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2019 Target John Hunter Henry buying into Intellectual Brutality

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Rice football should be considered a frontrunner for 2019 defender John Hunter Henry, a player that’s already buying into Intellectual Brutality.

There were a lot of changes made at South Main when Mike Bloomgren took over as the 19th head football coach at Rice. Some were subtle, others were front and center. One of the programs’ more obvious pivots was the adoption of the phrase “Intellectual Brutality”.

A blend of high football IQ and tenacious effort, the catchphrase has quickly been assimilated into the culture of Rice football. And recruits are already starting to take notice.

2019 linebacker/safety John Hunter Henry couldn’t be more thrilled about the direction Rice is heading right now. “Intellectual Brutality really fits me well,” he said, “I love that saying because I have a very physical style of play and coaches have always said I have a high football IQ.” Recruits that fit that mold, like Henry, will be the building blocks for a new regime at Rice.

The versatile defender has an offer from the Owls and will be a priority this fall. He’s played linebacker, corner and safety in high school and considers himself a jack-of-all-trades of sorts on the defensive side of the ball. Henry couldn’t put himself in any one box, “I can play anywhere and be comfortable,” he admitted, “I understand the game of football and what offenses are trying to do to me.”

A 3-star recruit from Lake Travis High School in Austin, Henry has five offers so far – HBU, Liberty, Princeton, Texas State and Rice. The Owls got into the race for his commitment early and had him on campus this summer, an experience that Henry loved.

Henry plans on getting back to campus at least once to catch a game this fall. After that, he anticipates a decision on his future in the coming months. He doesn’t have a specific timetable as of yet.

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2019 Athlete TD Ayo-Durojaiye could be defensive gem for Owls

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Rice football continues to fill up their 2019 recruiting class. Could Maryland athlete TD Ayo-Durojaiye be another out-of-state commitment for the Owls?

The recruiting focus has spread across the nation since Mike Bloomgren arrived at South Main late last year.  The Owls have six commitments from inside the Lone Star state so far. They also have four more out-of-state commits: Garrett Braden (Linebacker, Connecticut), Trevor Bycznski (Quarterback, Ohio), Zach Hoban (Kicker, New Jersey) and most recently Gabe Jeudy (Cornerback, North Carolina).

If things work out the right way, Rice will add at least a few more commitments from outside the state of Texas. One of those possibilities is 2019 athlete TD Ayo-Durojaiye.

Ayo-Durojaiye plays his high school ball in Damascus, Maryland. He was already being recruited by Assistant Head Coach Mike Lembo last year while Lembo was at Maryland and has kept up that relationship as Lembo transitioned further south to Rice. Lembo was impressed enough with what he saw from Ayo-Durojaiye so far that the Owls went ahead and offered him a scholarship earlier this summer, despite the fact that he’s never set foot on campus at Rice.

That trust spoke volumes to Ayo-Durojaiye. “I think it shows the coaches really believe in my athletic ability,” he said regarding the out of state offer, adding that the coaches told him “he’d fit well” on the team and have a shot at early playing time as the Owls revamp their depth chart.

The potential fit between Ayo-Durojaiye and the Owls is intriguing. A 6-foot, 180-pound athlete, Ayo-Durojaiye has 17 offers so far across a variety of positions. A natural linebacker, he’s also been offered at running back and safety. The latter is where he feels he’ll have the best long-term success in college. That fits perfectly with how Rice plans to use him.

The three safety scheme (free, strong and viper) employed by defensive coordinator Brian Smith offers plenty of flexibility for different skillsets in the secondary. Ayo-Durojaiye’s burst and power would make him a great option near the line of scrimmage.

Whether or not the Owls can land Ayo-Durojaiye remains to be seen. He hasn’t scheduled any visits yet, but don’t be surprised to see head coach Mike Bloomgren will try to find a way to get him on campus this fall. Ayo-Durojaiye doesn’t plan to make any decisions regarding his future until the end of the season. That give’s Rice some time, but rest assured, they won’t be caught sleeping.

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2019 Cornerback Gabe Jeudy commits to Owls

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The 2019 Rice football recruiting class continues to keep rolling. Cornerback Gabe Jeudy became the newest member, committing to the Owls on Friday, August 10.

A little over a week removed from their last commitment, Rice football added another piece to their future on Friday. Joining Atlanta, Texas running back Jawan King in the fold is Charlotte, North Carolina defensive back Gabe Jeudy.

