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Undersized and Undeterred: Quinton Jackson’s Journey to Rice Football Star

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October 25, 2025, Houston, Texas, US: Quinton Jackson carries the ball during a game between the University of Connecticut Huskies and the Rice Owls at Rice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker | Rice Athletics

Undersized, but undeterred. Quinton Jackson has made himself a key cog in a Rice Football rebirth that, like him, seeks to beat the odds.

True freshman Quinton Jackson caught everyone in the stands off guard when he outjumped a Southern Miss defensive back in the 2022 Lending Tree Bowl to haul in a 34-yard deep ball from quarterback AJ Padgett. It was hard to know what to make of the compact athlete, listed at running back, as he high-pointed the ball deep downfield.

Jackson was only on the trip because of a recently changed NCAA rule allowing for bowl game participation to be excluded from eligibility calculations. He certainly wasn’t expected to produce huge plays like that on an offense that had future NFL wideout Luke McCaffrey and fellow standout receiver Bradley Rozner lining up on most downs. Yet here he was soaring through the skies.

The reception was just the fourth touch of Jackson’s collegiate career. He was athletic — there was no doubt there — but did this slender speedster have the staying power to make it on an FBS roster?

Jackson hardly remembers the specifics of the catch. He describes the entire moment as being in slow motion. “I saw the ball in the air,” he recalls. “I caught it and blacked out. All I remember was jogging back to the huddle.”

If that was Jackson’s baptism into major college football, it was certainly a fitting one. A multi-sport athlete in high school, Jackson had his share of doubters when he set out to become a college running back. In his eyes, he’d starred at North Crowley High School and proven he could play against the best the state of Texas had to offer, but making that jump to the next level would not be easy.

The bowl game was the first contest Jackson had appeared in during that freshman season. He hadn’t traveled to a game before this one. That his big moment came through the air was another oddity, even for the athletic Jackson, who had rushed for 1,104 yards as a high school senior and passed for 1,641 yards, scoring 32 touchdowns. He wasn’t a receiver per se, but he was ready and willing to do anything for his team.

“Coming in, I was kind of nervous, my freshman year. Can I do this? Can I play at the D1 level at this size?” Jackson admitted. “My dad always said, just embrace it, go for it. You’ve always been a fighter your whole life.”

Jackson credits much of that determination to his parents, who have shown up to every game and provided for him every step of the way. In many ways, his dad serves as one of his chief motivators. Rudolph Jackson played college ball at Ranger Junior College before giving it up to join the fire department, eventually climbing the ranks to become the city of Fort Worth’s fire chief.

It should not be a surprise, then, that his son would take up his mantle, channeling a relentless work ethic on his path from a bowl-game add-on to Rice Football program fixture.

Earning His Role

The growth wouldn’t happen overnight, but Jackson would go on to carve out a niche for himself as the quintessential complementary player for the Owls alongside star running back Dean Connors. Jackson would carry the ball 55 times over the next two seasons, primarily making his mark on special teams.

His breakthrough moment in that phase came in the middle of the 2024 season with Rice trailing Connecticut in the fourth quarter. Jackson handled the kickoff, racing all the way back to the opposite endzone, setting a program record on the 100-yard kick return score.

Head coach Mike Bloomgren would be fired less than 24 hours after what was, at that time, Jackson’s career-defining moment. The sudden change thrust Jackson and the program into months of uncertainty. Connors would eventually transfer, potentially opening the door for a larger role for Jackson, but that eventual reality was far from certain at the time.

The administration brought in Scott Abell, who ran a completely different offense. Also arriving were two local high school backs in its most recent signing class, both of whom had more traditional body types for the position.

Jackson still had those big dreams, but he entered that first conversation with Abell determined to make it abundantly clear he was all in when it came to rebuilding Rice football.

“I told him I’m willing to do whatever, if it was handing out water or playing special teams,” Jackson said. “I just wanted to be a part of turning this program around, and we’re heading in the right direction.

