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Rice Football Recruiting: 2022 DL DeMone Green commits to Owls

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The 2022 Rice Football recruiting class added one more on the seond day of the Early Signing Period, landing a commitment from defensive lineman DeMone Green.

All though most of the branding tends to label the third Wednesday in the month of Decemeber “Signing Day”, it’s truly the first of a three-day window officially refered to as the Early Signing Period. While it’s true that most of the action happened in the morning hours as soon as pen was allowed to hit paper, the 2022 Rice Football recruiting class was just getting started.

The Owls added one more new face to their 2022 haul on Thursday, landing a commiment from Heights High School defense lineman DeMone Green. The star-commit gives Rice 12 additions in the Early Signing Period to date. Green had previously announced offers from Arkansas, Tennessee and Houston.

Green gives the Owls’ a nasty trio of defensive lineman from the high school ranks. Interior man Davion Carter and end Chibby Nwajuaku both signed with Rice on Wednesday. Depth at that position was imperative and Rice has now sufficiently checked those boxes.

The 2022 class was going to be small, making every spot all that more important. Green absolutely earned his ticket and should be a contributer down the line soon enough.

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Green has strength and quickness off the edge, and that’s something that’s only going to grow as he works with strength coach Hans Straub. He spends more time in the backfield on his highlights than he does with his hand in the dirt, something Rice fans will appreciate once he arrives on campus.

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The Roost Podcast | Ep 104 – 2022 Rice Football Recruiting class review

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The 2022 Rice Football recruiting class signed this week. Who are the new Owls and how will they impact the program moving forward?

The final edition of The Roost Podcast this fall has been recorded, and we closed things out with a bang. This week Carter and Matthew break down the 2022 Rice Football recruiting class, analyzing the big names that are expected to arrive at South Main in the near future as well as what outstanding players and positions the Owls might target for their final few spots.

On the whole, Rice signed another impressive class. Make sure to subscribe on Patreon to get access to our position-by-position deep dives in the coming days.

You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 104.

Episode Notes

  • Housekeeping
    • Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to the podcast on your platform of choice. Every little bit helps.
    • Please support us on Patreon. Be the first to get the inside scoop on what’s going on with Rice football and stick around for even further analysis. That includes updates from fall camp, practices and more.
      Become a Patron!
  • 2022 Rice Football Recruiting Class – We take a big picture view of the class, walking through how each player fits the current roster and who might be the top candidates to see the field sooner rather than later. Key topics included:
    • Where this class stacks up against previous classes from a rankings perspective
    • The profile of athlete Rice has recruited in recent years
    • What additional players Rice might look to add before the 2022 season begins

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.

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2022 Rice Football Recruiting class nets Owls another historic haul

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The 2022 Rice Football recruiting class is the latest in a run of top-flight classes for the Owls and head coach Mike Bloomgren is embracing it.

We’ve all heard the refrain at some point in the season from one coach or another. You know how it goes. Whether it be preseason rankings, in-season polls, etc. When any given coach takes the podium he’ll offer comments like “We’re focused on us” and “one game at a time.” That’s what made how Mike Bloomgren handled the 2022 Rice Football Recruiting class so refreshing.

Bloomgren didn’t beat around the bush or deny that he and his team weren’t aware of how those outside the hedges perceived his program. He welcomed it, directly referencing the 247 Sports recruiting rankings in his opening address. “The two classes before I was hired here in 2016 ranked 129th in the nation, in 2017 they ranked 122nd. In each successive year, we’ve been able to raise that bar.”

The numbers bear that out. As it currently stands, the 2022 Rice Football recruiting class is the second-highest rated class in program history, trailing only the 2020 class. The fourth highest-rated class (2021) and the sixth highest-rated class (2019) also came in Bloomgren’s tenure. While the results on the field haven’t been up to level Bloomgren and his staff would like, the off-field metrics are skyrocketing.

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Rice football has signed three straight Top 100 classes. That’s something Rice hasn’t done since 2012-2014. Six of the highest-rated signees in program history (Gabe Taylor – No. 1, DJ Arkansas – 7, Jake Bailey – 8, Rawson MacNeill – 11, Sean Fresch – 14, Davion Carter 18) have been Bloomgren’s guys. The three who have been on campus for more than one season were all starters by Year 2.

Beyond the rankings, the players they signed fit extremely well into what the Owls are building. It’s entirely possible that each of the three currently announced transfers could be opening day starters when Rice visits USC to kick off the 2022 season.

