball has its third commitment of the 2021 class. 6-foot-1 guard Elijah Lawrence from Bellaire High School, just down the road from the Tudor Fieldhouse. Rice beat out fellow C-USA peer Old Dominion, who offered him earlier in the summer.

Lawrence’s commitment cements a three-player class. Also in the fold are forward Damion McDowell who was the first to commit in May and shooting guard Jaden Geron, who committed in July. Both of the prior commits are California natives. Lawrence represents the lone Texan in the class.

Rice had the distinct advantage of an existing relationship with Lawrence prior to restrictions on in-person visits that went into place earlier this year. He’d already had face time with head coach Scott Pera thanks in part to his close proximity. Fostering that relationship with face to face conversations made the decision easier for Lawrence this summer.

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Lawrence describes himself as a “true team captain on the floor” who can “defend at a high level and play offense at a high level.” His flexibility and versatility will be key as he assimilates into the Owls’ attack.

On the court, Rice is getting a fairly well-rounded player. He has a nice release and can get to the basket in a hurry. He’s not the biggest at 6-foot-1, 160 pounds, but he handles himself well and is able to cut through traffic. Overall a nice pickup for the Owls.

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College Football: 2020 season cancellations continue

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The Big Ten and Pac-12 have canceled their 2020 football seasons, launching a tidal wave of change across the college football landscape that was already in flux.

First it was UConn. Then it was the MAC and the Mountain West. Now the Big Ten, one of the largest and most financially incentivized conferences in the nation has called it quits on college football in 2020, per Bruce Feldman. Hours later, the Pac-12 also shut its doors. An idea that seemed unthinkable a few months ago has become the new reality.

With the first Power 5 conference cancellations out in the open, others will likely follow suit. What happens in the south, from the Big 12 to the SEC and ACC, remains to be seen.

The cancellation of non-conference games against the Big Ten was part of the decision making that led to the MAC cancellations. The remainder of the Group of 5 conferences find their financial situation more closely mirrors the MAC than it does the Big Ten.

Here’s the running tally of programs not playing football this fall:

  • UConn
  • UMass
  • Old Dominion
  • Mid American Conference
  • Mountain West Conference
  • Big Ten
  • Pac-12

That’s 53 of the 130 FBS teams, more than 40% of all FBS programs.

What’s next for Conference USA and the Group of 5?

Several programs, including Rice football, opted not to return to scheduled fall camp practices this week even though the calendar permitted them to do so. Others, like Louisiana Tech, returned to practice only to suspend it because of positive COVID-19 test results.

Whether there are sports this fall or not, there’s going to be plenty to process as everyone works to find a new equilibrium in college sports. Stay current on those updates and following the always-active recruiting cycle by subscribing to The Roost on Patreon today.

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Rice Football: Declining optimism exists for Owls delayed season

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Rice Football took a proactive step to delay the start of its 2020 season, but the future remains as uncertain as ever in the midst of the COVID-19.

On Monday afternoon, Rice football announced the delay of its 2020 season. According to the current plan, that would set the Owls up to begin their 2020 campaign at home against Lamar. The Cardinals reside in the Southland Conference, which could very well fall in line with several other FCS conferences and postpone its season to the spring, at the earliest.

All of those concerns served as a rather bleak backdrop for a conversation with Rice Athletics Director Joe Karlgaard, tasked with explaining the unexplainable and navigating the unprecedented.

“Throughout the summer and up until this point we’ve wanted to do everything that we can to give ourselves the best shot at playing college football this fall,” he said. “We feel like delaying til the end of the month puts us in that position.”

Karlgaard indicated that Rice is still very much so the ultimate decision of whether or not Rice plays football during the fall “day by day.” He went as far as to say “circumstances could change… and that could happen to us and that could happen in a moment’s notice.” Per his own admission, optimism was greater coming out of the spring than it is right now.

For the time being, the plan is for Rice to start the season on September 26 against Lamar and try to fit a home game with Army or Houston in during the Owls’ open week (October 17) or potentially at the end of the regular season, possibly on December 5.

All of those dates seem so far away today in mid-August.

Half joking, half grimly-rooted in our new reality, Karlgaard ended a zoom with local media with a thank you and a promise to keep everyone up to date, signing off with a telling quip: “that could be five minutes from now.”

Sources within the program were equally pessimistic. One put the odds of Rice playing any football this fall at a 4 out of 10. Karlgaard himself said he wasn’t sure what the future holds. In his defense, none of us do.

