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Defensive back Kirk Lockhart commits to Owls

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The 2019 Rice football recruiting class continues to pick up steam, this time with the commitment of Cedar Hill defensive back Kirk Lockhart.

More: Complete list of 2019 Rice football commits after the early signing period

As the early signing period approaches the only thing better than one commitment is two. Safety Hunter Henry made his pledge Sunday. The Owls got another commit on Monday. Rice doesn’t intend to fill every spot in their 2019 recruiting class by mid-December, but getting some key pieces in early will go a long way toward building momentum for the stretch run into National Signing Day.

The latest addition to the 2019 Rice football recruiting class was Cedar Hill safety Kirk Lockhart from Cedar Hill High School. His teammate, defensive back Josh Landrum is also on the Owls radar.

Rice had 10 members in their 2019 class before Lockhart made his commitment. That number now sits at 11 meaning the Owls are likely about halfway through a haul that could be rather sizable for head coach Mike Bloomgren’s first complete class after taking over the job last winter.

Lockhart had offers from East Texas Baptist and Carroll College. His offer list isn’t very long, a fact that is somewhat surprising giving the intensity and aggression he plays with on the defensive side of the ball. He flies to the ball quickly and makes tackles — something that Owls’ fans have learned not to take for granted this season.

The 5-foot-10, 180-pound safety plays like he was shot out of a cannon. He knows where the ball is at all times and puts himself in position to make a play, whether that’s in the air or taking a player to the ground himself.

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This week in CUSA – Looking ahead at Week 13

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Rice football got a firsthand look at Death Valley under the lights but came up short. What’s next for Conference USA football in Week 13?

Team Last Week Result This Week
Charlotte vs FIU L, 42-35 at FAU
FAU at North Texas L, 41-38 vs Charlotte
FIU at Charlotte W, 42-35 vs Marshall
LaTech at Southern Miss L, 21-20 vs WKU
Marshall vs UTSA W, 23-0 at FIU
MTSU at Kentucky L, 34-23 vs UAB
North Texas at FAU W, 41-38 at UTSA
ODU vs VMI W, 77-14 at Rice
Rice at LSU L, 42-10 vs ODU
Southern Miss vs LaTech W, 21-20 at UTEP
UAB at Texas A&M L, 41-20 at MTSU
UTEP at WKU L, 40-16 vs Southern Miss
UTSA vs Marshall L, 23-0 vs North Texas
WKU vs UTEP W, 40-16 at LaTech

Notable Week 12 results

Nothing to see here

Three CUSA squads took their shots at SEC opponents. Middle Tennessee gave Kentucky a fight, UAB hung in there against Texas A&M and Rice challenged LSU. All three were heavy underdogs and all three fell on the road. The individual games themselves will get passed over, but playing blueblood teams is good for Conference USA and needs to continue to be a part of the schedule.

FAU vs North Texas did not disappoint

The preseason “game of the year” in Conference USA had little on the line after both North Texas and FAU each went through rough stretches. Nevertheless, their Week 12 matchup was extremely entertaining. Quinn Shanbour and Devin Singletary each picked up a pair of rushing touchdowns before a 92-yard touchdown run from UNT’s DeAndre Torrey put things out of reach in the fourth quarter.

UTEP still has a ways to go

The Miners looked like they might have turned the corner early in November when they dropped 48 points on Rice and 32 more on Middle Tennessee. The 16 point clunker they dropped at Western Kentucky over the weekend is clear that UTEP’s consistency leaves a lot to be desired. The win over Rice was a good first step, but putting all the pieces together in a singular game remains a challenge.

Week 13 storylines

Will Rice earn their first CUSA win?

Western Kentucky’s victory over UTEP last weekend leaves one CUSA team still waiting on their first conference win, Rice. The Owls have played a few close contests but have yet to break through. ESPN FPI gives the Owls a 30.5 percent chance of winning in their final home contest of the season.

Who takes CUSA East?

FIU and Middle Tennessee sit atop the East entering the final weekend of conference play. The Panthers defeated the Blue Raiders earlier this season, giving them the tiebreaker if the schools finish even after the final week of the regular season. The only way MTSU takes the crown would require a win over UAB and an FIU loss to Marshall.

FAU and Southern Miss fight for bowl eligibility

Six CUSA teams have secured bowl eligibility so far: UAB, Louisiana Tech, North Texas, FIU, Middle Tennessee and Marshall.