The “glaring” gap Bloomgren and the staff identified was the kicking game. They brought in Washington transfer Tim Horn to address it. The running back room cycled through several lead guys last year. Enter JUCO RB Dean Connors. August Pitre left in the Transfer Portal this month. Incoming Tulsa transfer Sam Crawford profiles as a bigger, healthier, faster player with a much better track record of health.

More: 2022 Rice Football Recruiting Early Signing Period Live Blog

On the high school front. players like defensive lineman Davion Carter and Chibby Nwajuaku have the potential to fight for playing time quickly. Others like wideout Rawson MacNeill and offensive lineman Miguel Cedeno have prototypical measurables and raw athleticism that provide them sky-high ceilings as they develop. Across the board, this class has the potential to be special.

Recruiting director Alex Brown hosted a Twitter Spaces session on Wednesday, giving Bloomgren and the coaching staff the opportunity to parade their remarkable new additions in front of a national audience. People outside the Owls’ program were buzzing about what was happening at South Main. Respect national writers like Sam Khan Jr. of The Athletic voiced their approval.

So yeah, Bloomgren has probably earned the right to talk about those numbers. On the recruiting front, Rice is hitting home runs. All that’s left is to turn those into offensive touchdowns and defensive stops on Saturdays. From a process perspective, everything is on the right track.

Fittingly, Bloomgren alluded to the in-progress nature of this recruiting class and this program in his Wednesday remarks. “Not all sports are filled,” he said. “We’re not done getting better. But what a great day today is.” By any measure, that sure seems to be the case.

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Rice Football Recruiting: Transfer WR Sam Crawford commits to Owls

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Head coach Mike Bloomgren has announced former Tulsa wide receiver Sam Crawford will join the 2022 Rice Football recruiting class.

The 2022 Rice Football recruiting classes added one new, big name as they wrapped up their flurry of Early Signing Period announcements on Wednesday morning. During a live Twitter Spaces session hosted by recruiting director Alex Brown, head coach Mike Bloomgren announced Sam Crawford would be transferring from Tulsa to Rice football.

Crawford is a former three-star signee who racked up 1,623 yards and 10 receiving touchdowns over the past three seasons with the Golden Hurricane. He’s one of three additions to South Main from the Transfer Portal so far in the 2022 class joining JUCO running back Dean Connors and Washington kicker Tim Horn, who has yet to be officially introduced.

Brown described Crawford as someone who knew what he was looking for and went and got it. Crawford will transition from the MBA program at Tulsa to the MBA program at Rice and add a difference-making weapon to the Rice receiving arsenal which continues to grow.

Crawford has the potential to provide a Cedric Patterson-type impact to the Owls next season. Checking in at 6-foot-1, 193 pounds, he shared a similar level of athleticism and is a little bit more refined, having more playing experience under his belt than Patterson did when he arrived. Coincidentally, Patterson hosted Crawford on his official visit this past weekend.

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247 Sports assigned Crawford a .8718 rating. That’s a higher rating than any high school signee Rice has added in program history and appears to be the second-highest rated addition under the current staff, trailing only transfer quarterback Luke McCaffrey.

Adding Crawford to a receiving corps that features Bradley Rozner, Jake Bailey and Cedric Patterson is going to make for an explosive, exciting offense for Rice football in 2022.

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Rice Football Recruiting: 2022 Early Signing Period Live Blog

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The majority of the 2022 Rice Football Recruiting class will become signees during the Early Signing Period. Follow all the action here.

Amidst all the highs and lows that have transpired at South Main in recent years, the past several Rice Football Recruiting classes have been among the more encouraging moments. Rice has signed three of its five highest-rated recruiting classes under head coach Mike Bloomgren and the 2022 class looks to be flush with talent as well.

This live tracker will follow all the latest news and updates through the day, with some notes along the way on the class as it is finalized. If you’re not a subscriber yet, here’s your chance.

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Which newcomers will make sizable impacts like Cedric Patterson, Jake Constantine and others did this year? This class has plenty of talent which could find its way to the field soon.

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Now, let’s dig into the latest from the Early Signing Period, below.

Updates

10:45 p.m.

For any night Owls, here’s an early preview of the latest edition of The Roost Podcast where we break down the 2022 Rice Football recruiting class.

The Roost Podcast | Ep 104 – 2022 Rice Football Recruiting class review

1:37 p.m.

Mike Bloomgren wasn’t afraid to talk numbers when introducing the Owls’ third consecutive Top 5 class in program history.

2022 Rice Football Recruiting class nets Owls another historic haul

12:40 p.m.

Rice officially announces the addition of former Washington kicker Tim Horn.