The two hit it off quickly. Already in love with Rice, Jackson set out to prove to his new coach he could be part of Abell’s future plans.

I told him I’m willing to do whatever, if it was handing out water or playing special teams. I just wanted to be a part of turning this program around, and we’re heading in the right direction.”- Quinton Jackson

Abell knew quickly that Jackson would be more than a water boy, but how he fit was still uncertain. “Watching film, I was like, okay, this guy is going to really help our program. He’s going to be dynamic in my offense,” Abell said. “I wasn’t sure where.”

Initially, Abell posited that Jackson could be a fit in the slot back role in his offense, which often is fed the ball in space, allowing the athletes there to make plays and utilize their athleticism. To play running back would require toughness and vision, something Jackson just hadn’t had enough time at the position to prove.

Those doubts were erased with the first few weeks of spring football. Abell was blown away by the way Jackson played the position, never once letting himself be limited by his stature.

“He’s got maybe the best feet I’ve ever seen,” Abell said. “And his balance is unreal. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anything quite like that either.”

Arriving in Style

Jackson would go on to be named a team captain by his peers in the summer, and when the season finally arrived, he was ready.

He rushed a career-high 22 times for 119 yards in the Owls’ Week 1 upset victory over a Louisiana team that played for a conference championship the season prior, scoring the first touchdown of the Abell era and pacing the offense. The collective unit was far from perfect, but Jackson’s dogged determination and relentless effort got the team across the finish line with a massive season-opening win.

With his trademark smile plastered across his face in the aftermath of that huge win, Jackson looked as composed as ever. Nothing about his demeanor would have let on that he’d just authored his most monumental performanc

Jackson remained steady as the offense ebbed and flowed around him. Whether he had a big game or not, he confidently came to the defense of his teammates and eagerly discussed the development he was seeing behind the scenes.

That growth would manifest itself in more big days for Jackson. He rushed for 128 yards and a touchdown against Florida Atlantic, but the Owls came up short. He played sparingly in a loss to UTSA as he nursed an ankle injury. If he was less than 100 percent coming out of the subsequent bye week, it was impossible to notice as Jackson delivered an other-worldly performance in a victory over Connecticut.

October 25, 2025, Houston, Texas, US: Quinton Jackson interview following the game-winning touched he scored in a game between the University of Connecticut Huskies and the Rice Owls at Rice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker | Rice Athletics

Jackson rushed 21 times for 168 yards, caught three passes for 80 yards and scored the walk-off, game-winning touchdown in double overtime. On a macro level, the victory kept the Owls’ bowl hopes alive. On a personal level, it offered another proof to Jackson that he belonged on this stage.

“I’m just blessed on. God put me in this position for a reason,” Jackson said in the aftermath, physically exhausted from his marathon performance.

“It takes a lot of hard work and dedication, a lot of trust. My teammates trust me. I’m just thankful to be here. I love Rice. They gave me the opportunity of a lifetime. Coach Abell gave me another opportunity of a lifetime, and I’m just happy to be here.”

Jackson would be upstaged for conference player of the week honors, but the external accolades didn’t seem to matter much. He’d proven he could do this and he and his teammates were enjoying the moment.

Abell, who helped make the moment possible, came to his defense. “If there’s a young man across this country that plays with more heart and plays bigger and more explosive and harder than number 10 does in our program, I’d like to find him,” he said.

An Eye on the Future

Barring a program record-setting kind of finish against South Florida, Jackson will finish the season just shy of 1,000 rushing yards. No Rice running back has reached that plateau since Charles Ross in 2013. But Ross was listed at 6-foot-1, 235 pounds. The 2025 Rice Football roster lists Jackson at 5-foot-7, 160 pounds. It sure seems as if Jackson hasn’t let his size slow him down one bit.

Abell credits Jackson’s fearlessness, which has allowed him to come this far. “He takes some hits, but he delivers some. He plays full speed, and when you play the game full speed, you usually end up delivering more than you take,” Abell said. “He avoids them naturally because he’s gifted.”

