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Bobby Kennedy named Rice Football WR Coach

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Rice football has a new position coach. The Owls have announced the addition of wide receivers coach Bobby Kennedy.

Bobby Kennedy has been named the wide receivers coach for Rice football by head coach Mike Bloomgren. He takes over the spot left by Mike Kershaw, who departed this offseason to be the head coach at Mississippi College after five seasons leading the room. Kennedy boasts and extensive track record of success and profiles as a great addition to the Owls’ staff.

Rice football issued this release summarizing Kennedy’s accomplishments:

“Kennedy brings over 30 years of coaching experience to Rice, including seven seasons at Texas from 2004 to 2010 where his receivers played a key role in the Longhorn’s 2005 BCS title and a return to the national championship game in 2009.  In addition to his seven seasons in the Big XII, he has coached in the Pac-12 for a combined 11 seasons (Stanford 2018-22; 2010-11; Washington 2002-03 and Arizona 2001), as well as three seasons in the Big Ten at Iowa (2013-16), and six in the ACC at Wake Forest (1995-2000) after beginning his career in the Mountain West at Wyoming (1993-94).  “

Consistency has been a hallmark of head coach Mike Bloomgren’s staff, with most offseasons featuring minimal turnover. The lone exception came a year ago when Rice brought in five new position coaches en route to their best program finish under Bloomgren to date.

The objective for this offseason was to build off that success as much as possible. So far, the Owls seem to be doing just that, returning the bulk of their starters on both sides of the ball and only making one change among position coaches, inserting Kennedy into an already impressive staff.

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Rice Football Recruiting: Breaking Down the 2024 Signees – Defense

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The 2024 Rice Football Recruiting class includes several hand-picked impact players on defense. Here’s how that side of the ball stacks up.

With the addition of 10 players on National Signing Day, the 2024 Rice football recruiting class has grown to 23 players. Of those players, 16 are current high school seniors and nine play on the defensive side of the ball plus one specialist.

This group now includes walk-on players in addition to scholarship athletes, but as head coach Mike Bloomgren was quick to point out, “All these kids are suited to come in here, play college football and compete and help the Owls.” We’ve gone position by position breaking down each of the new Owls and how they’ll help the program on the field.

* designate early enrollees

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Defensive Line (2) – Charlie Looes*, Michael Daley*

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Alem Huseinovic’s huge night not enough as Rice Basketball falls to SMU

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Alem Huseinovic’s huge night was not enough to keep pace with a furious SMU attack as Rice basketball remains winless at home in AAC play.

SMU started the scoring at Tudor Fieldhouse and did not stop, shooting better than 50 percent in the first half against Rice basketball. With defense unable to keep the Mustangs at bay, the Owls turned to Alem Huseinvoic, who delivered a monster night including a series of big threes to keep pace with the visitors for as long as possible.

Huseinvoic helped push Rice to a nine-point advantage in the final minutes before halftime and scored the only Rice basket in the next eight minutes of court time spanning the final four 3:48 of the first half and the first 4:17 to the second frame. In between SMU outscored Rice by a staggering 29-4 margin.

“At 35-26, I thought, alright, this is going to be a ball game. We’re going to have a chance to win this thing. I could not have been more wrong.”

Things didn’t really get sideways until the opening minutes of the second half when a 15-0 SMU run sent Rice spiraling. Outside of Huseinovic, the Rice offense was spotty at best. Mekhi Mason, fresh off a career day against UTSA, was quiet, scoring just eight points. Travis Evee was 0-for-5 from three. As a result, the Rice deficit would only continue to balloon.

Pera was almost at a loss for words in the aftermath. “I wouldn’t be this upset if I didn’t know it was in there. If I didn’t know what this team is capable of. If I didn’t know how much these kids cared. If I didn’t know how much they really want to win then I wouldn’t be this upset.”

SMU led by as many as 29 points, closing out the game with ease and sending Rice to their seventh consecutive defeat at home in conference play. All three of the Owls’ AAC victories thus far have come on the road.

Final Box | SMU 95 – Rice 69

Key takeaway | Inconsistency from Top to Bottom

Travis Evee and Max Fiedler are the heart and soul of this basketball team. The veteran leaders combined to score 18 points and grab seven boards against SMU on Wednesday night. Either of them is capable of reaching those totals themself, and it wouldn’t require all that unusual of a performance to get there.

“We’re not winning in this league if Max and Travis aren’t playing well,” Pera said point-blank. “Our room for error here isn’t large.”

