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Rice Football Recruiting: Late July 2021 recruiting updates

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The 2021 Rice Football recruiting class is sticking near the top of the Conference USA ranks. Here’s the latest of a few of the Owls targets.

I touched base with several members of the 2021 class who currently hold Rice Football offers. Featured below are updates from safety Joshua Williams, defensive end Tommy Dunn Jr. and center Ezra Oyetade.

Saf Joshua Williams

Rice offered Linden, AL safety Joshua Williams on June 24. Less than three weeks later he released his Top 5 which featured Rice, as well as Army, Navy, Yale and Georgia State. He said academics are a big piece of his decision-making process. He also holds offers from in-state schools like Troy and South Alabama.

With everything being virtual these days, Williams says he’s been thinking harder than ever about each of his opportunities. At this point, he says he understands what each of his top schools is like on paper, all that’s left is to find the right connection that offers from “that family feel.”

Ideally, he’s still hoping to make a decision before the fall. The ever-changing timetable regarding high school sports could impact that timetable, but if Williams finds the right fit, I’d expect him to make the call.

DE Tommy Dunn Jr

Tommy Dunn was among the last waves of recruits to make it to Rice in person for an official visit before things shut down. That was his only official visit so far and it left a strong impression. The Garland, TX native loved Houston and praised the atmosphere and the environment on campus.

He went so far as to give a nod to the photo and graphics team for making him feel at home with some of the personalized graphics and images. Rice pulls out all the stops to make their targets comfortable, and the Owls definitely did that with Dunn. He’s stayed in touch with a few schools during the last few months including virtual tours with UTSA and Navy.

C Ezra Oyetade

The battle for Ezra Oyetade, who 247 Sports has dubbed the nation’s No. 1 center, has been fierce from the beginning. Rice was the very first D1 school to offer Oyetade and it’s given them a spot in the race. He says he stays in touch with the staff and has liked what he’s seen from Rice so far. Although official visits have been squashed by the recruiting restrictions he’s checking in on a variety of schools.

Since Rice offered in January, Oyetade has picked up offers from Vanderbilt, Houston, UCF, Arizona State, Missouri, Memphis and others. Being first and being local are points in the Owls favor as they continue to keep themselves in the mix.

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Rice Football Recruiting 2021: Mid-July update and targets to watch

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The 2021 Rice Football Recruiting class is continuing to gain steam. Here are a few targets to keep an eye on this summer.

Here are four names to follow as we get past the midpoint of the summer. Evan Jackson is one of the newer offers, but that relationship is off to a great start. Of the earlier offers, Rice is still very much in the mix for Katy Taylor safety Trevor Woods. I have some notes on both of those guys as well as lineman Coco Lukirch and Bryce Goodner.

RB/CB Evan Jackson – Woodland, GA

Evan Jackson is an incredible athlete with top-end speed. Rice has prioritized getting faster in recent classes. Jackson can run a 10.83 100-meter dash and could run track in college if he goes that route. He likes playing with the ball in his hands and likes playing in the slot as a receiver, but he might actually have a better long-term role at Rice as a corner.

At this point, Jackson’s offers have been all over the board. He’s been heavily recruited by the Ivies and has a quarterback offer from Army.

He said the facilities stood out from what he’s seen virtually. His relationships with the coaching staff continue to progress and he’s looking to narrow things down in late July. The everchanging COVID-19 situations have made nailing specific dates difficult, but it sounds like he hopes to have a decision made in the next few weeks if possible. Rice is in a very good place with him.

Saf Trevor Woods – Katy, TX

Rice was the first to offer Katy Taylor standout safety Trevor Woods, and that initial vote of confidence has stuck with him as he’s picked up offers from Arizona, Colorado and others.

He’s remained in close communication with the Rice staff through the in-person shutdown. He said it’s possible his rate of communication has increased with the lack of camps and other summer activities. To some degree, all he and the staff has to do is build relationships.

The recruiting restrictions have probably played into the Owls favor in Woods’ recruitment. He has the talent to be a special player in Conference USA and his lack of exposure this summer has helped secure Rice a spot at the table when it comes time for him to make a decision. The pandemic has made things hazier, but Woods says he’d still like to make a decision by the end of the summer.

OL Coco Lukrich – Park City, UT

Initially listed as a two-way guy on the Offer Tracker, Rice prefers Coco Lukrich on the offensive side of the ball. He’s been a guard at the high school level and could stick there at the college level, especially with the bookend of tackles Rice brought in last season with Trey Phillippi and Mike Leone. Lukrich himself made it clear he’s fine playing on either side of the ball and expects he’ll line up at defensive end frequently this year as well.

