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Scott Abell finalizes 2025 Rice Football Staff

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Rice football head coach Scott Abell has finalized his first coaching staff with the Owls, announcing four additional position coaches.

The newest Rice football position coaches are associate head coach and tight ends coach Wayne Lineburg, defensive line coach Ty Warren, running backs coach Johnathan Wilson and wide receivers coach Brian Brown.

“I am excited to announce the addition of these three coaches to our Rice Owl football staff,” Abell stated in a release from the Rice football program on Tuesday. “Each one brings a different background that will only add to our already strong coaching staff. The Rice Owl family will be proud of who they are as men and the impact they will have on our student-athletes on and off the field for the Owls.”

A further announcement confirmed Brown as the final assistant:

“I am so excited to finalize our coaching staff with the addition of Brian Brown,” Abell said. “His playing and coaching experience will be a huge addition. This completes our inaugural Rice football coaching staff, and I couldn’t be more excited.”

Abell previously announced the hiring of his first seven assistants in mid-December as well as a few important off-field staffers (new additions in bold)

Warren, a two-time Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots, had previously served as the assistant head coach and defensive line coach at SFA. Wilson, his coworker at SFA, coached the Lumberjacks’ wide receivers. Wilson is a graduate of Klein Forest High School and played four seasons for the Kansas Jayhawks.

Lineburg, the Owls’ associate head coach, spent the last eight seasons coaching tight ends and coordinating special teams at Wake Forest. Brown was an assistant with Abell at Davidson, coaching defensive backs.

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Rice Football 2024: NFL Owls Divisional Round Roundup

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Rice Football is well represented on 2024 NFL rosters. Here’s the latest from the NFL Owls in action this season.

There are former Rice football players scattered across the NFL. Stay tuned each week for their game results and notables from each player.

TeamNFL Owl(s)Last GameResultUp Next
Detroit LionsJack Fox (P)
Myles Adams (DL)		DR vs CommandersL, 45-31 —
Pittsburgh SteelersChris Boswell (PK)
Calvin Anderson (OL)		WC vs RavensL, 28-14 —
Washington CommandersLuke McCaffrey (WR)DR at LionsW, 23-19at Eagles

Special Teams

Jack Fox – P, Lions

Fox punted just one time in the Lions’ Divisional Round loss to the Commanders, booting the ball 43 yards. That caps off a historical season and young career for Fox, who currently ranks first place all time in league history (min. 250 attempts) in net putting average, averaging 43.2 yards per punt.

His 51.0 gross yards per punt averaged this year was the sixth best single season mark in NFL history, just below his 2024 NFL-record setting 46.2 net yards per punt average.

Fox is creeping up the record books with his arm, too. He’s already completed five passes for 61 yards, 20 yards short of the all-time league record for passing yards by a punter, set by Tom Skladany.

Chris Boswell – K, Steelers

Boswell did not attempt a field goal in the postseason, converting both of his extra point attempts in the Steelers’ Wild Card Round playoff loss to the Ravens. He finished the regular season 41-of-44 on field goals.

Offense

Calvin Anderson – OL, Steelers

Anderson saw his most extensive usage of the season in the Steelers’ Wild Card Round playoff loss to the Ravens, playing in 63 percent of offensive snaps. His previous regular season high was 13 percent of snaps, set in Week 6 against the Raiders.

Luke McCaffrey – WR, Commanders

McCaffrey has two NFL Playoff wins under his belt in his first season in the league, seeing action with the offense although he did not record any receptions. He had two kickoff returns in the teams’ Wild Card Round victory over the Bucs.

Defense

Myles Adams – DL, Seahawks and Lions

Adams saw action with the Lions’ defense in their Divisional Round loss to the Commanders, playing nine snaps.

More Owls in the NFL

From practice squads to current free agents, there are other Owls on the cusp of returning to active rosters. Find more details on current contractual agreements and former Rice football players waiting for their next opportunity here.

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Rice Football Recruiting: DE Ejike Adele commits to Owls

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The 2025 Rice Football recruiting class keeps adding talent. Ivy League defensive player of the year Ejike Adele has committed to the Owls.

