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Rice Football: Tracking NFL Owls on pro rosters in 2019

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Several former Rice football stars who are currently playing at the next level. Here’s where the NFL Owls will suit up in 2019.

Nine former Rice football players were on NFL rosters in 2018. Four of those players are staying put with the same team this coming season. A few others have found new teams, while several are still on the hunt. Here’s where each of the Owls stands entering the 2019 season.

Active players

Calvin Anderson (Broncos) – Anderson was signed from the Jets practiced squad to the Broncos roster on Oct. 1 as first reported by The Roost.

Chris Boswell (Steelers)  – Signed through 2022 on a four-year, $16.8 million deal

Bryce Callahan (Broncos) – Formerly with the Bears, Callahan signed a three-year, $21 million deal with the Broncos this offseason. His contract runs through 2021.

Christian Covington (Cowboys) – Formerly with the Texans, Covington signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal with the Dallas Cowboys this offseason.

Emmanuel Ellerbee (Seahawks) – Signed through 2019 on a one-year, $570,000 deal

Phillip Gaines (Texans) – After being released with an injury settlement by the Browns, Gaines signed a one-year, $805K deal with the Texans.

Vance McDonald (Steelers) –  Signed through 2021 on a three-year, $19.6 million deal

Andrew Sendejo (Vikings) – Formerly with Eagles, the former Viking was claimed by Minnesota on waivers following his release from the Eagles in Week 9. He’s back with the Vikings now.

Luke Willson (Seahawks) – Briefly with the Raiders, Willson signed a one-year, $805K deal with the Seahawks following Week 3 of the 2019 season.

Practice squad

Jack Fox (Lions) – Undrafted in the 2019 NFL Draft, Fox signed with the Kansas City Chiefs. He’s been on and off the Chiefs’ practice squad this season and had workouts elsewhere before signing with the Lions in November.

Free agents

Jordan Taylor – Formerly of the Broncos, Taylor signed a one-year deal with the Raiders before he was released during roster cutdowns at the end of the preseason.

Austin Walter Undrafted in the 2019 NFL Draft, Walter signed with the Giants’ practice squad before being promoted to the active roster in Week 6. He was waived following the game.

**All contractual information sources from OverTheCap and SpotRac**

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Rice Football Recruiting 2020 Commitment Tracker

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The 2020 Rice football recruiting class is beginning to take shape. Here’s where the class currently stands with live updates with each commitment.

2020 Class Positional Breakdowns – Offense and Special Teams | Defense
Player Pos. Hometown / School Commit Date Signed?
Andrew Awe LB Mansfield, Tx 2/3/2020  —
Jaren Banks LB NM Military Inst.(JUCO) 2/3/2020  Yes
Kobie Campbell RB Missouri City, TX 4/9/2019  Yes
Caleb Chappelle WR The Woodlands, TX 2/2/2020  —
Mike Collins* QB TCU (Grad) 12/17/2019  Yes
Jonah Doddridge DB Southlake, TX 2/2/2020  —
Jordan Dunbar CB Tarrytown, NY 6/22/2019  Yes
Terreance Ellis LB Pearland, TX 1/22/2020  —
Sean Fresch CB Austin, TX 6/29/2019  Yes
Khalan Griffin RB Tyler, TX 5/2/2019  Yes
Michael Haack WR El Paso, TX 12/28/2019  —
Geron Hargon  LB Shreveport, LA 6/22/2019  Yes
Van Heitmann DL Houston, TX 2/5/2020  —
Brian Hibbard FB Baton Rouge, LA 4/11/2019  —
Caleb James DL Houston, TX 2/5/2020  —
Nate Kamper TE Fort Hood, TX 4/3/2019  Yes
Cole Latos DE Allen, TX 6/24/2019  Yes
Mike Leone OL Princeton, NJ 12/16/2019  Yes
Payton Lovell OL Trophy Club, TX 2/1/2020  —
Andrew Mason WR Spring Hill, TN 6/11/2019  Yes
TJ McMahon* QB Cerritos (JUCO) 12/9/2019  Yes
Christian McStravick WR Boston College (Transfer) 5/5/2020 Yes
Lamont Narcisse CB Calabasas, CA 2/5/2020  Yes
Braedon Nutter OL Tomball, TX 3/23/2019  Yes
Trey Phillippi OL Montgomery, TX 6/14/2019  Yes
Collin Riccitelli K Stanford (Grad) 2/2/2020  Yes
Jalen Reeves DE Hollywood, FL 9/22/2019  Yes
Adam Sheriff* OL Butler (JUCO) 12/15/2019  Yes
Charlie Stone OL Austin, TX 2/4/2020  —
Gabe Taylor CB Miami, FL 2/5/2020  Yes
Casey Tawa WR West Linn, OR 12/28/2019  —
Jovaun Woolford* OL Colgate (Grad) 12/10/2019  Yes
Plae Wyatt S McKinney, TX 2/28/2019  Yes

*Denotes an early enrollee

This is the latest verbally committed players for the Rice Football 2020 recruiting classes. The list will be updated to reflect the Owls’ current commitments as information comes in. More information on the 2019 Rice Football recruiting class is available here.

