The source for Rice sports news

Rice Football Recruiting: New 2021 offers and mid-August update

By

Three new offers for the 2021 Rice Football recruiting class went out this week. Who are they and where do the Owls stand?

We’re roughly four months away from the Early Signing Period and the 2021 Rice Football recruiting class is coming along nicely. The Owls picked up their 10th commitment on the final day of July, securing the pledge of safety Joshua Williams.

At that time Rice had offered 56 players. 10 were committed to Rice and 25 were committed elsewhere. Of the 18 uncommitted offers, the Owls are still in the mix in roughly half of those recruitments. It made sense that we’d see a few additional offers come out in August. Rice handed out three in the first week of the new month.

FB Cade Anders – Tifton, GA

Fullbacks don’t grow on trees, so Rice has to be particularly judicious when selecting the right players for such an important position in their offense. Incoming freshman Brian Hibbard is the first freshmen the current staff recruited specifically to play fullback. Anders is the second, and Rice is interested enough to throw their hat in the ring of a committed recruit.

Anders committed to Army on July 31st, the same day Rice added Joshua Williams to the fold. He also holds offers from Charlotte, Georgia Southern, South Alabama and others.

He characterized his commitment to Army as “strong”, stemming primarily from the opportunities the academy presented after football rather than the desire for military service itself. Rice doesn’t offer many committed players. The Owls’ interest, and Anders’ willingness to listen to their overtures, are each significant.

WR MJ Singleton – Lubbock, TX

Getting faster has been a priority for Rice in each of their most recent recruiting classes. We should be able to see the fruits of those efforts the next time the Owls take the field. In the meantime, Rice wants to keep adding to the fold. Lubbock, TX wideout MJ Singleton matches the profile.

Singleton is a track guy that can take the top off the defense. He’s a sprinter who specializes in the 100m and 200m dash. On the football field, the speed makes him a versatile offensive weapon. Cole Kirkpatrick is the other wideout to watch on the Owls’ board right now.

OL Graham Keating – Murfreesboro, TN

Rice has two offensive linemen committed in the 2021 class so far: Ethan Onianwa and Faaeanuu Pepe. They’ll be looking to add at least one more in this cycle, preferably someone who can bolster their depth on the interior.  Graham Keating could be that answer.

He can play tackle, but Rice likes his versatility and believes he’d be a great fit at guard as well. They’re recruiting him out of Murfreesboro, TN, home of Conference USA peer Middle Tennessee. Stealing him away from a conference opponent would be an added boost.

Where #FlightSchool21 stands

247 Sports has the 2021 Rice Football class ranked fourth in Conference USA. Nine of their 10 commits have three star ratings. Joshua Williams has not yet been rated.

Bloomgren’s staff has a pretty strong track record of identifying talent before they get ratings. If Williams does get bumped up to a three star, the Owls will be neck and neck with North Texas for that No. 3 spot. The Mean Green have 11 commits to the Owls’ 10. UTSA is second with 16 commits. FAU leads the way with 27.

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

Recent Posts

Rice Football: Declining optimism exists for Owls delayed season

By

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.

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

Recent Posts

BREAKING: Rice Football delays start of 2020 season

By

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.

Become a Patron!

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

Recent Posts

The Roost Podcast | Ep. 45 – 2020 Rice Football Offense Preview

By

The 2020 Rice Football season is scheduled to begin in the coming weeks. In this week’s show, the Roost Podcast breaks down the Owls’ offense.

The Extended Offseason steps away from our series of guests to focus on Rice football. This week’s show features a position by position breakdown of the offense. Carter and Matthew talk through the entire offense, focusing on potential breakout players, reasons for concern and what they’re paying attention to on this side of the ball.

You can always find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to our preview of the Rice Football offense on Episode 45.

Episode 45 Notes

  • Housekeeping — Practice reports are reserved for Patreon subscribers. Make sure you hit the button and subscribe so you don’t miss what’s happening behind the scenes. As always, thanks to all of you who have followed the show on Twitter and left a review on iTunes. It’s quick, but it makes a difference.

Become a Patron!

