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Rice Football Recruiting: 2020 ATH Kobie Campbell commits to Owls

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The 2020 Rice football recruiting class continues to add weapons to their arsenal, this time with the commitment of do-it-all athlete Kobie Campbell.

Campbell enjoyed his experience on campus on Junior Day this spring and came away with nothing but positive comments regarding the program and the staff. Not long afterward he returned to campus to observe spring practice and make his pledge, committing to play his college football at Rice in 2020.

Rice was the first D1 program to offer Missouri City athlete Kobie Campbell, securing his commitment in the span of a few weeks from the initial offer. The expedited recruiting process reflects how focused the staff was on landing Campbell and how much Campbell bought into the trajectory of the program. He joins an arsenal of talent which has only continued to grow.

Prior to Campbell coming on board, an impressive succession of recruiting wins already had Rice football at four commitments. Campbell raises that tally to five — Rice didn’t have their first commitment last year until the summer months began. The hot start has continued from March into April with more positive news likely on the horizon.

Campbell played just about everywhere in high school, but Rice intends to play him at running back. The 5-foot-8, 160-pound ball carrier has burst, quickness, and an elusiveness which leaves defenders flat-footed in his dust.

His time spent in the secondary gave him a fearlessness at the point of attack and he’s more than powerful enough to run through tackles. He’s a fantastic addition to an already strong class.

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Rice Football: Offense dominates their first spring practice

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The Rice football offense had their best offensive showing of the spring, capping off Monday’s practice with a near-perfect redzone performance.

Touchdown. Touchdown. Touchdown. The Rice offense had started to forget what the endzone felt like after a dominant start to the spring by the defensive unit. The offense managed a single field goal in their scrimmage on Saturday, failing to reach the endzone at all. They made up for their absence then, and the rest of the spring, with an impressive showing during Monday’s practice.

Bradley Rozner broke a few ankles, carving up the secondary on his way to six. Aaron Cephus high pointed some passes in the endzone. Ari Broussard was almost impossible to bring down. Evan Marshman took a keeper to the pylon. And all of that happened in the span of 20 minutes.

Breakthrough was coming, it was only a matter of time. Finally, something clicked. Cephus called it “a thin line between regular and great” which the offense had surpassed. There was no secret weapon, rather it was the culmination of weeks of learning and practice finally coming together at once. A slowed down game plus, as Cephus called it, “a lot of nastiness and grit”, gave the entire offense a much-needed confidence boost.

Mike Bloomgren called the sudden onslaught of offense “the spark” that “lit a fire”, setting up a battle between both sides of the ball on Thursday. That will be the last true practice before Rice holds their spring game on Saturday.

Several alumni and letterman will be in attendance then, some of which have already paid visits this spring. Sam Pierce stopped in to check out practice on Monday. Peter Godber, Calvin Anderson, Jack Fox and others have been by over the past week.

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Rice Football: Defense closes out final spring scrimmage strong

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It’s no secret the defense has had the upper hand as Rice football nears the end of spring practices. The entire unit shined in the final scrimmage.

The final scrimmage prior to the Spring Game was dominated by the defense. The front seven looked magnificent, with impressive plays from just about every member up front. Blaze Alldredge and Antonio Moreno flew to the ball. Dylan James and Garrett Grammer made some big plays, too. The defensive line as a whole enforced their will on the offensive unit, finding pressure and forcing uncomfortable pockets for the quarterbacks all morning.

Wiley Green still looked sharp, even with the pressure surrounding him. He delivered some lasers into tight coverage and was the only passer who was able to regularly make plays down the field. When things broke down, he demonstrated the ability to make plays with his legs, keeping the defense honest as much as possible.

Part of the reason for his forced mobility was exceptional play from the Rice secondary. Long balls over the head of safeties and corners plagued this unit in the fall but that hasn’t been a problem this spring. Green has a strong arm and isn’t afraid to push the ball downfield, but even his better throws have to be perfect given how tight the secondary has played.

One of the brightest spots from the defensive backfield has been the emergence of corner Andrew Bird. He broke into the starting lineup at the tail end of the fall and has kept his spot throughout the spring. “I think coming into this spring I had more confidence in myself, more confidence in my teammates,” Bird said following the scrimmage. That confidence has translated into a more cohesive unit which should be much improved this fall.

New blood gives life to the Rice backfield

The offensive success has been more sporadic, but there have still been flashes on that side of the ball worth getting excited about. A reshaped running back corps might be the most intriguing storyline of the spring. Aston Walter is the familiar face, but it’s the new players at the position who are making the most noise.