Each profile was written at the time of the commitment. Some secondary details may have changed, but player information and analysis remains relevant. As available, each profile will include relevant highlights and news regarding each recruit.

Important dates to know

The early signing period takes place from December 18 to December 20. The Owls signed a large portion of their 2019 class early and expect to do the same in 2020. Recruits who don’t sign will wait until National Signing Day which falls on the first Wednesday of February.

What if this list doesn’t match a major recruiting service?

Recruiting services such as 247 and Rivals typically prioritize the highest-rated players. It’s not uncommon for 2-star and even 3-star players to not be accounted for immediately. The delay could become even more significant following 247’s changes to their recruiting model for the coming 2019 year. Players won’t be considered for their composite ranking until they get a ranking by 247 themselves. The list above includes walk ons.

All football recruiting updates are maintained on our recruiting page. More timely updates can be found by following The Roost on Twitter and Facebook. Have questions? Reach out on either of those platforms, post in The Aviary, or shoot us a message using the contact form.

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Rice Football: Blaze Alldredge and Antonio Montero shine in spring practices

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Rice football might have found a position of strength on their defense after another strong showing from the linebackers in spring practice.

Spring practices continued on a windy Thursday afternoon at Rice Stadium. We’ve already hit on the lack of bodies available earlier in the week, but the guys who are on the field continue to make strides. Special teams and linebackers stood out on Thursday.

Linebackers

If there’s an early contender for strong position unit of the spring it might be the linebackers, at least the healthy ones. Ja’Quez Battley, Dylan James and Dylan Silcox have been sidelined with some seeing limited walkthroughs. The main rotation has consisted of Antonio Montero, Blaze Alldredge and Garrett Grammer.

Montero is instinctive and seeks out contact. He’s ready and willing to lay a blow on anyone with the football. The same goes for Alldredge who blew up a toss play six yards behind the line of scrimmage today, smothering the running back before he could turn and look up field. Grammer saw less playing time last fall, but has already made a strong case to see more of the field.

Position coach Scott Vestal called it “as good of a position as I’ve ever coached… through seven spring practices.” The caveat is his, but he might be on to something. Don’t be surprised if this trio becomes the backbone of a defense retooling the line and rotating in several new bodies in the secondary.

Special Teams

As it’s been throughout the duration of Mike Bloomgren’s time at Rice, special teams is woven through every practice. There hasn’t been much in the way of kickoff work yet, but the punt team got plenty of run on Thursday.

Beyond individual specialists, the punt coverage and return units look as crisp as ever. Special teams coordinator Drew  Svoboda said the team was “lightyears ahead of where we were a year ago,” praising the foundation laid by Pete Lembo in the fall.

Chris Barnes has a tall task, taking over for CUSA Special Team’s Player of the Year and Ray Guy Award Semifinalist Jack Fox, but early returns have been solid. He hasn’t booted the cover off the ball just yet, but he’s working on a variety of kicks and has the potential to keep the legacy of great kicking going at South Main.

Kickers Will Harrison and Nick McQuarry haven’t had the strongest spring, yet. They’ll be pushed in the fall by incoming 2019 signee Zach Hoban. For now, the kicking job remains up for grabs. Through it all, Svoboda credits snapper Cam Riddle as “the glue” that holds these units together.

Scattershooting

  • Quarterback Wiley Green had a few nice progressions during drills today where you could tell he worked his reads until he found the open man. The mental capacity he has for the offense will play a significant role in how well it functions. This was a good day for him.
  • Blaze Alldredge is tough as nails. He walked off the field for a breather, noticed he had a cut on his leg that was bleeding a bit, smirked and kept on walking.
  • D’Angelo Ellis was back at corner today. Once the receiving corps gets healthy that’s probably where he’ll stay.
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Rice Football: It’s all hands on deck for Owls during spring practices

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Rice football is pulling every able body into action during 2019 spring practice. Injuries and a thinned roster have given all players ample opportunity to shine.

The spring is supposed to be the time when everyone is healthy. Rice has had no such luck. The attrition, combined with an early dose of Texas heat, saw Monday’s practice cut a few minutes short to provide a respite from a busy day for both staff (Rice held their Pro Day on Monday, too) and players.

Dylan Silcox, Myles Adams and Aaron Cephus all wore red no-contact jerseys. Receivers Austin Trammell, August Pitre, Brendan Harmon and Sam Glaesmann all remain out of practice for at least the short term. That left only a handful of able-bodied receivers available for practice.

