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Rice Football and the Transfer Portal: Are the Owls better off?

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Rice football has to deal with the Transfer Portal, just like every other program. Are the Owls better off or has the portal left at a deficit?

Every December the football season winds down and the Transfer Portal takes center stage. Rice football isn’t immune to players opting to leave the program for one reason or another. But is Rice winning in the transfer market or are they losing? How is this new adaptation specifically impacting the Owls? In short: the Transfer Portal has been a huge benefit to Rice football, and it’s not particularly close.

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I last did this study in 2019, evaluating players that came and went that season. The results were overwhelmingly positive. This look back will focus on players who came and went via the Portal for the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

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Rice Football: 2022 Spring semester roster notes

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The Rice football roster has seen some significant changes since the Owls last played a game. Here are the most prominent adjustments.

Roster churn impacts every college program in the country and the changes have only been exacerbated by the ever-changing transfer climate. Rice football has experienced a large number of adjustments to its roster from where things left off last season. Some of those shifts can be attributed to transfers, others involve players who have left the program for one reason or another.

This update highlights which key players have been left off the most recently released roster as of the end of January as well as incoming spring enrollees and various notes regarding position shifts, number changes and more.

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For those checking in for the first time, or those returning, a quick programming note. Special updates like this are reserved for our subscribers. Get access to all practice notes, features and more insights like this one when you subscribe on Patreon today.

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Conference USA Football 2021: Stop rate and defensive performance

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Conference USA football had some good defenses and some very bad ones in 2021. Which ones found ways to get off the field the most?

Recently published by The Athletic, stop rate is a useful tool for measuring college football defenses. Max Olson, who compiled the sat, defines stop rate as:

“a basic measurement of success: the percentage of a defense’s drives that end in punts, turnovers or a turnover on downs. This simple metric can offer a more accurate reflection of a defense’s effectiveness in today’s faster-tempo game than yards per game or even points per game.”

Although in previous years Olson had married stop rate with three-and-out rate, this year he’s placed points per drive data alongside the focal data point. Combined together, it paints a pretty compelling case when it comes to defining what elite-level defense looked like in college football this year. But what does it mean for Conference USA football, specifically?

Observations

You won’t find either UTSA or Western Kentucky in the Top 5 of Stop Rate or points per drive allowed. Both programs relied on their offenses to get the job done in 2021, but that doesn’t mean defense is dead either. UTSA’s defensive numbers are skewed upward a bit by multiple rounds against Bailey Zappe and the WKU offense. UAB, which was the runner-up in the West also was ranked in the Top 5 in Stop Rate.

The programs that failed to skirt .500 were the ones that didn’t have at least one or the other. Middle Tennessee and Old Dominions are great examples of programs that played solid defense and found just enough offensive pop at the right moments to reach the six win plateau and make a bowl game. Others like Rice, Charlotte and FIU were left on the outside looking in, largely because of mediocre to poor showings on both sides of the ball throughout the season.

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Rice Football Recruiting: Kicker Conor Hunt commits to Owls

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The 2022 Rice Football recruiting class isn’t done yet. Days after National Signing Day, the Owls have picked up a commitment from kicker Conor Hunt.

Head coach Mike Bloomgren made a point to note the 2022 Rice Football recruiting class was not complete when he stood in front of the microphone on National Signing Day to discuss the Owls’ newest crop of signees. It only took a few days from that address for Rice to add another important piece to the fold, picking up a commitment from Georgetown transfer kicker/punter Conor Hunt.

Special teams were a disaster for Rice football last season. The return game had its bright spots, but the Owls connected on 5-of-11 field goal attempts, demoting starting kicker Collin Riccitelli midway through the season in favor of Elon transfer Christian VanSickle who hadn’t attempted a field goal in a collegiate game prior to lining up for a 41-yard attempt against Southern Miss.

Riccitelli is no longer on the roster. VanSickle is. But the Owls made it clear by their willingness to go for it on fourth down rather than settle for even a moderately long field goal they needed help at the position

Hunt will join Washington transfer Tim Horn and walk-on Enoch Gota in a three-way battle for the starting kicker job. His experience as a punter will also push Charlie Mendes, who regressed in both average distance and net distance last season.

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Hunt made 7-of-12 field goal attempts for the Hoyas last season, hitting from a long of 45-yards with one kick blocked. He punted 48 times, averaging 41.7 yards per punt with nine punts of 50 yards or longer. His versatility has the potential to be invaluable to the Owls who need to shore up the kicking game headed into the 2022 season.

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The Roost Podcast | Ep 105 – 2022 Rice Football National Signing Day Review

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The 2022 Rice Football recruiting class took one more step toward completion this week. Who are the new Owls and how do will they fit in?

The Roost Podcast is back after a short break to discuss the 2022 Rice Football recruiting class. Our last episode weighed in on the Early Signing Period, but the Owls have added six new names to the fold since then and might have a few more spots available. Matthew and Carter talk through those names and address a few big-picture questions that still remain.

Check out full updates on every position, including breakdowns of the offense as well as the defense and special teams when you subscribe on Patreon.

You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 105.

Episode Notes

  • 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 fall camp, practices and more.
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  • 2022 Rice Football Recruiting Class – We talk about the six new additions since the Early Signing Period plus discuss some farther-reaching topics such as:
    • Reviewing the new signees since the Early Signing Period
    • The shift towards Transfer Portal players
    • Remaining gaps in the Owls’ roster heading into the spring
    • Luke McCaffrey moving from quarterback to wide receiver
    • Changes to the Rice football recruiting staff and its impact on the program

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.

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