That gifted runner has his eyes set on getting Rice football to just its third bowl appearance over its last 12 seasons, right in the middle of a program reboot he wasn’t expecting when after going to bowl games in each of his first two seasons on campus.

Whether or not the step back had proved frustrating, Jackson would never let on. Like every other challenge that has come his way to this point, it’s just another opportunity. Just like where his journey got started in high school.

More: The Winding Road — Jack Ben-Shoshan’s Path to the Top of the Rice Baseball Bullpen

North Crowley hadn’t been to the playoffs in two decades when Jackson arrived. Jackson led the back to the postseason. Last fall, the Panthers went 16-0, finishing off their legendary run with a state championship.

“The rebuild is fun to be a part of because you lay the foundation for what could be great next,” Jackson said.

Jackson has one year of eligibility remaining after this season. While a championship might not be in the cards this year, Jackson will get another crack at making that history in 2026. For now, it’s on to the next game. The future will take care of itself. And if it goes anything like the trajectory Jackson and Abell have known to this point, the better days are still to come.

As for Jackson, he’d never turn the spotlight towards himself. And while his story is far from over, he hopes his platform serves as hope to others who might have been passed over as they work toward their dreams.

“Anybody can do this. You just gotta believe in yourself,” Jackson said. “Once you believe in yourself, you can do anything in this world that’s possible when you put your mind to it.”

** Photo credit: Maria Lysaker **

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The Winding Road: Jack Ben-Shoshan’s circuitous path to the top of the Rice Baseball bullpen

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Rice Baseball, Jack Ben-Shoshan
March 29, 2025, Houston, Texas, US: Jack Ben-Shoshan delivers a pitch during game two between the East Carolina University Pirates and the Rice Owls at Reckling Park. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker | Rice Athletics

A position player turned ace reliever only begins to tell the story of the winding road that made Jack Ben-Shoshan a crucial member of the Rice baseball bullpen.

A member of Jose Cruz Jr’s 2021 Rice baseball recruiting class, Jack Ben-Shoshan was viewed as an all-purpose addition to the Owls’ program when he signed. Listed by the Perfect Game recruiting service as a shortstop, second baseman, third baseman and right handed pitcher, there was little doubt the program could find a way to use him. The only question was where.

Ben-Shoshan came to Rice primarily as a position player, riding the momentum of a standout high school career at St. John’s in Houston. There, he posted a .357 career batting average and a .995 OPS, leading his team to the district championship game as a senior. But the transition to college ball didn’t come easy.

He made a strong first impression, doubling in his first collegiate at-bat, a pinch-hit appearance against Texas in Austin. Still, the rest of his freshman season proved more challenging. He finished the year hitting just .115 over 30 appearances, all as a position player.

Health was part of the reason Ben-Shoshan’s contributions to the program had been limited to the batter’s box and the field at that point. His relatively unrefined pitching history was the other. While many players have pitching coaches and do extra work in high school, Ben-Shoshan did not. Everything he knew on the mound came from personal experience.

“I always pitched, but I would call myself more of an infielder who threw,” Ben-Shoshan summarized. “I didn’t really know how to pitch.”

In his eyes, he was a ball of clay, willing to be molded. And when the decision came to pursue pitching full-time, he dove into the study headfirst, trusting pitching coach Parker Bangs’ instruction as if it were gospel. Without previous instruction to weigh against the new information, Ben-Shoshan became a sponge, eager to absorb everything he could.

“I always pitched, but I would call myself more of an infielder who threw… I didn’t really know how to pitch.”- Jack Ben-Shoshan

Ben-Shoshan took to his new responsibilities well enough, showing encouraging signs throughout the fall, but the newly-made pitcher wouldn’t see game action until the following March, beginning the season as one of several pieces in the bullpen working to carve out a role for himself.

