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Rice Football 2023: NFL Owls Week 14 Roundup

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Rice Football is well represented on 2023 NFL rosters. Here’s the latest from the NFL Owls in action in Week 14.

There are former Rice football players scattered across the NFL. Stay tuned each week for their game results and notables from each player.

Team NFL Owl(s) This Week Result Next Week
Denver Broncos Elijah Garcia (DL) at Chargers W, 24-7 at Lions (Sat)
Detroit Lions Jack Fox (P) at Bears L, 28-13 vs Broncos (Sat)
Indianapolis Colts Kylen Granson (TE) at Bengals L, 34-14 vs Steelers (Sat)
Los Angeles Rams Austin Trammell (WR) at Ravens L, 37-31 (OT) vs Commanders
New England Patriots Calvin Anderson (OL) at Steelers (TNF) W, 21-18 vs Chiefs
Pittsburgh Steelers Chris Boswell (PK) vs Patriots (TNF) L, 21-18 at Colts (Sat)
Seattle Seahawks Myles Adams (DL) at 49ers L, 28-16 vs Eagles (MNF)
Tampa Bay Bucs Nick Leverett (OL) at Falcons W, 29-25 at Packers

Offense

Calvin Anderson – OT, Patriots

Anderson was active but did not play in the Patriots’ Week 14 game against the Steelers.

Kylen Granson – TE, Colts

Granson hauled in two of his four targets from 17 yards in the Colts’ Week 14 game against the Bengals.

Nick Leverett – OT, Buccaneers

Leverett was active but did not play in the Bucs’ Week 14 game against the Falcons.

Austin Trammell – WR, Rams

Trammell returned a kickoff 22 yards and handled three punts, returning those for a total of nine yards in the Rams’ Week 14 game against the Ravens.  He saw a few snaps with the offense but did not record any targets or receptions.

Defense

Myles Adams – DL, Seahawks

Adams was active but did not play in the Seahawks’ Week 14 game against the 49ers.

Elijah Garcia – DL, Broncos

Garcia was inactive for the Broncos’ Week 14 game against the Chargers.

Special Teams

Jack Fox – P, Lions

Fox punted four times, averaging a booming 51.8 yards per punt against the Bears. He had a long of 58 yards on the day.

Chris Boswell – K, Steelers

Boswell did his duties well yet again, making his lone extra point try and nailing a 56-yard field in the Steelers’ loss to the Patriots on Thursday Night Football.

More Owls in the NFL

From practice squads to current free agents, there are other Owls on the cusp of returning to active rosters. Find more detail on current contractual agreements and former Rice football players waiting for their next opportunity here.

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AAC Football: Early Transfer Portal Results

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The Transfer Portal opened this week and several AAC Football programs have already been significantly impacted. Here’s where things stand after a week of action.

The first wave of transfers has hit the portal, with some AAC Football programs largely unaffected and others facing massive headwinds to find replacements by the time the Early Signing Period opens on December 20. The following numbers have been taken from 247 Sports Transfer Portal tracker, updated as of Wednesday, December 6.

School Portal Entrants
ECU 21
North Texas 19
Tulsa 13
Charlotte 13
FAU 11
UAB 10
Temple 6
USF 5
SMU 4
UTSA 3
Memphis 3
Tulane 3
Rice 0
Navy 0

State of the AAC

It’s no surprise the programs with the most turnover are the ones that aren’t making any postseason appearances. Of the seven teams with the fewest transfers listed, six are playing in a bowl while the seventh (Navy) still has one regular season game remaining and comes with its own extenuating circumstances.

It’s worth noting Rice does have one player who has announced he’s entering the portal, but not one that likely played into their future: CB Jordan Dunbar who did not play this season.

More: AAC Football Bowl Roundup

North Texas and ECU lead the pack and have been absolutely gutted by outgoing transfers so far. ECU’s demise makes some sense, following a dreadful 2-10 season filled with disappointment and frustration. The exodus in Denton, TX is more puzzling. Eric Morris’ built an impressive offense in year one and had the team on the fringe of bowl eligibility. He won’t be starting from scratch in 2024, but losing so many key pieces certainly won’t help.

Names to Watch

More names could enter before the portal closes, but as of now there are a handful of AAC players that are likely to be coveted assets over the next few weeks:

UTSA DE Trey Moore – The reigning AAC Defensive Player of the Year and arguably one of the premier pass rushers in all of college football, Moore is going to be at the top of the list for Power 5 programs across the country and should have his pick of final destinations.

North Texas QB Chandler Rodgers – Rodgers didn’t get any AAC postseason accolades, but that was probably more to blame on the copious amounts of quality QB play in the conference than Rodgers’ abilities. The quarterback transfer market is already brimming, but Rodgers proved this season he can be a starter somewhere.

Temple QB EJ Warner – Injuries and terrible offensive play around Warner kept onlookers from seeing his true ceiling this season. That might allow him to fly a bit under the radar, but any programs that dig a little deeper and assess his skillset should jump at the chance to add him to their QB rooms. He has multiple years of eligibility remaining.

Charlotte LB Nikhai Hill-Green – The No. 2 tackler on a 49ers defense that had plenty of opportunities, the 6–foot-2, 232-pound Hill-Green put plenty on tape this season to earn another shot as a starter elsewhere and should receiver plenty of interest.

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The Roost Podcast | Ep 170 – Fifth Annual Roosties for Rice Football

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The Rice football regular season is in the books. That means its time for our podcast awards, the fifth annual Roosties!

There will be a time for a more formal set of Rice football postseason awards. From Team MVP to newcomers of the year, those awards are coming. First, it’s time to present our immediate reactions to the season that was and share our nominations for players, units and games that made this season special in one way or another. Stay tuned below for our fifth iteration of the annual Roosties!

