The source for Rice sports news

Rice Football 2024 Team MVP: Dean Connors

By

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.

Want More Rice sports news? Subscribe on Patreon

“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 **
Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Football 2024 Defensive Player of the Year: Gabe Taylor

By

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.

Want More Rice sports news? Subscribe on Patreon

“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 **
Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Football 2024 Iron Man: Josh Pearcy

By

A fixture of the Rice football defense for half a decade, Josh Pearcy defined what it meant to be the 2025 Rice Football Iron Man.

Hearing terms like “sixth-year senior” is more common than ever. Often players that reach that point of their collegiate careers have been in school for that long, but need to ramp up their production over the years. Those with such expensive bios rarely have the production that mirrors the long road trodden. Rice football defensive stalwart Josh Pearcy is that exception.

Pearcy took the field for the last time against South Florida on Senior Day, which was technically his third Senior Day since signing with the Owls in December 2018. When he checked into the game shortly thereafter he set the all-time program record for games played, 57. He shares that designation with teammate Chike Anigbogu, a longtime special teams leader and defensive contributor.

More: 2024 Rice Football Season Superlatives

The distinction that makes Pearcy’s run so impressive is how impactful he was along the way. He wasn’t accruing empty appearances, he was impacting the game every time he took the field, particularly in his four complete seasons on South Main.

Pearcy leaves Rice in the Top 10 all-time in tackles for a loss (8th) and sacks (5th), especially impressive totals when considering he played special teams during his four-game redshirt in 2019 and played in just five games in the Owls’ shortened 2020 season. Pearcy wasn’t just an average player who played in a lot of games and racked up stats. He reached those totals in essentially four years.

That would have been enough in itself, to leave Rice football with a couple marks in the record books and good memories along the way. Part of what made Pearcy special, though, was his commitment to becoming a better player.

Want More Rice sports news? Subscribe on Patreon

“I just wanted to be able to do as much as I can for this team and be coached and learned more about the entire defense,” Pearcy said this spring, explaining his next developmental goal for himself.

Initially an edge player tasked with putting his hand in the dirt and rushing the passer, Pearcy slowly worked further and further off the ball as his career progressed. By the time the 2024 season arrived, Pearcy was playing much more a hybrid outside linebacker role while still finishing tied for second on the team in sacks.

Pearcy has NFL aspirations, something that led to him expressing an interest in showcasing his versatility as a defender. “He’s been more productive,” defensive coordinator Brian Smith said of the move. “We’ve kind of moved him around and played more linebacker off the ball.”

Having a chess piece like Pearcy is a defensive coordinator’s dream. As the secondary waded through injuries and players rotated in and out, Pearcy could be positioned in so many different places on any given play giving Smith options as he worked to get the best defense on the field that he could.

The Rice football defense finished the regular season fourth in scoring and third in yardage allowed against conference opponents. The Owls don’t get there without Iron Man Josh Pearcy, a mainstay on South Main that made everyone better around him.

** Photo Credit: Maria Lysaker **
Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Football Recruiting: QB Patrick Crayton Jr. commits to Owls

By

The 2025 Rice Football Recruiting class has its QB1. Hebron High School quarterback Patrick Crayton Jr. has committed to the Owls.

In search of a quarterback for the 2025 Rice Football recruiting class since he arrived, new head coach Scott Abell finally has his man. Dual-threat Hebron High School quarterback Patrick Crayon Jr. has committed to the Owls.

Crayton fills a void in a 2025 class full of playmakers, but without a signal-caller following a December defection following the coaching change. An under-the-radar playmaker, Crayton had a handful of junior college and lower division offers, keeping him on the market this late in the calendar. Rice swooped in with an offer on January 13. He committed just hours later.

“Getting to know [Coach Abell] and the staff, had great conversations, just discussing my future,” Crayton told The Roost. “Rice felt like a great place to develop and be a great football player.”

After retaining the bulk of the class that had already committed, Abell was choosy with his next handful of high school offers. Crayton is just the second non-transfer commitment to the 2025 class since Abell arrived, the other being offensive lineman Justin Michaelis who committed in mid-December.

Premium: Rice Football Recruiting Offer and Commitment Tracker

Crayton’s film is electric and easy to connect to what the Owls want to do on offense with his skill set. He has a big arm with great touch downfield and is a dynamic runner with the ball in his hands. That ability to create, “to make plays out of nothing and be able to extend plays [on the ground], is something Crayton says he prides himself in as a player. The tape backs it up.

Become a Patron!
Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Football 2025 Spring Roster Notes

By

The first edition of the 2025 Rice Football Spring semester roster has been released, and it contains several fascinating takeaways.

School is back in session and a parliament of Owls, both new and old have adorn the first release of the 2025 Rice Football roster. Some names are familiar. Many are not. Here’s a rundown of the transfer Portal additions, subtractions and everything in between.

For those checking in for the first time, or those returning, a quick programming note. Special features like this are reserved for our subscribers. Have questions? You can get those answered in our monthly Q&As and get access to all practice notes, recruiting updates and features like this one when you subscribe on Patreon today.

They’re Back!

It’s hard to say for sure what next year’s roster will look like in the era of the Transfer Portal. And while things can and will vary by the time Rice football kicks off its season in the fall, this first roster update of the spring semester does include several noteworthy names who’s availability was uncertain, for one reason or another, in December.

Sorry! This part of content is hidden behind this box because it requires a higher contribution level ($10) at Patreon. Why not take this chance to increase your contribution?
Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts