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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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Rice Football Recruiting: Grad OL Lavel Dumont commits to Owls

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The Transfer Portal continues to deliver for 2023 Rice Football recruiting class including the most recent addition of former Toledo offensive lineman Lavel Dumont.

The 2022 Rice football offensive line was an ever-changing kaleidoscope of combinations. Getting the same starting five on the field and performing at a high level was a challenge, making finding a solution up front a priority for the 2023 recruiting cycle. The Owls have since found some answers in the portal with the commitment of grad transfer offensive lineman Lavel Dumont from Toledo.

To get Dumont to campus, Rice had to win a fierce recruiting battle over Memphis and East Carolina, fellow AAC programs that will be on the Owls’ schedule in the years to come.

Dumont was originally a four-star recruit in the 2018 class, signing with Toledo out of high school. He redshirted in 2018 and was used sparingly in 2019 and 2020 before becoming the starting right tackle for the Rockets in 2021, starting the first seven games before suffering a season-ending injury. In 2022 he made a pair of starts at right guard. His ability to play up and down the line was an important plus for the Owls.

Already on campus, Dumont opted not to make a large formal announcement but enrolled in classes in January. He’ll be ready to go for spring ball, something that will be critical for all members of the offensive line room which includes Nebraska transfer, Brant Banks.

Rice returns starting tackles Clay Servin and Ethan Onianwa but will be looking to fill a few spots with the departures of Shea Baker (graduation) and Isaac Klarkowski (transfer). Getting proven options with D1 starting experience is huge.

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Even though he’s listed at 6-foot-4, 321 pounds, Dumont possesses some quickness and burst to go along with his strength. His ability to move laterally and pull to make blocks will certainly be used when he makes the transition to the Rice offense. In addition to that, he can win one-on-one blocks on the edge, plenty of examples of which are shown on his tape. At a position of need, Dumont checks all the boxes.

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Rice Football: 2022 Postseason Transfer Portal update

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Rice football has lost a handful of players to the Transfer Portal since the season ended. Who is heading out and what impact will that have on the Owls?

If the Rice football season spans from August to November, the month or so that follows is Transfer Portal season. After making a bowl game for the first time in eight years, outgoing transfers have been few this offseason.

Why are players entering the portal now? Exit interviews are done. A new semester has arrived. All parties involved from the athletes to the programs want a clear picture of where things stand before spring practices get underway in a few months. For better or worse, it’s transfer time.

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No program is immune from that rhythm. Just as Rice football has benefited from the portal, it’s had its defectors too.

For every Blaze Alldredge or August Pitre that leaves, there’s a Chris Conti or Luke McCaffrey that arrives. In fact, the Transfer Portal has been remarkably beneficial for Rice Football. Here’s a quick rundown from last February on the matter, but a recent update with JT Daniels, Isaiah Esdale and others included would only be even more compelling.

With signing day looming, here are the Rice football players that have reportedly entered the Transfer Portal thus far:

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Rice Football 2022 Team MVP: Bradley Rozner

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Wide receiver Bradley Rozner made plays that won games, often putting the team on his back in key moments. He’s our 2022 Rice Football team MVP.

The story of how Bradley Rozner impacted Rice football in 2022 can’t be told on one play, but it’s fitting there is one moment that stands out above the rest and it’s equally fitting that one man rose to the occasion when his team needed it the most. In a do-or-die moment, Bradley Rozner reminded everyone why he was our 2022 Rice Football team MVP.

It’s already been written about in much more detail here, but the cliff notes version is pretty simple. Rice was tied with UTEP with 30 seconds on the clock and in range for about a 40-yard field goal should the gain no more ground. Rather than settle for the kick attempt, head coach Mike Bloomgren called up Rozner’s number and quarterback TJ McMahon hit No. 2 a step in front of the pylon or the game-winning score.

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“It’s kind of like [we] dare people to cover him one on one,” Bloomgren joked after the game. “That’s a heck of a weapon to have as your X-receiver.”

In what felt like a must-win game after falling to Charlotte the week prior, Rozner made what might have ended up becoming the most defining moment of the 2022 Rice football season. And that weapon, as Bloomgren referred to him, did much more than terrorize UTEP.

Rozner finished the 2022 campaign with 876 yards and 10 touchdowns. He became the first Rice football player to have double-digit receiving touchdowns in a single season since Jarrett Dillard and James Casey each accomplished the feat in 2008.

The depth at the wide receiver position allowed Rice to spread the ball out more often this year than they had in the past, but whether it was a highlight reel day or not, Rozner always seemed to make an impact that changed the game. He had 100 yards receiving or a touchdown in eight of the Owls’ 12 games this season.

More: Defensive Player of the Year — Josh Pearcy

What makes that run of dominance even more special is the path Rozner took to get to this point. After a breakthrough 2019 season, Rozner missed essentially the entirety of the 2020 and 2021 season with injuries, catching just two passes in the 2021 season opener against Arkansas before being shelved for the year.

Rozner’s first of two touchdowns in the Owls’ runaway win over McNeese State in their home opener was his first home touchdown in his Rice football career and his first touchdown grab as an Owl since November 16, 2019 against Middle Tennessee. Rozner’s emergence had been a long time coming.

Making it back to the field in any capacity and contributing to the offense would have been a relief for Rozner who hadn’t seen the field in such a long time. Becoming a go-to game-breaker was even more impressive. In many ways, it’s just like that game-winning score against UTEP. Someone gave Rozner a chance. He did the rest.

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Rice Football Recruiting: ’24 WR Owen Carter commits to Owls

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The 2024 Rice Football recruiting class has its first commitment. Wide receiver Owen Carter has made his pledge to the Owls.

The calendar hasn’t hit the traditional signing day for the 2023 class yet, but the 2024 Rice Football recruiting class has already added its first pledge. Cy Fair wideout Owen Carter has committed to the Owls.

Carter was part of an early wave of offers the Owls issued early last year. He picked up his offer in August, one of just six offers in the 2024 class which Rice extended before its season kicked off in September.

Rice was the first and only FBS program to offer Carter so far, securing his commitment before the beginning of camps and additional recruiting opportunities would have occurred down the line.

“The belief [the Rice staff] had shown in me was unmatched by any other school I had talked to,” Carter told The Roost. “I believe I can make a positive impact on a program on the rise and felt the energy and brotherhood in the locker room was something I wanted to be a part of.”

Although Carter is its first commitment, the 2024 class is still in its very early stages. The Owls have offered around a dozen players thus far and that number will continue to rise following events like the junior day Rice hosted this past weekend. For now, kicking off January with a commitment from a player this staff coveted from the beginning is a positive start.

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There’s a lot to like on tape when it comes to Carter and his skillset. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound pass catcher can turn on the jets when he needs to, but stands out the most for his ability to go up and get the football. Being big is half the battle. Carter displays and ability to use his size and win one-on-one against defenders.

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