You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 170.

Episode Notes

DCTF

The Roost Podcast is now part of the Dave Campbell’s Republic of Football Podcast Network. You’ll still get the same content with the same hosts, but now under the DCTF banner.

Homefield

We’re thrilled to partner with Homefield Apparel, the premier proprietor of college football clothing. First-time buyers can use the code ROOST for 15% off their order. The Owls hoodie is a personal favorite. So is the brand new Luv-Ya-Owls shirt. Shop the Rice collection or pick up something else (or both)!

Homefield

Patreon

Get exclusive insight 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 practice updates, analysis and more. Your support matters and makes The Roost better.

Become a Patron!

Remembering Rice Football with the Roosties! 

Carter and Matthew hand out honors in the following categories to commemorate the 2023 season, reliving the highs, lows  and everything in between:

  • Favorite Play
  • Player You Were Most Wrong About (Biggest Surprise)
  • Most Improved Unit
  • Play/Game You Most Want to Redo
  • Player You’ll Miss the Most
  • Out of Nowhere Star
  • Most Valuable Transfer
  • Most Head Scratching Moment
  • Most Dominant Game
  • Player You’re Most Looking Forward to in 2024

Where can you find us?

The Roost Podcast is part of the Dave Campbell’s Republic of Football Podcast Network. You can find this podcast and all of our partner podcasts on Apple, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts.ri

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

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Rice Football 2023: NFL Owls Week 13 Roundup

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Rice Football is well represented on 2023 NFL rosters. Here’s the latest from the NFL Owls in action in Week 13.

There are former Rice football players scattered across the NFL. Stay tuned each week for their game results and notables from each player.

Team NFL Owl(s) This Week Result Next Week
Denver Broncos Elijah Garcia (DL) at Texans L, 22-17 at Chargers
Detroit Lions Jack Fox (P) at Saints W, 33-28 at Bears
Indianapolis Colts Kylen Granson (TE) at Titans W, 31-28 (OT) at Bengals
Los Angeles Rams Austin Trammell (WR) vs Browns W, 36-19 at Ravens
New England Patriots Calvin Anderson (OL) vs Chargers L, 6-0 at Steelers (TNF)
Pittsburgh Steelers Chris Boswell (PK) vs Cardinals L, 24-10 vs Patriots (TNF)
Seattle Seahawks Myles Adams (DL) vs Cowboys L, 41-35 at 49ers
Tampa Bay Bucs Nick Leverett (OL) vs Panthers W, 21-18 at Falcons

Offense

Calvin Anderson – OT, Patriots

Anderson was active but did not play in the Patriots’ Week 13 game against the Chargers.

Kylen Granson – TE, Colts

Granson was busy again on Sunday, hauling in three passes for 72 yards, a career high. He also added one rush for two yards.

Nick Leverett – OT, Buccaneers

Leverett got onto the field with the special teams unit again this week, his third time working with that phase this season.

Austin Trammell – WR, Rams

Trammell saw action on special teams again this week, returning one kick for eight yards and two punts for 15 yards.

Defense

Myles Adams – DL, Seahawks

Adams was inactive for the Seahawks’ Weel 13 game against the Cowboys.

Elijah Garcia – DL, Broncos

Garcia was inactive for the Broncos’ Week 13 game against the Texans.

Special Teams

Jack Fox – P, Lions

Fox punted five times on Sunday, averaging a booming 50.8 yards per punt including a long of 60 yards. The Lions needed every kick, narrowly edging out the saints by five points on the road.

Chris Boswell – K, Steelers

Boswell missed just his second field goal of the season on Sunday, this time from 45 yards. He made his other try and added an extra point. The Steelers lost by 10.

More Owls in the NFL

From practice squads to current free agents, there are other Owls on the cusp of returning to active rosters. Find more detail on current contractual agreements and former Rice football players waiting for their next opportunity here.

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

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AAC Football 2023: Bowl Notes, Championship Game

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SMU has won the 2023 AAC football championship. Now six teams venture on to bowl season, with the first game fast approaching.

Matchups have been announced for the bowl season following plenty of drama and chaos along the way. Here are the reported pairings as of early Sunday evening:

Team Opponent Bowl Time Date
UTSA Marshall Frisco 9:00 pm ET Dec. 19
USF Syracuse Boca Raton 8:00 pm ET Dec. 21
Rice Texas State SERVPRO First Responder’s Bowl 5:30 pm ET Dec. 26
Tulane Virginia Tech Military 2:00 pm ET Dec. 27
SMU* Boston College Fenway 11:00 am ET Dec. 28
Memphis Iowa State Liberty 3:30 pm ET Dec. 29
*Won Conference USA Football Championship Game

AAC Football Championship results – Standings

SMU handled Tulane rather comfortably on Friday night, securing the AAC Conference Championship in their final season in the league before departing for the ACC next year. What was even more impressive than the final score was how comfortable they looked with their backup quarterback leading the offense with Preston Stone sidelined.

New Year’s Six Drama

SMU was snubbed for the G5 spot in the New Year’s Six in favor of an undefeated Liberty team, a fate few would have anticipated for the American Champion, regardless of who took home the title. Commission Mike Aresco did not mince words in his rebuttal, calling the decision “disappointing”.

Here are his full comments:

Coaching Changes

So far, there has only been one coaching change in the AAC this offseason. Tulane’s Willie Fritz will reportedly be the next head coach at the University of Houston. Other than that, the remainder of the league’s coaches are set to return for another season. The league did have a large portion of first-year coaches this season, but even still, to only have one coaching change in a conference this big seems uncommon.

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