Lukrich’s offers are fairly robust. In addition to several Ivy League schools and service academies, he has Power 5 offers from Boston College, Syracuse and Washington State. All three came this summer prior to his offer from Rice. So far it sounds like the Owls are still somewhat in the mix, but the competition has heated up significantly in the last few weeks.

DL Bryce Goodner – Mcminn, TN

Of all the recruits Rice is currently after that don’t have any sort of rating on 247, Goodner might be the one I’m most excited about. First, he’s a monster that moves big things with ease. Second, he’s somehow flying under the radar and has Rice in the hunt when it comes time to make his decision.

Goodner says he’s narrowed his list down and is content with the collection of offers he has so far. He picked up Tulsa over the weekend and already had offers from Air Force, Arkansas State, Charlotte a few Ivy League schools and several more from the FCS ranks.

Goodner doesn’t have a timetable for his decision but says he’s in constant contact with Rice and is going to trust his gut. He said a decision could come “tomorrow morning or right before our first game.”

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The State of College Football: COVID-19 changes are on the way

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The college football world is reeling from a series of announcements this week. What happened? And what’s going to happen next?

On Wednesday afternoon, the Ivy League released a detailed, powerful statement that included this telling line:

“It will not be possible for Ivy League teams to participate in intercollegiate athletics competition prior to the end of the fall semester. ”

No intercollegiate athletics competition means no football. And no football is a very, very uncomfortable notion for many in this country. This piece is not going to get into the politicization of the current environment. There are other forums for that conversation. Instead, let’s address the why and the impacts currently reverberating around college football.

Why did the Ivy League cancel football?

Football is the biggest financial driver in college sports. It’s no secret that the loss of a football season would push just about every athletic department further into the red. Staying in a positive place financially is important, but at what cost?

In this case, “the safety and well-being of students as their highest priority” outweighed the monetary gains that football would have brought. At the FCS level, that’s admittedly a much smaller purse than the upper echelon of the sport. At the end of the day though, this decision forced administrators to weigh the tradeoffs between safety and money. In the Ivy League, safety won out.

The ripple effects continue

Others will follow. We’ve already seen an array of FCS teams cancel games due to COVID-19 concerns. Some lower-level schools in D2, D3 and NAIA have gone so far as to cancel seasons. There will be more news along those lines.

Entering Thursday there were already FBS schools with holes on their schedule because of those canceled games. More than a half dozen programs had halted voluntary workouts because of positive test results, with notable programs like Ohio State and North Carolina suspending activities on Wednesday. Positive test results that were concerning in June will become increasingly more so as the calendar inches closer to September.

The ACC delayed all sports until no sooner than Sept. 1 on Thursday morning. Before the day was through reports surfaced that the Big Ten, ACC and Pac-12 would cancel all non-conference football games. 10 of 14 Conference USA teams will have lost games. Middle Tennessee, Old Dominion and Western Kentucky have already lost two. Marshall’s Week 0 game against East Carolina is scheduled for August 29. Players are scheduled to report for mandatory workouts soon, meaning a decision on whether or not that game (or other non-conference games) will be played at all.

25 percent “and dwindling”

In a statement given to the Denton Record-Chronicle, Conference USA Commissioner Judy MacLeod was noncommittal. “We are continuing to discuss with our membership, but no decisions have been made,” she said. “We are receiving advice from medical experts and examining all options.”

Earlier in the week, a source within the Rice program indicated he would be surprised if they played football this fall. Since then that same source said the likelihood of a fall season being played to be at 25% “and dwindling”. Conference USA coaches have been in constant communication throughout the day. This snowball isn’t slowing down. If anything, it’s escalating.

What’s going to happen next?

It took 72 hours for college basketball to be shut down. The Ivy League’s cancelation went out at 4:45 p.m. on Wednesday. Following that trajectory, we could be looking at a very different college football world by the time the weekend arrives.

But, before we get there, it’s important to note a few things.  First, the SEC indicated they wanted to wait “as long as they can” before making any decisions on their schedule. It’s expected Rice will wait and see what the SEC does before making a decision on the LSU game.

I’d imagine, and this is speculative on my part, that most conferences will operate under the notion that they will be playing football this fall for as long as possible. In the interim, that probably means pushing the season back, canceling non-conference games and assessing what things look like down the road. Playing an October to December scheduled would be preferred to any sort of spring arrangement.