Rice basketball didn’t lose the game solely because their vets had off nights, but the inconsistency from the top down points toward a lingering problem for this team as a whole. They’re hot and cold to an extreme. At their best, they can take down Memphis and go toe-to-toe with FAU. Both of those teams have been in the Top 25 this season. But when things aren’t clicking it can get messy. Fast.

With another crucial home game looming against South Florida, Pera took full responsibility on Wednesday night “I am not deflecting blame. This is on me,” he said. “This is my responsibility. I am going to hold myself accountable and my staff. We are going to dissect the tape, watch the first USF game and find ways to help these kids be better.”

Up Next: vs USF (Saturday, Feb. 10)

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Jazzy Owens-Barnett’s career night boosts Rice Women’s Basketball past USF

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A career night from Jazzy Owens-Barnett pushed Rice women’s basketball to victory over South Florida on the road.

Rice women’s basketball found itself on the ropes in the early going against South Florida on Wednesday night, hoping to avoid being victims of a Sunshine State sweep following a loss to FAU over the weekend. Rice made just four shots from the field in the first quarter and fell into a 10-point hole following a three-ball from the Bulls to start the second quarter.

It would be hyperbolic to say it was all Owls from that point forward, but it’s fair to say some sort of switch flipped in the blue and gray with their backs against the wall. It was at that point Jazzy Owens-Barnett began to take over, scoring 11 points in the span of five minutes of court time as Rice erased the gap and managed to walk into halftime with a 29-29 tie.

The teams traded buckets early in the third but the later parts of the quarter is when Rice really took command of the game. The Owls made 10 consecutive field goals from the midpoint of the third quarter going into the final frame. Almost at the same time, the Bulls missed 12 shots in a row. USF was able to hang around, but Rice never trailed in the final quarter, pulling out a big win on the road.

“We want to be playing our best basketball right now and I feel like that’s where we’re starting to trend to,” head coach Lindsay Edmonds said afterward. “We’re learning from mistakes. We’re growing. And I think the best is yet to come.”

The win was Edmonds’ 50th at Rice, making her the fastest coach in program history to 50 victories.

Final Box | Rice 69 – USF 59

Key takeaway | Getting close to full strength

Rice spent the better part of the past month without Malia Fisher or Jazzy Owens-Barnett on the court. Injuries had forced the Owls to do their best with a makeshift starting lineup and reworked defensive rotations. Various players have stepped up and had big games in the interim, but it’s been quite a while since we saw this team playing up to its fullest potential.

Owens-Barnett has been back in the lineup for a few games now. Fisher returned for the first time tonight. This is as close as the Owls have been to 100 percent in weeks and they were able to go on the road and pick up a crucial victory against a team tied with them in the standings when the day began.

A career night from Owens-Barnett, 21 points including a perfect 4-for-4 from three, propelled the Owls this time around. “I feel like every night someone from our bench can step up,” Edmonds said of Owens-Barnett. “What a spark plug. We needed every single one of it. She led our charge offensively, but she helped us a ton defensively as well.”

As Edmonds alluded, it might be someone else next time out. And that’s the beauty of depth. Finally healthy and with so many options, this team has the potential to be scary down the stretch.

Up Next: vs Tulsa (Saturday, Feb. 10)

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Rice Football Recruiting: WR Graham Walker commits to Owls

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The 2024 Rice Football recruiting class keeps getting better. The Owls have landed a commitment from Brown WR Graham Walker.

National Signing Day is right around the corner and the 2024 Rice Football recruiting class just keeps getting better. Not long after landing a commitment from the highest-rated high school recruit in program history, the Owls have nabbed a potential impact player from the Transfer Portal, picking up a commitment from Brown wide receiver Graham Walker.

Walker joins the Owls following a standout career at Brown in which he posted 127 catches, 1,496 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns in three seasons. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound playmaker gives Rice a big-bodied option to pair with redshirt sophomore Rawson MacNeill, adding some size to a position group that weighs more toward speed than height.

The addition of Walker also adds experience to a young core of pass catchers as standout Luke McCaffrey heads to the NFL. Seeing the production of McCaffrey and the current NFL success of former Rice receiver Austin Trammell was something Walker took notice of when it came to making his decision.

“Seeing the track record of guys going to the NFL and the guys that the coaching staff has developed just provides more and more reason to join such a great program,” he told The Roost.

Premium: Rice Football Recruiting Offer and Commitment Tracker

There’s a ton to like when it comes to Walker’s tape. Beyond his size, he runs crisp routes and wins when the ball is in the air. He’s not afraid to play through contact and has a nose for the endzone. In addition to the on-field talent, he shared the distinction of being the half-brother of Kansas City Chief quarterback and NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes.

 

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