The pipeline connecting Rice football recruiting and the Ivy Leagues continues to push talented football players from the Northeast to South Main. A year removed from landing standing Dartmouth defensive end Charlie Looes, Rice has picked up a commitment from his former teammate. Defensive end and reigning Ivy League defensive player of the year Ejike Adele has committed to the Owls.

“I had heard great things about the team and the program from my former teammate Charlie Looes,” Adele told The Roost. “I was already familiar with Coach Abell and his staff since they recruited me out of high school when they were at Davidson. I could sense a lot of excitement about the program on my visit and it felt like they were developing a family atmosphere that I want to be a part of.”

Looes was a runner-up for the Bushnell Cup, given annually to the Ivy League’s best defensive player. Adele took home the award last year, finishing in the top 25 in the nation in tackles for a loss (12.0) while leading Dartmouth in sacks (6.0) and racking up 54 tackles, second on the team.

To this point, the 2025 Rice football recruiting class has filled out quite nicely including 10 transfer additions, eight of which have already enrolled. Adele will finish up his degree this spring and join the team in the summer alongside fellow Ivy League addition Sean Sullivan from Yale.

Premium: Rice Football Recruiting Offer and Commitment Tracker

Adele’s versatility makes him a particularly exciting addition in the defensive trenches. As his film showcases, he can line up all over the front, something that has proven particularly valuable to the Owls in recent years.

“I liked that the scheme allows guys to be versatile and line up in different spots depending on the situation,” Adele said of the Owls’ scheme. “That’s one thing I enjoyed being able to do at Dartmouth which also allowed me to be successful as a player there.”

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Rice Football 2024 Team MVP: Dean Connors

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The leading scorer and the offense’s Swiss Army Knife who could seemingly do it all, Dean Connors is our 2024 Rice Football Team MVP.

One of the most productive running backs to ever step foot on South Main, Dean Connors was the runaway favorite to be the 2024 Rice Football Team MVP before the season began. Even with those high expectations placed upon his shoulders by outsiders and himself, Connors still soared, writing his name all over the record books.

Connors breakout season was one long in the making. He transferred into the program prior to the 2022 season and was lightly used his first year before joining forces with Juma Otoviano to form a one-two punch last season. This year, with Otoviano set to graduate, the burden was set to fall on Connors to carry the load.

Little did anyone know at the time, but Connors would be quickly forced into double duty. A string of injuries decimated the wide receiver room and leading tight end Boden Groen would miss a large portion of the year. Connors was already Plan A in the running game but he was soon asked to do so much more.

Connors would go on to lead the nation in receptions by a running back with 62, a mark that put him ninth all-time in the program’s reception tallies. Not bad for someone used to being handed the ball behind the line of scrimmage.

The big season also elevated him to No. 1 all-time in program history in receiving yards by a running back, 912, surpassing Owl ledge Trevor Cobb. He was also the first player in program history to surpass 1,600 rushing yards and 900 receiving yards in his career.

More: 2024 Rice Football Season Superlatives

With a new quarterback under center, Connors became the free square to make the Rice offense go. Connors’ essential nature to that side of the ball would prove to be one of the more complex tight ropes the offensive staff had to walk as they tried to pushed the ball into his hands often yet still keep him fresh and ready to play a full season.

“We don’t want to just wear Dean out,” then head coach Mike Bloomgren said midseason following the Charlotte game. “16 total touches. Would you want to program a few more for him? Absolutely.”

Connors never complained or questioned his usage. He just took the ball whenever it was handed (or thrown) to him and kept on running. For him, the team was always more important than any individual accolades or aspirations. He touched the ball 220 times across 12 games. The next closest player, Matt Sykes, had 67 plays from scrimmage.

When asked to reflect on those lofty totals before the Owls’ final game, Senior Day against South Florida, Connors had come to reach this point it was hard for him to put things into words.