After a strong spring, converted linebacker Ari Broussard has a legitimate case to be the starting running back when Rice opens the season at Army. Broussard’s skillset is markedly different than that of his peers.

A former running back in high school, Broussard described himself as a “running-people-over type” back who prefers to run north and south. He’s not as shifty as guys like Walter, Cam Montgomery and Juma Otoviano, but perhaps that’s what makes him a perfect fit for Bloomgren’s ground-and-pound attack.

Scattershooting

  • Blaze Alldredge lept over the line during goal line drills. He’s intense and extremely athletic and he’s going to make some big plays this fall.
  • The defense won the scrimmage and the third down portion of practice. The offense bounced back, winning the goal line drills.
  • Pending the arrival of the two additional grad transfers, the offensive line will be some combination of Clay Servin at left tackle, Uzoma Osuji at right tackle, Shea Baker at center and Cole Garcia and Nick Leverett at the guard spots.
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Rice Football Recruiting: Owls in the midst of productive Junior Days

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The 2020 Rice football recruiting class is picking up steam. The spring has brought three commitments and more could be on the way after a few official visit weekends.

The winter has barely dissipated and Rice football has already broken the ice on what could be a historic signing class. Not to be hyperbolic, but that’s the sort of trajectory that’s been set by the Owls’ first four commitments.

Safety Plae Wyatt, offensive lineman Braedon Nutter and Brady Feeney and newest commit Nate Kamper have already raised the bar. Wyatt, Nutter and Feeney rate as three of the four highest-rated players Rice has signed since 2015. Kamper is a 6-foot-6 matchup nightmare in the slot and the Owls’ coaching staff is working on reeling in more big fish.

March Junior Day

Rice hosted a dozen or so 2019 recruits at the end of March including Wyatt and Nutter, both of whom gave rousing endorsements of the weekend. It was more than just the committed guys who liked what they saw. So did Kamper, who was back on campus a week and a half later before committing on April 3.

Hightower athlete Kobie Campbell was impressed with the facilities and the personability of the Rice staff. Notre Dame Prep (Az) linebacker Brock Locnikar praised the dedication to improvement and the #IntellectualBrutality culture. Both players are firmly in the crosshairs of the Rice staff as are a few other notable names who were on campus that weekend like St. Thomas offensive lineman Tommy Brandt and Hendrickson defensive lineman Gabriel Hunter.

April Junior Day

Rice will bring in another group of 2020 recruits this coming weekend, too. Sage Ennis, a top 25 tight ranked tight end from Lincoln High School in Florida, will be in attendance as will playmaking Tomball Memorial wide receiver Logan Kyle. A teammate of current Rice commit Braedon Nutter, Kyle’s offer list is blowing up, but remains interested in what the Owls have to offer.

On the defensive line, Desert Ridge High School (AZ) product Joquari Price is making the trip east to Texas and Louisiana native Noah Taliancich from Destrehan High School will make the trip west. At least for this weekend, all roads seem to lead to Houston.

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Rice Football Recruiting: 2020 Tight end Nate Kamper commits to Owls

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The 2020 Rice Football recruiting class keeps getting better and better thanks to the addition of Killeen, Texas tight end Nate Kamper.

A year ago the dream of playing D1 college football wasn’t on Nate Kamper’s radar. Maybe he had thought about it from time to time, but the Killeen, Texas product wasn’t on anyone’s radar before his junior season. When Rice saw the film he rocketed up their boards quickly. He’s been a priority in the 2020 class from the start. Now he’s a Rice Owl.

Kamper stands 6-foot-6 and weighs 200 pounds. He’s a pass catching threat up the middle who can create mismatches with any combination of linebackers and safeties tasked with guarding him one on one. He’s a bit leaner than the other tight ends on the roster right now, but given some time in the weight room with Hans Straub and he’ll be even more physically imposing. That should scare other CUSA squads.

Head coach Mike Bloomgren has stressed speed and size in his quest to instill Intellectual Brutality at Rice. Kamper checks both of those boxes at a position of significance for an offensive like Bloomgren wants to run.

While the other three recruits in the 2020 class had already turned some heads on somewhat of a larger scale, Kamper could be the “diamond in the rough” type player other coaches kick themselves for missing later on. The fourth commit in a growing 2020 class, Kamper turned down offers from SMU and UTSA to play at South Main.

Kamper said the level of care head coach Mike Bloomgren and his staff had for the program was evident. Like several other recruits before him, the vision for Rice football was easy to understand and easy to get behind. Those close to Kamper had indicated he wanted this process wrapped up before his senior year began in the fall. Well, it’s April, and Rice has another top target in the fold.

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