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Rice Football Recruiting: ’24 DL Armstrong Nnodim commits to Owls

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The 2024 Rice Football recruiting class is growing quickly with another commitment. Defensive lineman Armstrong Nnodim has committed to the Owls.

Not long after getting the first commitment in this cycle, the 2024 Rice football recruiting class has doubled down, landing its first defensive pledge. Defensive lineman Armstrong Nnodim has committed to the Owls.

Nnodim’s announcement comes on the heels of a commitment from Cy Fair wideout Owen Carter, who made his decision public four days prior. Getting two impact players this early in the cycle makes for a strong start. Both Nnodim and Carter represent a strong base for the Owls to build upon as they work towards another strong class.

Rice was the first to offer Carter but even though it was early in the recruiting calendar, the Owls had competition for Nnodim. The 6-foot-1, 245-pound defensive lineman had seven offers so far including soon-to-be fellow AAC foe UTSA as well as Arkansas State. Beating the Roadrunners head-to-head on the recruiting front is always a good thing.

Neither Nnodim nor Carter have been assigned recruiting rankings just yet, but based on total commitments alone, the Owls have pulled even with UCF and USF with two members of the 2024 class committed so far. No other program has more than one listed, including crosstown rival Houston.

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Nnodim jumps out immediately on film. For one, he’s not a small man who had two-pick sixes on his resume this season in addition to his havoc plays on the quarterback himself. He’s already got a few impressive pass-rush moves in his arsenal and can win with speed and strength. A multi-sport athlete, Nnodim’s athleticism stands out by a wide margin.

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Rice Football Recruiting: Breaking down the 2023 signees – Offense

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The 2023 Rice Football Recruiting class started with a quarterback and continued to add offensive firepower. Here’s how this side of the ball stacks up.

Rice signed 24 players during the Early Signing Period. Of those players, 18 are current high school seniors and 15 of them play on the offensive side of the focal point of this update. We’ve gone position by position breaking down each of the new Owls and how they’ll help the program on the field. We’ll also account for a few names added on National Signing Day.

* designate early enrollees

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Quarterback (2) – JT Daniels*, Chase Jenkins*

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Rice Football Recruiting: Breaking down the 2023 signees – Defense, Sp. Tms

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The 2023 Rice Football Recruiting class is full of pass rushers, impact players and specialists. Here’s how those sides of the ball stack up.

Rice signed 24 players during the Early Signing Period. Of those players, 18 are current high school seniors and nine of them play on the defensive side of the ball. We’ve gone position by position breaking down each of the new Owls and how they’ll help the program on the field. We’ll also account for a few names added on National Signing Day.

* designate early enrollees

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For those checking in for the first time, or those returning, a quick programming note. Special features like this are reserved for our subscribers. Have questions? You can get those answered in our monthly Q&As and get access to all practice notes, recruiting updates and features like this one when you subscribe on Patreon today.

Defensive Line (4) – Chris Clark, Joseph Mutombo, Coleman Coco*, Jordan Campbell*

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Rice Football Recruiting: 2023 National Signing Day Live Blog

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The 2023 Rice Football Recruiting class wraps up on National Signing Day. Follow all the action here as the Owls close out the class.

Like in years past, Rice football recruiting looks to close out another successful class on National Signing Day. This live tracker will follow all the latest news and updates throughout the day, with further updates on the class as its finalized. If you’re not a subscriber yet, here’s your chance.

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As we did during the Early Signing Period, we’ll have a Live Blog up and running with updates throughout the day. (Not a subscriber, we’ve unlocked this post to give you a flavor of what to expect — live updates, when we get them).

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Which newcomers are program-changing talents? Who is the diamond in the rough? More to come. For the time being, let’s dig into the latest from National Signing Day, below.

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Rice Football Recruiting: WR Matt Sykes commits to Owls

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The 2023 Rice Football recruiting class continues to add reinforcements from the Transfer Portal, this time with a commitment from former UCLA WR Matt Sykes.

On the eve of National Signing Day, the 2023 Rice Football recruiting class continues to add talent. After taking a few high school receivers in December the Owls have added their first transfer at the position, picking up a commitment from former UCLA wide receiver Matt Sykes.

Sykes is a former 4-star recruit in the 2020 class, picking UCLA over Cal and BYU at the time. Current Rice offensive coordinator Marques Tuiasosopo was at Cal at the time and was recruiting Sykes to join the Bruins. A few years later, both have circled back together, but this time in Houston.

Rice has had tremendous success at the wide receiver position from transfer players in recent years. The Owls leading trio of pass catchers last season — Bradley Rozner, Luke McCaffrey and Isaiah Esdale — all transferred to Rice from elsewhere. Sykes could potentially fill in for the departing Esdale and enable the offense to keep rolling without skipping a beat.

“I pride myself on being versatile when it comes to running routes, and being strong through the catch,” Sykes told The Roost. “I think I can add more length, speed, and experience to the offense.”

Sykes also contributes to a growing contingent of players with Hawaiin ties on the roster. Kicker Tim Horn, punter Connor Hunt and running back Dean Connors all played high school football on the islands, as did Sykes.

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Listed at 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds on the UCLA roster,  Sykes is long and quick. With only 10 collegiate receptions to his name, there’s not a ton of film to pull from during his time with the Bruins, but he appeared in 30 games over three seasons and did grab this touchdown last season.

His high school highlights showcase a player with speed and size, and he’s had three seasons within the UCLA program to grow since then. Rice has had tremendous success with underutilized, talented players who have transferred from Power 5 programs to South Main. Perhaps Sykes could be next on that list.

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