The source for Rice sports news

The Roost Podcast | Ep 116 – ’22 FAU Preview with Kevin Fielder

By

It’s preseason preview time at The Roost Podcast. We continue this week with a look at FAU football with Kevin Fielder of Owls 247.

FAU Football has been through two tumultuous seasons under the direction of former Florida State head coach Willie Taggart. What is the true trajectory of the program today and how much of those elevated expectations are fair to be placed on the new staff? We discuss those questions with Kevin Fielder of Owls 247 on this week’s edition of The Roost Podcast.

You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 116.

Episode Notes

Announcements

The 2022 Conference USA Football Season Preview is available for purchase. Get it for free as well as all preseason Rice football content when you subscribe to The Roost on Patreon *for the first time. It’s that easy! You can get more information here.

2022 Conference USA Football Season Preview

Housekeeping

  • Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to the podcast on your platform of choice. Every little bit helps.
  • Please support us on Patreon. Be the first to get the inside scoop on what’s going on with Rice football and stick around for even further analysis. That includes updates from spring practices and more. Your support matters and makes The Roost better.
    Become a Patron!

Interview — FAU football with Kevin Fielder

  • How did the Lane Kiffin era change expectations for the Willie Taggart regime?
  • Where does quarterback N’Kosi Perry fit amongst C-USA passers?
  • Optimism for an experienced offensive line group
  • Solving puzzle in the defensive backfield, who starts?
  • Week 0 and scheduling quirks for FAU football in 2022
  • The Lightning Round

Where can you find us?

Download and subscribe to The Roost Podcast on any of your favorite podcast providers. The show is available on iTunes, GooglePlay, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn and PodBean. Please consider leaving a review wherever you listen.

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

Recent Posts

Rice Football 2022 Season Preview: Corners

By

As part of our 2022 Rice Football Preseason Preview series, this week we’ll dive into the corner position and discuss the Owls’ plans for that group this season.

It’s been quite an adventure on the outside for the Rice football defense in recent years. The corner position went through quite the overall over the past two seasons and then was flung into further stress by injuries that forced the team to adjust on the fly. Finally healthy, how will the Owls deploy their assets on the back end of the defense this season? Here’s our 2022 Corner Preview.

Rice Football Preseason Preview: Check out the rest of the series here.

This piece is part of our 2022 Rice Football Season Preview. Get access to it, as well as all other preview posts such as positional breakdowns, depth chart and schedule analysis and more when you subscribe on Patreon today. New subscribers get our Conference USA Football Season Preview for FREE! 

Subscriber content.<br /> Please login to see the full post or visit our Patreon page.
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

Rice Football: 2022 ESPN FPI projects Rice near C-USA bottom

By

The 2022 ESPN FPI projections are out. Where did Rice football come in and how much stock should we put in these projections?

ESPN has released its Football Power Index (FPI) for the 2022 season. FPI is a statistic meant to help predict team performance. Rice football (-14.5 FPI) checked in No. 10 in Conference USA, ahead of only UTEP (-15.0) in the conference. On the opposite end of the spectrum, UAB and Western Kentucky were the frontrunners.

2022 ESPN FPI

  1. UAB, 0.2
  2. WKU, -0.4
  3. UTSA, -2.0
  4. MTSU, -3.9
  5. FAU, -4.4
  6. LA Tech, -5.5
  7. North Texas, -6.2
  8. Charlotte, -7.5
  9. UTEP, -12.1
  10. Rice. -14.5
  11. FIU, -15.0

Looking Closer

Last year, FPI projected Rice to finish with somewhere in the ballpark of five to seven wins. The Owls undershot that mark, winning just four. The numbers don’t project an easier road for the program this season, giving Rice football just a 4.5 percent chance of reaching six wins in 2022. If they were to prove the computers wrong it would mean the first bowl-berth for the program since 2014.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. FPI actually projects the Owls to be better at the onset of 2022 than they finished 2022 (-14.5 vs -18.1). Additionally, the majority of the Owls’ opponents are expected to be below the 0.0 average expected from the metric.