Six other teams are too far down to make a bowl this season, even with wins in Week 13. That leaves two squads, FAU and Southern Miss, to fight for their postseason lives in their final games of the year. FAU plays Charlotte and Southern Miss plays UTEP, both win-needy teams are favored to win.

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Safety Hunter Henry commits to Owls

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The 2019 Rice football recruiting class just picked up an important addition. Safety Hunter Henry has committed to the Owls.

More: Complete list of 2019 Rice football commits after the early signing period

It seemed like only a matter of time before Lake Travis safety Hunter Henry made it official and committed to Rice. He was on campus this summer and loved the experience. He was back for the Owls’ game against UTEP and although the result wasn’t what he’d hoped for, he saw an opportunity to contribute.

247 Sports tabbed Henry as a 3-star recruit and the No. 269 player in the state of Texas. At the time he committed to Rice he had offers to play for Texas State, Princeton, Liberty and Houston Baptist. Rice has long been considered a leader in his recruitment and now he’s pulled the trigger and decided to be an Owl.

Henry is a hard-hitting safety that plays with physicality from all areas of the field. He’s already bought into the Intellectual Brutality culture and loves what this coaching staff is building at South Main. It finally got to the point where he couldn’t wait any longer, making the decision midweek following the UTEP game to tell the staff he was all in.

The Owls’ secondary doesn’t have a ton of depth, making the commitment of Henry a huge get for the 2019 class. More should follow. Expect this coaching staff to add to the back end of the defense with a few more key recruits before the class is finished.

Henry checks in at 6-foot-1, 205 pounds — plenty of power that comes in from center field in a hurry. It doesn’t take much more than a cursory look over his film to understand what the staff loves about Henry as a prospect. He’ll be hitting ballcarriers wearing the blue and grey soon enough.

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Owls’ offense snuffed out at Death Valley by LSU Tigers

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Rice football wrapped up their 2018 road schedule against LSU in Week 12, falling to the Tigers by a final score of 42-10 in Death Valley.

Few teams walk into Tiger Stadium and leave with a victory. Rice knew staying with LSU was going to be a challenge, but they hung in the ring with the Tigers and made them go the distance. LSU jumped out to a 28-3 halftime lead before coasting to victory.

Nobody likes losing, especially by a large margin, but the test makes the team better. Now, a few quick reactions from the loss:

1. Marquee games against brand-name opponents are good for this team

The loss marks the 11th defeat for Rice this season and their seventh consecutive loss to LSU. As an aside and irrespective of the final score, Rice football needs to keep playing these games. The atmosphere of playing in Death Valley is one of the premier experiences in all of college football and getting the chance to step into Tiger Stadium and be a part of that moment was a special experience for these players.

Rice was a heavy underdog, but they Owls fought, and the test provided by one of the premier teams in this sport will pay off for down the road. This game is more than a nice paycheck for the university, it’s a chance to see how you measure up against the best of the best. Rice has a long way to go, that’s clear, but now they know exactly what they’re up against.

2. Joe Burrow has strong outing against up and down Rice secondary

Joe Burrow made waves this summer when he transferred from Ohio State to LSU. The former blue-chip quarterback recruit was viewed as the last piece the Tigers needed to get over the hump and return to National Championship contention.

Through his first 10 games the returns were mixed. Entering the Rice game, Burrow ranked 13th in the SEC with a 54.8 completion percentage. His 14 pass plays of 30+ yards were just one more than the Owls’ 13 such plays.

Burrow was sharp against Rice. The Owls were forced to respect the speed on the outside and generally erred on the side of caution when it came to pressure at the line of scrimmage. The results were relatively clean throwing lanes for Burrow who didn’t miss. He completed 20 of 28 passes for 307 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.

The Owls nearly had an interception, but it was taken off the board on an offsides call. Coverage down the field kept the ball in front of them with the exception of a few deep throws delivered perfectly by Burrow (one of which was ruled incomplete). Those have plagued the Owls all season and made an otherwise decent night in the secondary rather dour.

3. Prudy Calderon is already a difference maker

LSU brought in Jontre Kirklin to run a Wildcat package on their second possession of the game. Dylan Silcox brought him down after a short gain and ripped the ball out, Calderon was there to pounce on it and give the Owls possession and their 10th fumble recovery of the season.