9:31 a.m.

Mike Bloomgren announces live on Twitter Spaces that Tulsa WR Sam Crawford will transfer to Rice. Big pickup for the Owls. Here’s more on Crawford:

Rice Football Recruiting: Transfer WR Sam Crawford commits to Owls

And here’s wide receivers coach Mike Kershaw on Crawford.

9:16 a.m.

The first official additional from the Transfer Portal today is JUCO running back Dean Connors. He’s in. | #WhyRice

9:10 a.m.

As we listen in to the recruiting talk, consider taking a moment to fill out a quick postseason survey. Tell us how we did this fall and enter for a chance to win an Amazon gift card.

9:00 a.m.

Rice recruiting direct Alex Brown and head coach Mike Bloomgren are hosting a Twitter Spaces session to introduce the 2022 class. Give it a listen.

8:59 a.m.

Another one! Safety Tyson Flowers is in. He’s the eighth signature today.

8:41 a.m.

Things are starting to quiet down. Still possible we get another signing or two, but at this point, the Owls have the majority of their guys locked in. Head coach Mike Bloomgren has a press conference scheduled for noon today. We’ll have more comments from that as well as several follow-up pieces on this class in the afternoon and the next few days.

Make sure you keep an eye (or rather, an ear) out for the next edition of The Roost Podcast, as well.

8:01 a.m.

Athlete Quinton Jackson is in. Very versatile playmaker that Rice fans will enjoy seeing on the field. | #WhyRice?

Here’s running backs coach Robbie Picazo on Jackson.

7:55 a.m.

Quarterback AJ Padgett is in. No drama on the signal-caller front, Padgett committed in June and seals the deal today. | #WhyRice?

Here’s offensive coordinator Marques Tuiasosopo on Padgett.

7:52 a.m.

That’s five NLIs in so far. That puts the Owls about halfway through their high school commitments. Keep an eye out for a player or two from the Transfer Portal. They’re not subject to the same timing restrictions as incoming high school players, so whether or not the Owls can officially introduce any new additions is TBD.

7:46 a.m.

Onto the skill players! Wide receiver Braylen Walker is in. | #WhyRice?

Here’s wide receivers coach Mike Kershaw on Walker.

7:38 a.m.

There’s something very on-brand with this. Rice gets the morning stater with three linemen. Defensive end Chibby Nwajuaku is in. | #WhyRice?

Here’s defensive line coach Cedric Calhoun on Nwajuaku.

7:27 a.m.

Defensive lineman Davion Carter commits to the Owls in April, the first commitment of this class. Now he’s officially a Rice Owl.

Here’s defensive line coach Cedric Calhoun on Carter.

7:16 a.m.

The other commit from the Eastern Time Zone, wideout Rawson MacNeill is in. | #WhyRice?

Here’s wide receivers coach Mike Kershaw on MacNeill.

6:58 a.m.

The first National Letter of Intent is in! Florida offensive lineman Miguel Cedeno is officially a Rice Owl. 6-foot-7, 320-pounds. This is a big get, literally.

Rice is rolling out a nice package on social media for these guys, too. Here’s Cedeno’s #WhyRice? and more on him from offensive line coach Sanders Davis.

Wednesday, 6:08 a.m.

We should see announcements start rolling in at any point now. The first group to keep an eye on is the East coast commits.

Tuesday night

The first new addition to the 2022 Rice Football recruiting class checked in before the Early Signing Period officially opened. Washington kicker Tim Horn announced he was transferring to Rice on Tuesday night. He fills an immediate need for the Owls moving forward.

Tuesday afternoon

The initial group of December signees for the 2022 Rice Football recruiting class may end up slightly smaller than in previous years. That’s due in part to some of the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 waivers and their impact on future rosters as well as a strategic decision by the Rice coaching staff to save a few spots down the road for a Transfer Portal that seems to constantly be churning out new names on the hour.

As is typically the case, there were several Rice signees would had yet to receive a 247 Sports rating. Those last couple of rankings were added by Tuesday morning. Here’s where the 2022 Rice Football recruiting class stands as of Tuesday night. Players are eligible to fax in their signatures starting at 7:00 a.m. local time.

Rice has the No. 3 class entering Wednesday morning, but you’ll notice they only have nine commitments, the fewest of the top three rated teams. They’re in a good position so far and aren’t accounting for quantity over quality.

Make sure to stay tuned on Twitter and follow our live blog here during the day for updates. Get the latest list of the 2022 Rice Football Recruiting commits by clicking the tracker below.

Rice Football, Rice Football Recruiting

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