  • Rice/COVID-19 Updates — Rice football back to regularly scheduled offseason workouts and the university has announced its campus plans for the upcoming fall. As of now, the Owls’ first football game is scheduled to kick off within a month’s time.
  • Rice football offense preview — Carter and Matthew walk through each position:
    • Wide receiver: Austin Trammell and Brad Rozner are studs. Our picks for the next options behind those two.
    • Tight end: Jordan Myers leads the way here and he can do everything, from blocking to pass-catching. Even returning punts.
    • Running back: The health of Juma Otoviano is an x-factor for this offense, but newcomers like Khalan Griffin are worth keeping an eye on.
    • Quarterback: JoVoni Johnson vs Mike Collins. Collins has the slight edge to win the job, but as long as one man can rise to the top and stay healthy, Rice football should be better off. The talent in the room is as good as its been in the Mike Bloomgren era.
    • Offensive line: Mike Bloomgren’s influence has to pay dividends this year. Proven commodities on the left side anchored by Clay Servin and Shea Baker are important pieces.
    • Fullbacks: Brendan Suckley has the fulltime job after being thrust into the starters role last year. Plus, Rice signed the No. 1 fullback recruit in the nation … even though he’d never played fullback.

Where can you find us?

Download and subscribe to The Roost Podcast on any of your favorite podcast providers. The show is available on iTunes, GooglePlay, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn and PodBean. Please consider leaving a review wherever you listen.

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

Recent Posts

Rice Football: 2020 Preseason roster notes and changes

By

The summer is over and the 2020 Rice football season is, allegedly, approaching. Here’s a quick rundown of the preseason roster and a few interesting tidbits and notes.

Rice football released its preseason roster this week, featuring 109 players. If you haven’t grabbed a copy of the 2020 Rice Football Season Preview, be sure you do soon. It has position by position and player by player breakdowns. Check out a sample here.

The team had the option to begin fall camp on Wednesday. Rice has not yet indicated when it will begin. The team is currently holding walkthroughs. The majority of schools who kick off their season on Saturday of Week 1 can open camp on Friday.

As for the roster itself, here were a few observations worth mentioning.

No startling omissions

First, as most significant, all of the Owls’ key pieces are returning. It’s not uncommon for players to move on from teams for various reasons. It happens everywhere. Rice wasn’t hit hard by outgoing transfers this summer, nor were any key players dismissed. There were 110 players on the roster this spring compared to 109 currently. The lone subtraction was former backup quarterback Parker Towns, who did not appear in any games for the Owls last year and had been moved to wide receiver this spring.

There’s a stark contrast between the Owls’ situation and that of other C-USA teams like Marshall and FAU, both of which unexpectedly lost established starting quarterbacks in the past month.

Rice has size in the offensive trenches

Rice had one player on the offensive line that weighed at least 295 entering the 2019 season, grad transfer Nick Leverett. He’s in camp with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers right now.

The 2020 offensive line is significantly bigger. Seven offensive lineman enter camp at or above that 295 pound mark. That includes projected starting center Isaac Klarkowski (299), starting guards Shea Baker (302) and Cole Garcia (296) as well as probably starting tackle Jovaun Woolford. The final likely starter on the line, left tackle Clay Servin, checks in at 292.

The Rice starting o-line will come close to 1,500 combined pounds this season. Some of those, like Woolford, have put on a good portion of that weight during the extended offseason. They’re going to push some folks around.

Still room for non-roster additions

The Owls have been adding to their roster all summer. From former Richmond tight end Andrew Tsangeos to former Princeton long snapper Chris Sayan, Rice is still in the market for the right depth pieces. We might not see any massive last-second additions, but there could be a few more pieces.

One such newcomer is CJ McCord, the brother of current Rice corner Miles McCord. He was included on a graphic tweeted out by a few of the Rice wideouts. Standing 6-foot-1, CJ is transferring from Yale and will bring depth the receiving corps. He caught three passes at Yale.

Senior-led, but not senior heavy

There are 13 players on the 109 man roster listed as redshirt seniors, seniors or grad transfers. That includes Collin Riccitelli whom the staff expects to regain an additional year of eligibility. Here are the other 12:

Definite starter
  • Blaze Alldredge, LB
  • Elijah Garcia, DL
  • Jordan Myers, TE
  • George Nyakwol, Saf
  • Naeem Smith, Saf
  • Austin Trammell, WR
Possible starter / key contributor
  • Mike Collins, QB
  • Jovaun Woolford, OL
  • Garrett Grammer, LB
  • JaVante Hubbard, DL
Bench / backup
  • Andrew Tsangeos, TE
  • Collin Whitaker, CB

As you can see, the most experienced players Rice has are going to be playing a lot of snaps for the team this year. But the next level is just as promising. Although I wouldn’t call this a “young” team, there’s plenty of underclassmen and juniors on the roster this year who will see meaningful reps as the team prepares for a more typical season in 2021.

27 freshmen

Between walk ons and scholarship players, Rice is adding 27 freshmen to the roster for the fall. Bringing in such large classes is what’s enabled Mike Bloomgren and his staff to build the roster back to the appropriate amount of depth. He won’t be having to cancel spring practices because he ran out of players like he had to do on occasion during his first year on campus.

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

Recent Posts