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Conceptually, it’s possible, but I’d be surprised to see any Group of 5 conference able to operate under a different scheduling structure than the Power 5 leagues. If the financial powers of the sport can’t justify the risks, how could a Group of 5 team do so? Even if the logistics work, the risk at this point is hard to sell. If there is football this fall, and that’s getting to seem like a larger and larger if with every passing hour, it’s most likely going to feature a heavily abbreviated schedule.

Given the health risks and dollars potentially at stake, pushing the season back a month, at least, seems like the most likely outcome for the time being. If we get to the end of August and the situation isn’t improved it will be time for another, much more harrowing conversation. Canceling these games is more so about buying time than anything else.

What about football in the spring?

“We’re trying to figure out a way to play a season safely and responsibly,” he said. “But we’re also prepared not to play.” – Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren

Spring football is a legitimate option, but before consensus shifts there, it’s important to note there is no guarantee the COVID-19 situation will be any better in February than it will be in October. We all hope it will be, but we felt that same hope four months ago. And here we are.

There’s just so much we don’t know. Right now administrators are trying to make the best decisions they can in a time of incredible uncertainty.

Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren was as direct as possible in a statement to Sports Illustrated. “We’re trying to figure out a way to play a season safely and responsibly,” he said. “But we’re also prepared not to play.”

This situation is going to continue to develop. If March was any indication, the world of college athletics as we know it might look very different in the coming days, if not hours. Stay tuned.

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Rice Football Recruiting 2021: Owls extend new wave of offers

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The first new batch of summer offers for the 2021 Rice Football recruiting class was handed out on Wednesday evening. Here’s a bit more info on the newest names to know.

The 2021 Rice Football recruiting class but most of its base this spring. Eight of the Owls’ nine current commitments came between March 8 and April 30. The only summer commitment to date came from quarterback Shawqi Itraish. Rice as offered two players since April: Chandler AZ wide receiver Jalen Richmond and Park City UT lineman Coco Lukrich.

Rice made their most expansive swathe of offers of the summer on Wednesday evening. They offered five players. Here’s a bit more on each of the new names and how they might fit in the 2021 class.

All of these names have been added to the offer tracker.

RB Evan Jackson – Woodland, GA

A quick look at Jackson’s highlights shows you how dynamic an athlete he is. A high school quarterback with plenty of speed, he projects as a running back at the next level. Rice would be open to playing him at corner, too. Frankly, he’s you’d want to get on the field. His quickness and intelligence helped earn him a track offer from Stanford.

WR Troy Lewis – Matoaca, VA

Rice has emphasized speed in recent recruiting classes, particularly with the younger wave of receiving options. Troy Lewis is built differently. He’s 6-foot-3 and plays big. Someone is going to have fill the gap left by Christian McStravick and Brad Rozner and players with good hands and great height are few and far between.

CB Ore Adeyo – Mansfield, TX

Adeyo could probably play a few positions in the secondary, but he’s already and impressive corner. Rice needs guys that can play on an island and win one-on-one battles. He moves well and plays with an edge, perfect attributes for someone who has to make his own way on the edge.

Saf Joshua Williams – Linden, AL

Joshua Williams is more of a true safety but has some flexibility to play all of the spots in the Rice defense. That flexibility is a trait the Owls have coveted on the recruiting trail. He’s a four-sport athlete.

Saf Walker Warncke – Needville, TX

High school teammate of current Rice commit Blake Boenisch, Warncke has some position flexibility. Wherever he lines up, he’s going to run through people and does not shy away from contact. He’s one of two Texas offers in the Owls made tonight (Adeyi).

Saf Marcus Williams – Hoover, AL

A highschool linebacker, Williams would probably fall into a Viper role at Rice — think Treshawn Chamberlain. He’s athletic with good vision when the ball is in the air. And he can lower his shoulder and deliver the big hit.

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Rice Football Recruiting: New 2021 offers continue through the shutdown

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It’s been a busy month for the 2021 Rice Football recruiting class. The lack of in-person visits hasn’t slowed the Owls down on the recruiting trail at all.

The coronavirus pandemic has put the sports world in gridlock. The NCAA suspended all in person on-campus and off-campus recruiting through April 15, making adding new members to the class difficult, but not impossible. The 2021 Rice football recruiting class picked up four commitments in the week leading up to the stoppage and has continued to offer targets since in-person recruiting was temporarily halted.