Calderon has four interceptions in his last five games. He came close to adding another against LSU, but a diving attempt in the second quarter came up just short. Midway through the third quarter he picked up a pass break up, turning LSU away on third down.

The fumble recovery, pass break up, and three tackles were the only items on the stat sheet for Calderon on Saturday, but the impact he has on this team from the safety position has been huge. Teams don’t beat him over the top. When they try to go short, he’s there to make the tackle and deliver a big hit.

Calderon is a true freshman. He’s going to be a fixture on this defense for years to come and instrumental in turning this unit around in the coming seasons.

4. The Rice rushing attack remains a work in progress

By Mike Bloomgren’s own admission, the Rice offense is meant to be a run-first attack. The Owls have struggled on the ground over the last month and knew they’d be up for a challenge against LSU, the 30th-best run defense in the nation.  That expectation became a reality as crowded boxes dared Rice to throw the ball or face short pickups at the line of scrimmage.

Rice was held to -4 yards on the ground in the first quarter. Excluding sacks, that number marginally improves to 11 yards on six Aston Walter carries. Running for less than two yards a clip isn’t going to cut it for a run-first offense, but that’s part of the battle that comes with playing a defense with as much talent and speed as LSU.

Through four quarters, the rushing numbers did not improve. It didn’t matter who had the rock, it was tough sledding. Rice tallied 97 yards on 43 carries, good for 2.3 yards per carry.

It’s worth noting that Rice brought in the jumbo package needing one yard or less to convert on three separate occasions. They converted on all three occasions against one of the most physical defensive fronts in the country.

That’s been the theme of the season thus far, too much in the way of mixed results. The Rice coaching staff has done a decent enough job using things like the Wildcat package with Juma Otoviano and gadget plays with D’Angelo Ellis to jump-start the rushing attack, but the results haven’t been where they need to be.

5. On to Old Dominion

It’s been a long season filled with highs and more lows than Rice fans would have wished for — and just like that, it’s almost over. Rice hosts Old Dominion next weekend in the Owls’ 13th and final game of 2018. Head coach Mike Bloomgren is still looking for his first conference win, giving this team plenty to play for in their last contest.

A win against Old Dominion wouldn’t make up for several near-misses that could have given the Owls another win or two, but it would be evidence that the Owls are headed in the right direction.

As Bloomgren himself would say, it’s time for the team to put this one behind them and move on. The results weren’t what this team was looking for but the process continues on. Overmatched on several fronts against LSU, this team demonstrated the fight and the willingness to compete that fans have been waiting for all year.

Rice has one more chance to scratch across a win.

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10 Stats entering Owls’ game vs LSU

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Rice football has been through plenty of ups and downs in 2018. With a game against LSU looming it’s time to take a peek at some key stats.

4 – Interceptions by true freshman safety Prudy Calderon. One more than the entire team had last season.

5 – Number of players to register at least 25 carries so far this season. After relying on one lead back through his time at Stanford, several factors have led Mike Bloomgren to employ a variety of rushers. Aston Walter saw the majority of the work in the Owls’ most recent game against Louisiana Tech.

6 – Sacks by Anthony Ekpe, the most on the team and a career high. Since his breakout three-sack game against North Texas, Ekpe has 10 tackles and 1.5 sacks over his last two games.

10 – Touchdown passes for quarterback Shawn Stankavage. The most by an Owls’ quarterback since Tyler Stheling in 2016.

37-13-5 – Rice’s all-time record against LSU.  The Tigers and Owls went back and forth in the mid-’50s, but LSU has won 17 of the last 19 with one tie. The Owls’ last win came in 1980.

45 – Different players that have recorded at least one tackle this season. The volume of newcomers the Owls’ have played continues to grow every week.

45.3 – Average punt length from specialist Jack Fox. That distance leads Conference USA and ranks ninth in the nation.

48 – Tackles registered by Zach Abercrumbia this season, the most by an interior defensive lineman since Christian Covington in 2013

90 percent – Kicker Hayden Tobola has connected on 9-of-10 field goals. That accuracy leads Conference USA and ranks sixth in the nation.

600 – Receiving yards for Austin Trammell through 11 games. Trammel appeared in 12 games as a freshman in 2017 and tallied 51 receiving yards on four catches.

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