National Signing Day is upon us and the 2019 Rice Football signing class is nearly complete. Here’s how the Owls will look to finish.

Rice signed 17 players during the early signing period in December. Since then they’ve picked up commitments from four scholarship players, bringing their total up to 21 commitments on the eve of National Signing Day.

They’ve also added a host of preferred walk-ons, including a trio of players who made announcements on Monday: running back Ayden Noriega, safety Chike Anigbogu and wide receiver Bennett Mecom

The Owls have five spots remaining, but there isn’t a rush to fill them at all costs. The coaching staff is going to stay tuned in to the transfer markets as the day unfolds. Don’t be surprised to see a spot (or two) unused by the end of the day on Wednesday. The Transfer Portal will remain open for a while, giving the teams and players ample time to feel out which situations work best for all parties involved.

Here’s how the class is most likely to finish

QB – Stewart*, Johnson
OL – Riddle, Jones, Leverett*, [Chaffin*], [Gooseberry*]
WR – Knipe, Rozner*
TE – Bradley
FB – [Williams*]
RB – King
DL – Floyd, Bickham, Pearcy, Carroll
LB – Braden, Morrison 
S – Henry, Lockhart, Smith*
CB – Bailey, Landrum
K – Hoban

* = Graduate or JUCO transfer
(italics) = unsigned players
[projected additions]

That projection calls for three new additions: Stanford transfers Brian Chaffin and Reagan Williams as well as OBU offensive lineman Justin Gooseberry. Other targets Mike Hinton, Kenyon Reed, Ardell Brown and others remain options, but none are probable to sign with the Owls on Wednesday. Any of that trio of grad transfers could decide to keep their options open too, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Don’t Miss: Full commitments profiles on each of Rice football 2019 signees and commits

If Rice can pick up at least two of those grad transfers before they close the book on the 2019 class, they’ll be in good shape. Even if they don’t this is shaping up to be another strong class for Mike Bloomgren and his staff headed into Year 2.

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The 2019 Rice football recruiting class is almost in the books. Here are a few names to keep an eye on as National Signing Day approaches.

The Owls signed 17 players in the early signing period. Since then they’ve picked up commitments from three players — Atascocita linebacker Myron Morrison, Duncanville defensive tackle De’Braylon Carroll,  Harvard grad transfer Tom Stewart. That brings the 2019 Rice football recruiting class up to 20 players. Rice has 26 spots this year, which leaves six spots to fill.

A quick note on eligibility

As the Owls hone in on their final few names there are a few players who Rice would love to take who won’t be academically eligible. Out of respect to the individuals, I won’t be sharing any names, but keep that in mind when culling through the potential pool of candidates.

There are high academic standards at Rice. That will always be a part of the calculus when it comes to building the Owls’ yearly recruiting classes. Football is an important part of the equation, but every athlete has to have the grades too.

Grad transfers

As previously noted, Center Brian Chaffin and fullback Reagan Williams remain near the top of the priority list for Mike Bloomgren and his staff. Defensive lineman Mike Hinton from Columbia and offensive lineman Justin Gooseberry from Ouachita Baptist are two more players to watch. Both players will on campus this weekend, the final official visit weekend for Rice in the 2019 recruiting cycle.

Hinton was a team captain at Columbia last season. He started every game at defensive tackle where he racked up 3.5 sacks and 29 tackles. Hinton has experienced at defensive end, playing on the edge in both seasons prior to 2018.

Gooseberry was named a DII All-American and anchored an Ouachita Baptist line which allowed just 15 sacks all season, a mark which would rank in the top 11 nationally among FBS teams. For reference, Rice quarterbacks were sacked 24 times last season.

High school targets

Jovoni Johnson remains the clear-cut target at quarterback in this cycle. Stewart has only one season remaining, making replenishing the pipeline behind Wiley Green and Evan Marshman a focal point of this class.

If Rice can secure Johnson’s commitment and sign a few of those grad transfer targets they’ll be running out of space in the 2019 class. For example, Johnson plus three more grad transfers would put the class at 24 players, leaving room for two more high school players. The math is fairly simple, what’s less clear is who is going to get the last few spot(s).

Corner Kenyon Reed and wide receiver Ardell Brown are two interesting names to keep an eye on. Reed also offers from Iowa State and Kansas State but has built in a strong relationship with the Rice coaching staff. Brown’s offer list might be less decorated, but his speed would be a great addition to the offense.

Don’t Miss: Full list of Rice football 2019 signees and commits

At this point it’s not looking likely any of the former Houston signees will be a part of this class, but if there are one or two guys the Owls could make a late run at it would be corner Isaiah Essissima and receiver Ife Adeyi. Both have publically announced they were leaving UH. A few other names might be in the mix, but those would two of the most probable candidates.

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