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The Roost Podcast | Ep 155 – Tommy McClelland Introduction and Presser Takeaways

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The Roost Podcast mixes up the format this week to debrief Tommy McClelland’s introductory press conference. Hear from the Owls’ new AD himself.

New athletic director Tommy McClelland was introduced this week and he had a lot to say beyond the podium. In addition to his more formal remarks — you can read those here and check out the full session, too — he had additional conversations with The Roost and other members of the media, covering a wide range of topics. Rather than give you rehashed summaries, here are his words directly with some additional commentary of our own.

You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 155.

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.

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Recapping Tommy McClelland’s comments from his introductory press conference

  • Is Rice Athletics at an inflection point?
  • What is alignment? Does the Rice Athletics department have it and how can it keep it?
  • How does realignment fit into this?
  • Why Rice? And what does McClelland see as the ceiling for the program?
  • And what about Rice Stadium? What’s the plan? Is there a the timeline for renovations?

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.

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

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Rice Athletics AD Tommy McClelland shares goals, big dreams for Owls

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On Tuesday morning, Rice Athletics introduced Tommy McClelland as its new Athletic Director and gave him the opportunity to share his vision for the Owls.

News broke a few weeks ago that Rice Athletics had found its new Athletic Director. The University formalized the announcement soon afterward and on Tuesday, those expectations were fulfilled with the introduction of Tommy McClelland as the Owls’ new AD.

“I’ve always admired Rice from afar. The opportunity to join the university, one of the world’s elite institutions and a university and an athletics program that is on the rise, it’s truly unbelievable,” McClelland said. “Rice athletics has enormous potential to achieve even greater success while remaining true to its core values.”

McClelland made it clear he viewed this position as a destination job. He spoke of all the potential Rice had and stirred up the passions of those in the room, asking everyone to do their part in helping the university achieve those lofty aspirations.

The Roost Podcast: Soundbites and summaries from Tommy McClelland’s presser

As for his vision for the athletic department, McClleland leaned into the unique value proposition Rice University holds. “Athletics is not the most important thing on this campus, not by a longshot,” he admitted. “But our sports programs do provide the widest lens in which people get to view the global impact that is happening all over this campus.”

McClelland closed his initial remarks with a powerful value statement, further clarifying his goals for the athletic department “to use athletics as a mechanism to become a top-rated university in education, in research and in everything we do.” adding that he believes “we can utilize the platform in athletics to help amplify the success of the university. When one area of the university wins, we all win.”

You can view the entire press conference here.

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2023 Rice Football Opponent Season Preview: FAU

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FAU has a new head coach who will be familiar to Rice football fans. What can the Houston-based Owls expect from the Florida-based ones in 2023?

Head Coach: Tom Herman
Record at School: 0-0 (1 Yr) | Career FBS Record 54-22 (6 Yr)
Offensive Coordinator: Charlie Frye | Defensive Coordinator: Roc Bellantoni

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2023 Rice Football Season Preview: Safety

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Next up in our 2023 Rice Football Season Preview: safety. Let’s dive into the position and break down the Owls’ plans for the group this year.

Few position rooms seemed as nebulous entering the 2023 Rice football season as the safety position. The unit returns just one starter, albeit a good one in Gabe Taylor, placing a large portion of the needed production on relatively new faces. Who rises to the challenge and what does it mean for the defense this season?

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

This piece is part of our 2023 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. 

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Rice Football 2023 : Takeaways from Fall Camp Scrimmage 1

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The first scrimmage of Rice football fall camp is in the books and the defense came to play. What went right for that unit and what can the offense improve?

Rice football head coach Mike Bloomgren summed it up rather well in his comments following the Owls’ 10th fall camp practice. “I’ve done this too long to be surprised that the defense is ahead at scrimmage number one,” he remarked, going on to reiterate his confidence in the offense and the growth of the team as a whole.

This practice report will dig into what the defense did well as well as identify some of the key problems the offense had. There’s a lot to improve before Rice football hosts its second scrimmage next week.

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