“Right now there are no reinforcements, you better be ready to play,” said Mike Bloomgren, almost jokingly, but with a twinge of truth. Like last spring, the Owls need more bodies. Fall camp will bring a much-needed inject of fresh legs. For now, everyone is getting plenty of work.

The good and bad on the offensive line

The offensive line remains a mixed bag. The talent level has been increased significantly since this time last year. Beyond that, the guys who are there have more experience and game action. Cole Garcia and Clay Servin have the potential to be special, and expectations remain high for Shea Baker and incoming graduate transfer Nick Leverett.

All that potential is going to take some time to gel. Monday saw bursts of individual success, but the collective product leaves something to be desired. Coach Joe Ashfield said the line is “at the point right now where we have to really become masters of our scheme so we can stop thinking so much about scheme and just get really good at how to do our craft.” In the most simplistic terms, they need less thinking and more doing up front.

Given the numbers crunch and the desire to have flexibility long term, centers Cole Elms and Shea Baker both have seen time at guard this spring. Baker should be considered the starting center at this point, but keeping him fresh at guard is wise considering the incoming arrival of Stanford transfer Brian Chaffin who will play somewhere along the interior of the line.

Scattershooting

  • While Wiley Green is the leader in the quarterback battle, the staff seems to have confidence in Evan Marshman and Parker Towns. All three have taken strides in their understanding of the offense and have said seeing game action last year was crucial to their development.
  • Tight ends figure to play a more prominent role in the offense in 2019. A guy to keep an eye on is Robert French. He blasted Antonio Montero in Oklahoma on Monday, not an easy task. He followed it up with a breakaway 50+ yard touchdown reception later in the afternoon.
  • Matthew Sams is another name to know in the secondary. The young corner has had his ups and downs this spring, but his good plays continue to outnumber the bad.
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Rice Football Pro Day results and workout updates

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The Rice Football Pro Day was held on Monday, March 25 in front of scouts and NFL onlookers who flocked to Houston to see four Owls work out.

A 2019 roster laden with freshman and sophomores still produced a few players with professional football aspirations. Four of those now former Owls put their abilities to the test on Rice Football’s 2019 Pro Day. Punter Jack Fox, fullback Gio Gentosi, edge rusher Graysen Schantz and all-purpose back Austin Walter will participate in NFL Combine-style drills as well as on-field workouts

From my count, seven different NFL teams were in attendance: Jets, Panthers, Colts, Browns, Raiders, 49ers and Texans.

Jack Fox, Punter — 6-2 5/8, 213

Coming off a season in which he was nominated for Ray Guy Award, Fox attended the NFL Combine and the NFL Shrine Game this spring. Monday will mark his third opportunity to kick in front of NFL personnel in hopes of being selected in the upcoming NFL Draft.

Workout notes

Fox did a full array of drills: directional punting, distance punting and backed up in the endzone. He drilled some nice balls with a few hang times in the area of 4.8 seconds.

Highlights

 

 

 

Gio Gentosi, Fullback — 6-0 1/8, 239

Gentosi came to Rice in the fall of 2019 after graduating from UCLA. He saw sparse playing time for the Bruins before earning the starting fullback job with the Owls. He scored his first collegiate touchdown in his final game against Old Dominion. Gentosi did not participate in any on-field workouts.

 

 

Grayson Schantz, Defensive End — 6-2 5/8, 247

Schantz battled injuries throughout a lengthy college career which comes to an end following the 2019 season. He registered a season-high nine tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery against UTEP.

Vertical 33
Broad 95

Workout notes

Schantz participated in just about every drill including a few as a pass catcher. He exhibited his power and burst well on the bag drills toward the later portion of the day.

Highlights

 

 

 

Austin Walter, Running back — 5-6 7/8, 194

At one point the national leader in All-Purpose yardage, Walter became one of the Owls’ most versatile weapons on offense in 2019. He raised some eyebrows with a 4.49 40-yard dash time at the NFL Regional Combine in mid-March.

Vertical 31
Broad 89
Bench 15

Workout notes

Walter had a few hiccups on his starts in the 40-yard dash and shuttle drills. Once he settled in he posted times of 4.54 in the 40 and 6.75 in the three cone drill. The pass catching drills are where he shined the brightest, including a nice acrobatic catch on a ball throw with a bit too much juice over the middle. He hauled in everything and moved quickly in the agility drills.

Highlights

 

 

What’s next?

The NFL Draft runs from April 25 to April 27. It goes without saying the NFL is the primary goal for all college football players, but there are only so many roster spots to go around. There will be opportunities in the newly formed Alliance of American Football as well as the coming XFL reboot. Those who don’t stick in the NFL or don’t receive a camp invite could have further opportunities.

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