From there, the successful outings began to cascade and Ben-Shoshan began to take on a more instrumental role in the program’s pitching plans. The closer role was spoken for — Matthew Linskey was in no danger of losing his job to anyone when it came to that spot — but Ben-Shoshan was just fine settling into a setup position and turned himself into one of the most trusted leverage relivers on the roster.

The first-year pitcher led the team with a 3.20 ERA, outdoing both Linskey and staff ace Parker Smith, who would go on to be MLB Draft selections following the conclusion of the season. Not draft eligible yet, Ben-Shoshan hoped to join them in a year’s time but life had other plans.

A Pitching Wilderness

All the momentum and goodwill Ben-Shoshan had accumulated during his sophomore season came to a screeching halt when his junior season began.

In the season opener, Ben-Shoshan ceded the game-winning run in his first appearance against Notre Dame. He entered another game against the Irish two days later only to give up a first-pitch home run and back-to-back four-pitch walks before being pulled.

Ben-Shoshan failed to complete a full inning of work in four of his next five appearances, spiraling further and further from his aspirations and seeing his season-long ERA climb to 13.50 before the coaching staff had seemingly seen enough.

More: “He’s A Bulldog” — Parker Smith’s Journey to Rice Baseball Ace

Following a four-run, no-out misadventure against Tulane on March 22, Ben-Shoshan made just four further appearances in the final two months of the season. Davion Hickson ascended to closer status while Ben-Shoshan was remitted to the bench, an arm reserved for blowouts and eating innings in games decided long before he was summoned to the mound.

A season that began with such promise had ended in disaster.

Ben-Shoshan, whose Rice baseball career had been anything but linear to that point, resolved not to let that bad year define him. He spent the summer working at the Driveline facility in Washington, an organization that prides itself on utilizing technology and analytics to improve performance. His goal was to get his mechanics back to where he’d been the previous season.

“I told myself I’m not going to let a year like that happen again. It’s a personal thing that I took,” he said. “I had a good fall last year and then it kind of fell apart during the season. I pretty much did whatever I could to not let that happen again.”

From his perspective, he’d been pressing too much. That search for added velocity had negatively impacted his command. When that went sideways, his confidence and composure on the mound followed suit. Given an offseason to reset, he returned to South Main ready to contribute.

At that point, though, he was an older arm that looked to have lost a step the season prior amidst a bullpen with more promising young pieces. The coaching staff collectively told him they envisioned him as a reserve reliever who might throw 20 or 30 innings in the season. In their eyes, the days of Ben-Shoshan being a high-leverage option were long gone.

The Road Back

Sure enough, Ben-Shoshan made four appearances in the first month of the season including a no-out, five-run debacle against a ranked Mississippi State squad. But when head coach Jose Cruz Jr. was fired in mid-March, Ben-Shoshan saw an opportunity for one final chance to make his case under the leadership of newly installed head man David Pierce.

Ben-Shoshan remembers it being right around that point in the year when he’d truly begun to settle into his routine. His velocity was where he wanted it to be and his command had returned, too. Most importantly, he was as mentally locked in as he could recall being in a long time. For him, the coaching change came at just the right time.

“[Pierce] came in and harped on working the strike zone, getting ahead early,” Ben-Shoshan recalled. “I think that’s something that I’m really good at. He really liked that part of me, filling up the zone.”

Rice Baseball, Jack Ben-Shoshan
March 29, 2025, Houston, Texas, US: Jack Ben-Shoshan delivers a pitch during game two between the East Carolina University Pirates and the Rice Owls at Reckling Park. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker | Rice Athletics

Flush with newfound confidence, Ben-Shoshan did just that. He did not allow an earned run in his first four outings under Pierce, including a marvelous nine-strikeout, 3.2-inning relief outing against Sam Houston. All of a sudden, Ben-Shoshan was back in his groove.

