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Rice Football 2020: Spring Practice Day 1 Notes

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The first day of Rice football spring practice is in the books. It’s too early to draw any definitive conclusions, but the groundwork is being laid for the fall.

A full complement of players took the field on Monday for the first day of Rice football spring practice. The complete roster lists 79 players, more than enough to field two full units on both sides of the ball. Some positions will be deeper than others, but the Owls have reached enough bodies to make significant strides this spring.

Head coach Mike Bloomgren likes where the team is at entering the spring, particularly on defense. “I love where our defense is…” he said. “I love that coach [Brian] Smith has them in the mindset that nothing they did last year is going to make a single play for them this year. Everything’s got to be earned again. I can’t wait to see what they can build over there on that side [of the ball]”.

Bloomgren did make sure to mention that the Owls return 20 of 22 players on the defensive two-deep depth chart. That’s the best in the nation in terms of returning defensive production.

Quarterbacks

In a somewhat surprising move, there were no “OR” designations on the first Rice football depth chart of the spring. The quarterbacks, listed from top to bottom:

  1. JoVoni Johnson
  2. Mike Collins
  3. TJ McMahon
  4. Wiley Green
  5. Evan Marshman
  6. Parker Towns

A true No. 1 is far from being finalized, but the decision to put Johnson atop the pack was intentional. “He gained a lot of our trust,” Bloomgren said. “He earned the right, in my opinion, and coach [Jerry] Mack’s opinion, to be on top. So he’s taking those [first team] reps.”

After Johnson, Collins and McMahon have clearly separated themselves from the rest of the group. It would be surprising if one of those three isn’t named the opening day starter for the Owls in the fall. The value of having Mack in the quarterback room as well as having all three starting options on campus for the full duration of spring cannot be understated.

Offensive line

Bloomgren spent the majority of the first practice in the trenches with the offensive line. Injecting his extensive experience into that group will be crucial as the Owls look to reconfigure their front five on the fly.

Rice loses Brian Chaffin, Justin Gooseberry and Nick Leverett. The first reps of spring ball featured this revamped first team line:

LT – Clay Servin
LG – Adam Sheriff
C – Isaac Klarkowski
RG – Shea Baker
RT – Jovaun Woolford

Baker at the guard position probably says more about the uncertainty at that spot than it does about the center position. Klarkowski’s work last season in emergency duty had staying power. “I don’t know if we think of him as a walk-on anymore,” admitted Bloomgren, who showed no qualms about him starting the spring with the first team.

Rice has two full lines this spring as opposed to six or seven healthy bodies at the position at this time last year. The tackle spots seem more or less locked down, but the remaining options on the interior could position themselves for a bigger role in the fall with a good showing over the next few weeks.

Injuries

It seems like having 100 percent of the roster fully healthy at the same time is all but impossible. The Owls are relatively healthy, but these four players are expected to miss all of spring ball.

  • Robbie Blosser
  • Jake Bailey
  • Bennett Mecom
  • Trey Schuman

The absence of Jake Bailey is probably the most notable. Trey Schuman is in line to regain his starting role in the fall. He’s somewhat of a more known quantity. Bailey’s absence from the spring will make things a bit more complicated in a wide receiver room that’s starting to get a little more crowded.

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Rice Football Recruiting: 2020 National Signing Day Recap

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The 2020 Rice Football Recruiting class included two National Signing Day splashes. Here’s where the Owls stand with the class mostly complete.

Rice added four newly committed players on National Signing Day. JUCO linebacker Jaren Banks and Stanford kicker Collin Riccitelli, both of whom committed earlier in the week, made their decisions official as did two newcomers in the secondary.

Early Wednesday morning, Rice signed Gulliver Prep defensive back Gabe Taylor, the highest-rated player in program history. Later in the day, they added corner Lamont Narcisse, another Top 10 player the school has ever signed.

Several walk ons who have yet to be officially announced will be added to the 2020 Rice Football Recruiting class as well. Many won’t be expected to be significant onfield contributors anytime soon, but it’s worth remembering that center Issac Klarkowski and corner Tre’shon Devones each walked on last season and started multiple games for the Owls.