I caught up with several of these players to get their interest on Rice and find out where they’re at in their recruitment process. Here’s a rundown of the names to know at some key positions, many of which have surfaced in the last few weeks.

Quarterback

The shifting dynamics on the recruiting front have impacted the Owls’ quarterback hunt significantly. Rice has altered its strategy to some degree, offering three quarterbacks this week rather than putting all their eggs in one basket. Extending these offers officially puts Rice in the mix for three dynamic signal-callers.

Shawqi Itraish (Bradenton, FL) says he’s been impressed with the consistency and focus of the Owls’ staff when it comes to building a relationship despite the long distance. He hasn’t been on campus yet but would love to as soon as he can.

Lucas Coley (San Antonio, TX) did get the chance to visit and liked what he saw. He said he understands the “40-year decision” that Rice offers and how unique an opportunity it would be to get a high-level degree and play D1 football would be. He likes the staff, but is most looking forward to seeing how the culture translates onto the field this fall. Proving this program is on the upswing is an important factor for him.

Jaylen Henderson (West Hills, CA) rounds out the trio of offered passers. Rice has made sound headwinds in California in recent years, landing Jake Bailey (2019) and Lamont Narcisse (2020). Adding someone with the finesse of Henderson, who can attack defenses both through the air and on the ground, would represent another big out-of-state win for the Owls.

It’s very early in the game for all three of these players. It’s important to note that Rice football recruiting offers are handed out with purpose. Rice would be happy to have any of these three as their cornerstone passer for the 2021 class.

Offensive Line

Rice is going to be in very good position with its 2021 class. Faaenauu Pepe is already in the fold and the response has been overwhelmingly positive from the other targets Rice has offered on the offensive line. Canon Boone (Dickinson, TX) is the newest name to watch right now.

Defensive Line

There’s a good chance Rice keeps their growing pipeline to the Northeast open with Khordae Sydnor. A standout pass rusher from Iona Prep, Sydnor is the No. 5 rated defensive end in the state of New York. Former Iona Prep players Jordan Dunbar and Derek Ferraro play for the Owls right now. Dunbar’s influence has been important for Sydnor as he explores Rice. On the local front, Stone Eby (Flower Mound, TX) has risen up as a target at that position.

On the interior, Bryce Goodner (Athens, TN) is a grown man that can play both ways, although the Owls want him on the defensive side. He’s hoping to get to campus whenever possible. He, Elroyal Morris (Houston, TX), and Grady Kelly (Navarre, FL) were both offered in the last several weeks. Morris was able to get to campus before the break. That seems to have been extremely beneficial in his recruitment.

Tight end

Jaggar Hebeisen (Colleyville, TX) is another prospect that seemed particularly high on the Owls. At the moment, he’s the clear-cut No. 1 target at the tight end position. He’s looking forward to getting on campus as soon as he can, but the shutdown has stretched out his recruitment just like everyone else.

Linebacker

Two of the Owls’ four current commitments play linebacker, so Rice is really starting to narrow their focus here. DJ Arkansas (Denton, TX), Dylan Hazen (The Woodlands, TX) and DJ Brown (Memphis, TN) are the remaining offered players on the Owls’ board at this time.

Arkansas was the first defensive player Rice offered in this class. His stock has continued to rise. It’s possible the shutdown could aid Rice in his recruitment, but we’ll have to wait and see. Brown and Hazen have both seen an uptick in their interest in recent weeks with Hazen picking up an offer from Illinois this week.

Other recruiting notes

Rice did something interesting in their final spring practice. Without knowing it would be their last, head coach Mike Bloomgren flipped the position groups. Running backs did linebacker drills with the defensive coaches. Defensive lineman worked with Bloomgren and new o-line coach Sanders Davis. Prudy Calderon was a quarterback. Wiley Green played defensive back and even made a nifty play on the ball for a leaping interception.

The change made my head spin on the sideline, but the players had a blast. One upperclassman remarked on his way off the field that this was one of the most fun practices he’d ever been a part of at Rice.

Beyond lifting the spirits of the team, the recruits on hand picked up on the energy. Placide Djungu-Sungu (Arlington, TX) and Trevor Woods (Katy, TX) both told me they really enjoyed getting to see everyone playing their opposite roles.

Lastly, one overarching topic that has flown a bit under the radar regarding the 2021 class. SAT and ACT testing has been put on hold, along with everything else. At least for the time being, recruits are riding with whatever their last test score was. Getting the grade is an important first step in the recruiting process. It hasn’t appeared to limit the Owls’ much so far,  but it’s another factor to keep in mind.

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