Since Pierce was hired, Ben-Shoshan owns a 2.41 ERA and his season-long ERA of 3.51 is the best on the team, narrowly edging out staff ace Davion Hickson’s 3.70 mark. Among Rice pitchers who have appeared in at least five games, none boast a lower WHIP (walks plus hits per innings pitched) than he does. Put simply, he’s been the most reliable arm on the roster for the better part of two months.

It’s not as if Pierce entered with hopes of authoring Ben-Shoshan’s comeback story. He was hired to win baseball games, something that, in his estimation, requires a certain kind of fearlessness that Ben-Shoshan has developed through the trials along his path.

Pierce praised Ben-Shoshan as having a “bulldog mentality. Where he’s like, here’s my stuff, I’m coming at you. If you hit it, I’m going to do it again.”

“He’s not afraid of an at bat,” Pierce continued. “That’s the key, trusting his stuff. He knows he’s going to get popped a little bit, but he never backs down. And that’s impressive to me. That’s what I want from our pitchers. If you don’t believe in your stuff in the zone, then why should we believe in it? And he believes in his stuff.”

Given how unceremoniously his 2024 season ended and this campaign began, Ben-Shoshan’s reemergence represents perhaps the most stark turnaround of any singular player on the roster.

When asked to reflect on his bounce-back year, Ben-Shoshan couldn’t help but crack a smile.

“I’m not surprised,” he said.

“Starting at that Yale game, my confidence just kept going and going and I realized I was in a really good spot, to just keep working through that with that mentality and those mechanics and I didn’t need to change anything mentally of physically.”

The Journey Ahead

Ben-Shoshan credits his pitching success in large part to pitching coach Parker Bangs who has been with the program all three seasons Ben-Shoshan has been pitching for the Owls. It was Bangs who was briefly named the interim coach for the week between Cruz and Pierce trading places and Bangs who gave Ben-Shoshan the opportunity against Yale he credits as the beginning of his turnaround.

“We click,” Ben-Shoshan said of Bangs. “He understands how to coach me and how to motivate me, what kind of feedback I work well with. I would credit a significant portion of my pitching to him. I think he’s been unbelievable in helping me.”

The coordination between Pierce — who comes to Rice with an extensive history as a pitching coach — and Bangs has allowed Ben-Shoshan to thrive.

“When I’m on the mound, I know I’ve got two coaches who have my back and are going to help me if I need anything. I think it’s just a confidence boost when I’m up there,” Ben-Shoshan said. “I can trust myself. I can trust the guys behind me. I can trust the coaches. That’s been a big, big change that I really enjoy.”

To that extent, Ben-Shoshan’s emergence is a testament to the level to which mindset and confidence are essential to pitch at a high level. There was no ah-ha moment, new pitch or refined windup that restored the Owls’ 6-foot right-hander to prominence. No, it was his mind that needed to be readjusted. That, and plenty of hard work to turn those dreams into tangible results.

“I think it’s a mental thing,” Ben-Shoshan said. “I spent the whole summer trying to get my mechanics back to what they were and once I got comfortable with them, kind of just not changing them and trying to do more.”

More: 59 Minutes — David Pierce Challenges Rice baseball to grow

Back in his sweet spot, Ben-Shoshan is doing all he can to take it one pitch a time. He admits he at least briefly entertained the notion of going pro and thoughts of the MLB Draft and potential opportunities he might have after the season, but at the end of the day, focusing on the present is the best thing he can do to bolster his chances of future success.

“I’m hesitant to think about what comes after this because part of me thought about that last fall, and I think it hurt me,” Ben-Shoshan said. “For most of this season it’s just been living in the moment, trying to keep stringing good outings together and then, you know, if it happens, it happens.”

“If I can keep playing, I would love to, but at the same time I don’t want to get bogged down on that and affect how I pitch.”

And so he’ll continue to take the baseball whenever he’s asked, soaking in his situation and reflecting on the winding road he took to get here. The future, he hopes, will sort itself. For now, Jack Ben-Shoshan is living in the present and doing all he can to get one more out for his team, one at bat at a time.