The New Signees

Taylor and Narcisse give Rice a rather impressive haul in the secondary. That pair, along with previously signed Sean Fresch, Jordan Dunbar and Plae Wyatt, should serve as much-needed reinforcements on the back end of the defense.

More: Breaking down the Rice Football recruiting 2020 defensive signees (UPDATED)

The Owls did a much better job of keeping balls in front of them in 2019, but still ranked 13th in C-USA in passing defense, allowing 241.9 yards per game. A sturdy safety corps manned by George Nyakwol, Naeem Smith and Prudy Calderon provides a strong base. Finding corners who can win on their own seems to be the missing ingredient. Hopefully one or both of Taylor and Narcisse can rise to the occasion.

Star-studded

247 Sports is the most unanimously accepted measuring stick among recruiting services. A star rating from their service isn’t infallible, but it’s a great guide on a macro level. By that standard, the 2020 Rice Football recruiting class is the highest-rated in program history. Better still, four of the top 13 commits to ever sign with the program will be on campus this fall.

No. 1. DB Gabe Taylor
No. 6 ATH Jake Bailey
No. 7 CB Lamont Narcisse
No. 12 ATH Sean Fresch

Taylor, Narcisse and Fresch weren’t outliers, rather they were part of a larger group of extremely talented players.

Room to Improve

The 2020 Rice Football recruiting class is the No. 9 class in Conference USA. That’s a step up from the No. 11 class in 2019 and from No. 12 in 2018, but not the gigantic leap many were expecting. When the Early Signing Period was approaching in December, Rice had a top-two class and we were talking about the makings of what could become the best class in school history.

The decline in rankings is linked more to the number of signees than anything else. The Owls have signed 21 scholarship players so far. On Wednesday, Bloomgren detailed they would not fill the full 25. The recruiting services weight the quality as well as the quantity of players in signing classes.

More: Breaking down the Rice Football recruiting 2020 offense and special teams signees (UPDATED)

Of the C-USA programs with 20 or fewer high school and JUCO signees like Rice, the Owls’ rank third. If Rice were to sign 25 players eligible for the 247 ratings, they would assuredly finish within the Top 5, at worst. But gaming the rankings aren’t of interest to the Rice coaching staff, nor should they be. They have bigger fish to fry.

So what’s next?

What Rice lacks in this class was a singular top-end super-star to put them over the top. It would be nice to see Rice land a Power 5 transfer with top-end talent and a track record of success at the Division 1 level. The Owls are looking at some skill position players on offense right now and are optimistic they’ll be able to sign one before summer workouts get underway. That would put a bow on a great 2020 recruiting cycle.

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Rice Football Recruiting: What to expect from National Signing Day 2020

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Here’s where the 2020 Rice Football recruiting class stands on the eve of National Signing Day and some notes on what to expect down the stretch.

The 2020 Rice Football recruiting class signed 17 members during the Early Signing Period in December. That left the Owls with plenty of room to bolster their class over the last several weeks. The Owls did that on multiple fronts, including bringing in two buses full of players over the final official visit weekend of this recruiting cycle.

More: Rice football 2020 recruiting class commitment list

When the dust settled, Rice added several more players to their 2020 class. Announcements began to trickle out in the hours after the visits came to a close. Rice also added two transfers. Former Stanford kicker Collin Riccitelli will play his final season at South Main. JUCO linebacker Jaren Banks also made his pledge to play for the Owls.

That was a good start, but the 2020 Rice football recruiting class is far from done. Here’s what to expect on National Signing Day and weeks to come.

1. More commitments

With the final visit and National Signing Day falling so close together, expect to see additional announcements on Wednesday. Rice will close strong, following a pattern of impactful finishes the program has strung together of late. Rice announced and signed their highest-rated recruit of the 2019 class (wide receiver Jake Bailey) on National Signing Day, beating out Power 5 schools in the process. That could happen again this year.

2. A complete class…

Rice had already addressed most of the notable gaps during the early signing period. They found lineman in droves, plenty of speed on both sides of the ball and a pair of quarterbacks to solidify depth at that position. On Wednesday, there shouldn’t be any singular position that feels neglected compared to the roster construction or expectations.