From a logistical standpoint, Rice is pushing all the right buttons. They’ve been careful and calculated when it comes to there response to a challenging situation. But for now, Rice football and the rest of us will continue to wait.

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BREAKING: Rice Football delays start of 2020 season

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Rice Football will delay the start of its 2020 season. Originally scheduled to start on September 3, Rice hopes to begin on September 26.

The non-conference portion of the 2020 Rice Football season has been canceled. The Owls will push back the start of their season to September 26. That effectively cancels games against Houston and Army, both of which Rice hopes to reschedule in the future. That could include a game later in the 2020 season should the schools have open dates for one reason or another.

If things hold, Rice will begin their 2020 season at home against Lamar on September 26.

Several FCS conferences have halted all football this fall, but the Southland Conference hasn’t announced cancelations to that degree, yet.

If that game is canceled, Rice would move to a conference-only schedule, beginning on October 3 at Marshall.

Athletic Director Joe Karlgaard released this statement:

Our student athletes are driven to compete at the highest levels and work very hard to realize their full athletic potential. Our decisions are guided by an understanding that while we crave competition, we have a responsibility for the safety and health – both short and long term – of our student athletes, coaches, staff and everyone in the Rice community. We must assure that the measures and protections in place are consistent with the overall posture of the university.

This decision comes in the wake of several broad sweeping cancelations. The MAC and the Mountain West Conferences have canceled all football this fall. Conference USA member Old Dominion has also announced the will not play this season.

So many questions remain unanswered. The ramifications of these decisions will continue to impact college football and Rice for years to come.

Whether there are sports this fall or not, there’s going to be plenty to process as everyone works to find a new equilibrium in college sports. Stay current on those updates and following the always-active recruiting cycle by subscribing to The Roost on Patreon today.

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Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

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College Football and COVID-19: Early August Roundup

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This week has brought plenty of updates as to the status of the upcoming college football season amid a pandemic. Here are a few highlights.

This edition of the round up comes one week removed from the previous edition, and my goodness, what can change in a week! A week ago conferences were still sorting out how many games they were going to play. There’s been some more clarity on that front, and less clarity on others. Here’s the latest.

Big 12 goes conference plus one

Following in the footsteps of the ACC, the Big 12 has opted to allow its teams to play one non-conference game. That makes sense given the league’s 10 members with less intraleague options available for scheduling purposes. They were the last Power 5 conference to announce their decision.

UConn cancels football season

UConn became the first FBS program to cancel their 2020 college football season in its entirety. The Athletic ($) reported earlier in the week that head coach Randy Edsall was going to give his players a voice in what the program was going to do this season. Days later, the school announced they would not be playing this season. The players released this joint statement:

 “As a team we are in full support of the decision to not compete in 2020.  We have many health concerns and not enough is known about the potential long term effects of contracting COVID-19. Additionally, we have not had the optimal time to train mentally & physically to be properly prepared to compete this season.  We love this game and love competing.  We came to campus in the beginning of July knowing there would be challenges presented by the pandemic but it is apparent to us now that these challenges are impossible to overcome.”

The MAC becomes first FBS conference to cancel all fall sports

Days after UConn became the first program to shut down football this fall, the MAC became the first conference to hit the pause button on the 2020 season. The league hopes to play in the spring, but deemed a fall season not feasible. Conference commissioner Jon Steinbrecher said, “This isn’t a financial decision. It’s a health & well-being decision.”

NCAA cancels DII and DII Championships

The NCAA hasn’t been at the forefront of much during this current crisis. They issued two decisions this week that seemed like more of a formality than earth-shattering news. Both DII and DII canceled fall championships this year. That comes on the heels of several conferences and additional programs announcing they would not participate this season, if it were to be played.

The rest of the Group of 5 offers varied structures

Conference USA, the American and Sun Belt will all retain their 12 game conference schedules this season. Rather, those conferences will allow their member institutions to play four non-conference games in addition to their preexisting schedule of eight conference opponents. Most teams will have to add games to reach 12 opponents following the canceled games against Power 5 teams.

The Mountain West will play eight conference games with two non-conference games.

Opt outs continue

The trickle of college football players opting out from the season is gradually picking up steam. It’s not just the quantity of players choosing to forgo the season, it’s the inclusion of big names who could see their names called early in the upcoming NFL Draft.

The most notable players to announce they would not play this week were Minnesota wide receiver Rashod Bateman, Purdue wide receiver Rondale Moore, Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons, Pitt defensive lineman Jaylen Twyman, Maryland quarterback Josh Jackson and countless others. The list will continue to grow.

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