**Photo credit: Maria Lysaker**
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59 Minutes: David Pierce challenges Rice Baseball to grow

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Following a midweek loss to UTRGV, Rice baseball coach David Pierce had a heart-to-heart with his team, hoping to spark change within the program.

By the time the first player rose from the dugout and began the walk back towards the locker rooms, the stands of Reckling Park had been emptied and attendants had long since finished combing the stadium seats for loose trash. Outside a few scattered family members down the right field line, the facilities were empty, with the exception of head coach David Pierce, his assistants, and every member of the Rice baseball team, huddled together in the dugout for an impromptu team meeting.

Pierce held court for 59 minutes following a 20-5 defeat at the hands of UT Rio Grande Valley. The words weren’t audible from the stands, but the tone was clear. Everyone in the dugout needed to wake up.

“We’re just really trying to find out who we are, not necessarily even as baseball players, just as teammates, the respect for each other and the accountability,” Pierce summed up after the lengthy gathering. “I think once we start becoming a closer team and chemistry’s built and accountability takes place, you won’t see those types of games.”

Pierce noted the conversation ranged from upperclassmen and underclassmen roles to leadership, body language on the field and how the players were treating each other.

“I told them, I lost my job last year. And I learned a lot about myself and learned a lot about falling back in love with just the purity of the game,” Pierce said. “And that’s really what I want them to do. Don’t worry about the record, become more involved in each other.”

Coaching isn’t a one-size-fits all type of business. And while there’s no better way to measure its effectiveness than wins and losses, there’s something to be said for the time spent in the dugout on Wednesday night by a coach whom quite easily could have assumed leadership and accountability for this program after an offseason of improvements yet instead chose to get his hands dirty in the midst of a season already veering off center.

“This could be a perfect night for us if they take it the right way,” Pierce said.

Podcast: Unpacking the Pierce hire and midseason start

Moments like this are part of what pulled Pierce back to South Main after so many years away.

“I told them every day how much I love this place and it’s my mission to get the mentality the way it’s supposed to be and [to elevate] the cultural and the standard. And I’m not gonna stop until we get that,” he declared. “And if we got guys that are just cruising, then they don’t need to play, they probably don’t need to travel and probably don’t need to be on the roster.

“But they have the opportunity right now to flip the switch and really, just get back to enjoying the game and enjoying being in a clubhouse with teammates because it’s going to pass them by.”

On Tuesday, the Texas State team Pierce was assisting at the beginning of the season defeated No. 5 Texas. Sticking around in San Marcos would have been the easier path. Yet here Pierce is, spending 59 minutes in a post game dugout, pouring his heart and soul into players someone else recruited, days removed from taking over a 5-17 team that didn’t reach that record by happenstance.

“I can handle anything. I mean, at the end of the day, I’ve been through it on both sides,” Pierce remarked, shaking off the single game result as he willed his players to see the bigger picture.

“I just was so fortunate to be a part of what Coach [Wayne Graham] started and be a piece of the nine-year share of what this place became,” he said. “And that’s my goal, my mission, to just get that attitude and the fan base excited about us playing. There’s a lot of things that need to be done. And I don’t want to get ahead of myself because I want to make sure that I do everything possible for these guys. I think they want it. They just don’t know how to get it yet.”

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“Do or Die”: Matt Sykes emerges as Rice Football’s go-to guy

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From a one-catch campaign to becoming the go-to guy, Rice football wide receiver Matt Sykes has stepped up in big ways when his team has needed him most.

Rice football wide receiver Matt Sykes had the best spring of any player at his position, bar none. It was hard to walk through the halls of the Brian Patterson Center and avoid the chatter about the transfer wideout’s big step forward. Coaches and teammates were quick to speak of his playmaking ability at practices. The drumbeat for a breakthrough season was there.

But at the same time, it was just spring football.