Jeudy received his offer to play at Rice on July 21, two weeks before he trimmed his finalists down to five. That says a lot about the impression the program made as the Owls vaulted to the top of his list in such a short time frame.

On August 3 Jeudy announced his final five: Air Force, Army, James Madison, Rice and Richmond. Those were a select few of his wide-reaching offer list that included more than 25 schools at the time of his commitment. For a player without a star ranking assigned to him by any of the major recruiting outlets, that’s an impressive number of offers.

A week after narrowing things down, Jeudy made his announcement, committing to the Owls in the form of a video posted on his Twitter feed:

https://twitter.com/GabeJeudy/status/1027994200783114243?s=19

In addition to those five, Jeudy also had offers from Harvard, Princeton, Navy, Villanova and Marshall, among others.

Jeudy is the 10th commit of the 2019 Rice football recruiting class and the fourth commitment from outside the state of Texas. Despite his many offers, Jeudy has yet to be given a star ranking, meaning his commitment did not impact the Owls’ standings in the Conference USA recruiting ranks. Rice currently has the No. 9 class in the conference.

At 6-foot-1, 172-pounds, Jeudy is not afraid to lower his shoulder and make tackles in the open field:

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2019 Running back Jawan King commits to Owls

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Rice football continues to add to their already strong 2019 recruiting class. 3-star running back Jawan King became the newest of the Owls’ commits on Wednesday.

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

On Tuesday morning Jawan King woke up while it was still dark and made a long drive to the campus of Rice University. For him, the 2:30 a.m. wake up time was well worth the sacrifice. He got to campus, spent the day with the coaches and left after making a verbal commitment to Coach Mike Bloomgren and the Owls.

King informed the coaches of his decision on Tuesday, the same day he received his offer. He released the news to the public on Wednesday via social media.

https://twitter.com/jawank23/status/1024825202738425856

247 Sports tabs King as the No. 83 running back in the nation and the No. 157 player in the state of Texas. He is now the highest rated player in the Owls’ 2019 recruiting class. Better still, he’s a higher rated prospect than any member of the 2018 class. Rice hasn’t signed a player rated this highly since Zack Abercrumbia and Carl Thompson in 2015.

He picked the Owls over offers from Arkansas Pine-Bluff, Houston Baptist, Louisiana Monroe, Texas State, Texas-San Antonio and others. The 5-foot-10 speedster is going to see his offer list continue to grow, making getting in first and securing a commitment a huge win for Rice and Coach Bloomgren.

Rice’s 2019 class is now ranked 93rd in the nation and sixth in Conference USA. The level of talent that the Owls are getting on campus continues to rise, and with it, so do the profile of the commitments. If Rice can continue to reel in guys like King the rebuilding process could be completed much quicker than anticipated.

King is quick, decisive and has the potential to be a big-play machine for the Owls in the coming years.

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Owls not out for good on 2019 safety Ron Nunnery

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Rice football continues to make inroads with the state’s top prospects on the recruiting trail. Could they force a flip from 3-star safety Ronald Nunnery?

Mike Bloomgren has made raising the talent profile of Rice football a priority and the results are already beginning to show. The Owls have four 3-star recruits committed so far in their 2019 recruiting class and have their eyes set on several other playmakers both inside and outside the state of Texas.

Pearland safety Ronald Nunnery is high on the Owls’ list, and they’re not alone. The talented defensive back has made a verbal commitment to cross-town rival Houston. In addition to the offers from Houston and Rice, the 3-star safety holds offers from Colorado, Iowa State, Boise State and Colorado State.

Traditionally, Rice has been edged out of recruiting races when the Power 5 schools start getting into the mix. That doesn’t appear to be the case for Nunnery, who was impressed by what Rice is building in his recent visit to campus which came prior to his commitment to Houston.

Nunnery called the defensive scheme a “great fit” and noted that one of the positive aspects of new coaching was a wide-open depth chart with the opportunity to get early playing time. He was complimentary of the coaching staff that Bloomgren pulled together from all over the nation and said he plans to make a few trips out this fall to see some games.

Nunnery is a top 200 player in the state of Texas according to 247 Sports. He holds 19 offers and counting, but when asked where the Owls ranked in the mix he gave a short, straight-forward response: “[Rice is] in my top 5”. Even though Nunnery chose the Cougars, the Owls appeared to be close enough to stay in the mix through the fall. Flipping Nunnery away from the Cougars would be an impressive feat indeed. You can be certain that Bloomgren will give it a try.

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