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“It would be really cool and a great opportunity to look back on a kid who was at … a small public school in the big island of Hawaii. My class was 20 people. And to think I was in that position today would make a little kid really happy,” he said. “It would be awesome, but getting a win for everybody would really mean more.”

Rice football did find a way to get that win, the first time in Connors’ football career he had won the final game of a season.

At 4-8, the record wasn’t good enough to get the Owls to a bowl game and necessitated a coaching change midway through the year. A lot of things did not go according to plan, but that didn’t seem to phase Connors, always ready and willing to embrace whatever challenge lay ahead.

“Football has been my life since I can remember. Being able to lead a team at a Division 1 University that’s so highly touted for everything, football, academics, athletic department, it’s been a blessing. I’ll remember it my whole life,” Connors said. “I wouldn’t have done anything differently if I could go back. This is the way I’d have wanted it to be.”

** Photo Credit: Maria Lysaker **
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Rice Football 2024 Defensive Player of the Year: Gabe Taylor

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Gabe Taylor, a veteran leader who anchored one of the best defenses in the AAC, is our 2024 Rice Football Defensive Player of the Year.

A fifth year senior playing in his final season on South Main, safety Gabe Taylor left it all on the field this year. Through all the ups and downs, Taylor was a galvanizing force that held this program together and was unequivocally deserving to be our honoree as the 2024 Rice Football Defensive Player of the Year.

No one had higher expectations for Gabe Taylor this season than he did for himself. A preseason selection for the Jim Thorpe Watch List, an award given annually to the nation’s top defensive back, Taylor was dead set on taking this program to the next level. While those dreams were never fully actualized, his effort and production could never be questioned.

Taylor led the team in tackles and, perhaps more importantly kept the secondary afloat when what seemed to be an overwhelming spat of injuries assailed the rest of the position.

More: 2024 Rice Football Season Superlatives

Plae Wyatt was injured in the Owls’ first game of the season against Sam Houston and lost for the year. Marcus Williams, his replacement, went down the next week against Texas Southern. Further injuries to Jojo Jean, Justin Williams and Tyson Flowers left the position group in a bind. Things got so dire that players had to be moved from other positions to the safety room midseason.

Before the year, Taylor lauded the depth in the room. “If one guy goes down it’s not going to be a falloff,” he said. “It’s literally going to be ones still on the field,” alluding to the multiple levels of starting caliber players he believed filled the Owls’ depth chart.

Soon enough, that confidence was tested. It was Taylor, TBD and TBD practicing with the first team defense on a week to week basis. And even still, the secondary soared.

The Rice football defense finished second in the conference and eighth nationally in passing defense. A sizable portion of that success must be attributed to the consistency on the outside offered by corners Sean Fresch and Max Ahoia, but Taylor’s contributions were equally important, particularly when taking into consideration the plight this defense would have been in without him.

Prior to the regular season finale against South Florida, Taylor admitted he’d gotten interest from other programs during the offseason. His illustrious career to that point had not gone unnoticed and he had opportunities to go elsewhere.

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“These guys just brought me back in,” he said. “I wouldn’t trade them for the world. This family is so genuine.”

That’s part of what made Taylor’s season so special. A candidate to be selected in the NFL Draft this coming spring who might not have ever stepped foot on South Main had it not been for a delayed start to his high school football career while he pursued basketball and other interests, Taylor stayed the course, overcame adversity and still performed at a high level.

Taylor was an All-AAC Second Team selection and one of Pro Football Focus’ (PFF) highest graded defenders in the country. A sports analytics company that attempts to quantify a player’s individual impact on a scale of 1-100, Taylor graded out as an 89.5, where a 90 considered to represent the elite of the elite. That’s the caliber of play Rice football got out of Taylor this season: elite.

On a defense flush with impactful veteran talent like defensive tackle Izeya Floyd, linebackers Josh Pearcy and Myron Morrison and the aforementioned corners and fellow members of the safety room, Taylor managed to stand out. That’s a testament to his effort, ability and a never wavering desire to be the best. No matter the box score, Taylor delivered on that goal this season.

** Photo Credit: Maria Lysaker **
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