Replacing Elijah Garcia, Naeem Smith, Jordan Myers, Jovaun Woolford and Jake Constantine won’t be easy, but it doesn’t seem that much more challenging than replacing Mike Collins, Austin Trammell and Blaze Alldredge as they had to do last season. Finding a quarterback will be a challenge, but that’s not a new problem at South Main.

Ultimately, FPI projects Conference USA will be a below-average conference in 2022 with the possibility of only a handful of truly good to great teams. That’s who the Owls will have to beat if they want to return to the postseason, and they did topple UAB (the highest rated C-USA team this coming season) in Birmingham last season.

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

Recent Posts

Rice Football Recruiting: 2023 WR Drayden Dickmann commits to Owls

By

More speed is coming to the 2023 Rice Football recruiting class. Wide receiver Drayden Dickmann has committed to the Owls.

The fireworks continue at South Main as Houstonians prepare for the Fourth of July weekend. The latest boom for the 2023 Rice football recruiting front comes in the form of an in-state wideout from Georgetown, TX: Drayden Dickmann has committed to the Owls.

Dickmann had several offers at the time of his commitment to Rice. North Texas had thrown their hat in the ring, as had Navy, Army, Air Force and several Ivy League institutions. For Dickmann, Rice was home. “I loved the feel of it,” he told The Roost. “The campus, the area, the staff, the facilities, the current players. Everything there felt like home for me.”

Beyond the aesthetics and the atmosphere, Dickmann was drawn to the pro-style system. For Dickman, having offensive coordinator Marques Tuiasosopo calling the shots was exciting. Coach Tui hasn’t been afraid to take shots over the top in his time as the Owls’ OC. Dickmann is a burner who can and will run past opposing defensive backs. This pairing should be an exciting one.

Dickmann is the second wideout in the fold so far, following Byron Nelson (TX) receiver Landon Ransom who committed to Rice two weeks before Dickmann arrived at his decision.

Premium: Rice Football Recruiting Offer and Commitment Tracker

The raw speed jumps out from Dickmann’s highlights as soon as you hit play. He plays at a velocity that just can’t be taught. And at 5-foot-10 and 169 pounds, he won’t be a pushover wherever he lines up relative to the line of scrimmage. Dickmann moves well and has game-changing ability, something the Owls will always welcome to South Main.

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

Recent Posts

Rice Football Recruiting: 2023 P/K Reese Keeney commits to Owls

By

The first specialist is on board in the 2023 Rice Football recruiting class. Punter/Kicker Reese Keeney has committed to the Owls.

Scholarships for specialists don’t grow on trees. That’s what makes the most recent commitment to the 2023 Rice football recruiting class most notable. A dual-skilled punter and kicker, Farragut (TN) product Reese Keeney has committed to the Owls.

Keeney was one of two specialists that picked up offers from the Owls this month. He quickly took Rice up on their bid, making his pledge official two weeks later.

Noted kicking specialist Chris Sailer had high praise for Keeney. In Sailer’s profile on Keeney, he calls him “an outstanding kicker” who “hits a clean ball and easily has 50+ yard range.” He also noted that Keeney “excels at directional punting” and can handle kickoffs as well.

The kicking game was an adventure for Rice football last fall, so the renewed emphasis on finding a longer-term solution at the position seems prudent. Rice brought in several options for the 2022 season, but isn’t leaving the future to chance, either.

Keeney is the 14th commitment in the 2023 Rice football recruiting class that has picked up significant steam this summer. He’s the first — and likely last — specialist.

Premium: Rice Football Recruiting Offer and Commitment Tracker

For those who don’t spend hours grinding punter and kicker tape, the highlights should suffice. Keeney puts his field goals between the pipes and boots his punts down the field.

During his junior season, Keeney averaged 39.5 yards per punt with a long of 62 yards. He placed 15 of his 40 punts inside the 20. He’s converted 74-of-76 extra-point tries (97.4 percent) in his high school career and made 6-of-12 field goals (50 percent), including a long of 43 yards this past season.

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

Recent Posts