3. … With room to spare

But — and it could be a big but — Rice won’t be done. Like they did last year, the Owls will continue to add to their 2020 class until the very last moment. Rice brought in players as late as early Summer in 2019 and they’ll most likely do it again this year. The Owls are scouring the Transfer Portal and keeping in close contact with players who, for one reason or another, might not be ready to make any formal announcements in February.

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Rice Football Recruiting: Flurry of offers go out at 2021 Junior Day

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Several new offers were handed out over the weekend to prospective members of the 2021 Rice Football recruiting class. Here’s a rundown of Junior Day.

Entering the weekend, the offer list for the 2021 Rice Football recruiting class was extremely short:

Wyatt Begeal – QB – Cibolo Steele (TX)
Mason Tharp – TE – Klein (TX)
DJ Arkansas – LB – Denton Ryan (TX)
Bryce McMorris – DB – Bridgeland (TX)

The Owls expanded that shortlist to 14 names, offering these additional 10 players.

Jordon Vaughn – RB – Manvel (TX)
Bryson Reeves – WR – St. Francis (CA)
De’Kedrick Sterns – OL – Del Valle (TX)
Jacoby Jackson – OL – Mansfield Summit (TX)
Davis McKenna – OL – Marist (GA)
Remington Strickland – OL – Fort Bend Christian Academy (TX)
Aidan Siano – LB – Prosper (TX)
Kenny Seymour – LB – Fort Bend Marshall (TX)
Placide Djungu-Sungu – Saf – Arlington Martin (TX)
Trevor Woods – Saf – Katy Taylor (TX)

The crop of offensive line offers is an important place to start. Rice needs to get depth up front and they’re looking to make sure that depth has plenty of upside. Each of the four offers has prototypical size with room to grow: Jacoby Jackson is 6-foot-5.5, 306 pounds, Davis KcKenna is 6-foot-5, 275 pounds, Remington Strickland is 6-foot-3, 294 pounds and De’Kedrick Sterns is 6-foot-4, 250 pounds.

Jordan Vaugh is extremely versatile and could slot in several places. Rice likes him at running back. Bryson Reeves has much-needed size (6-foot-3, 185 pounds) at the wide receiver position. Rice was the first to offer both of those guys, and first on six of their 10 offers over the weekend. They’ve developed a proven track record of identifying talent rather and they stuck too that this weekend.

On defense, Rice absolutely loves this group of linebackers offers. Kenny Seymour and Aidan Siano, along with DJ Arkansas, all look like potential game changers at the position. Seymour is built like a truck and plays downhill. Siano has a nose for the football and great pursuit.

Woods and Djunu-Sungu round out the new offers in the secondary. Both are potential safety prospects who would be excellent fits in Brian Smith’s defense.

At this point last year, Rice had handed out a few offers for their 2020 class, prioritizing their first wave of selections. Plae Wyatt was the first to jump on board, committing to Rice at the end of February. The groundwork Rice laid this weekend was significant. Don’t be surprised if the Owls’ first commitment of the 2021 Rice Football recruiting class was in this wave.

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Rice Football Recruiting: 2020 Early Signing Period Roundup

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The 2020 Rice Football recruiting class had an eventful December. Here’s an overview of The Roost’s coverage of the Owls’ newest additions.

The New Year will bring another flurry of activity for the 2020 Rice Football recruiting class. The Owls have another half dozen or so spots to hand out in the class, earmarking several of them for high-profile graduate transfers. Before we look ahead, don’t miss the impressive haul already in the fold. Here’s a rundown of the big week.

Five players committed to Rice in December:

In total, Rice signed 17 players during the early signing period. 11 of those were on offense, with the remaining six on defense. Only one commit,FB Brian Hibbard remains unsigned. He is expected to sign in February.

We broke down several angles of this class, from the 10,000-foot view to position by position analysis. On the macro perspective, here are five takeaways from the 2020 class as it currently stands. Rice addressed their biggest needs and won some impressive head to head battles on their way to constructing what could be a program-altering class.

More specifically, here’s a snapshot of the defensive haul and of the commits on the offensive side of the ball.

If you’re traveling over the holidays, and you’ve already read through the written analysis, make sure you give The Roost Podcast a listen. Carter and I worked through the impact of the incoming players, honing in on how each player would fit at Rice among others at their position.

The Roost Podcast | Ep. 22 – Rice Football Early Signing Period

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