Countless players have shown out in the spring when nobody wearing a different color jersey breaks across the middle of the field and delivers a jarring hit the stakes are lower. Translating practice into game day has always been the differentiator between good and great. Sykes had done all the right things, but he still hadn’t done it on Saturdays, not yet.

Sykes caught one pass in his first season at Rice following a transfer from UCLA. Injuries and inconsistent play kept him from making a more meaningful impact that season. Then came the strong spring and a chaotic fall camp that transformed the Owls’ feel-good story from a luxury to a desperate need. Sykes wasn’t going to be eased into his new role. He was needed now.

Landon Ransom, Rawson MacNeill and Thai Bowman were thought to be the Owls’ top three receivers entering the season. All three of them were injured in some capacity by the time the 2024 season began. Suddenly, Sykes’ emergence was essential.

Debut

In the Owls’ season opener against Sam Houston, Sykes caught six balls for 74 yards, both career-highs in his fifth season of college football. He followed that up with two catches for 47 yards and his first Rice touchdown grab a week later against Texas Southern. For a receiving corps decimated by injuries in need of a playmaker, Sykes delivered.

“I feel a lot more comfortable,” Sykes said, evaluating the difference between his first and second season on South Main. “Getting a lot of reps, just feeling back in my flow. [I’m] really confident, playing fast.”

Sykes would continue to be the primary target for Rice quarterback EJ Warner as the season progressed. As the offense ebbed at flowed, having No. 8 on the field proved to be a positive more often than not. As his production on the field grew, expectations came with it. More and more was asked of Sykes as the offense tried to find its way.

“The thing that I’m most impressed with him and most pleased with him about is that I think he wants to step up. I think he’s capable of doing it. Like I said, he hasn’t arrived yet, but I think he’s on his path to being that guy,” receivers coach Bobby Kennedy said. “Because of him and the way he works, you think, okay, maybe he can get this done. Maybe he can really, really, really be the guy. And if he continues to have some more success, I’m excited to see what happens as games go on because I think he’s got it in him.”

Although so much of what Sykes did on the field was encouraging, there were still growing pains that come with less experienced players growing their roles so quickly. Sykes struggled through some concentration drops against Army and had a pass tip off his hands into the waiting arms of a defender for an interception.

“He just became a dominant catcher of the ball, like he was so confident in his ability, he saw the ball in the sky and went and got it,”

Adversity is part of the game, but it’s also one of the reasons Sykes’ coaches theorize he’d yet to emerge in a significant way on Saturdays. Coaches pointed to a lack of confidence in the old Matt Sykes, a tendency to get in his own head and get rattled with things didn’t go according to plan. The veteran player had struggled when faced with trying situations in the past, but with no relief coming, something was going to have to change.

Sykes responded to a rough start against Army with a flawless touchdown grab later in the game. Then he authored the best game of his college football career.

Against Charlotte the following week Sykes hauled in a career-best eight passes for a career-high 97 yards. A 25-yard reception in the fourth quarter put Rice in position to attempt a game-winning field one play following what could have been a debilitating penalty that set the offense back near midfield.

At that point, the grab was one of the most high-leverage moments in Sykes’ well-traveled career. This time, he made the play.

Miracles

Unfortunately, Rice football didn’t win that game. A missed field goal at the end of a regulation made Sykes’ valiant effort for naught. For as far as he had come to that point, the Owls still needed a little bit more from their new go-to receiver. Could Sykes transcend from reliable to game-changer?

Sykes almost didn’t get that chance. A week and a half later he found himself in a hospital bed, forced to check himself into the emergency room on the Monday evening prior to the Owls’ next game against UTSA. He stayed in the hospital for almost three days. “He was essentially ruled out,” Bloomgren admitted.

The situation got so dire that the team elevated multiple scout team players during the week to take reps with the first team offense. Corner Sean Fresch even made a cameo appearance as a receiving threat. It was all hands on deck with Sykes, regrettably, sidelined.

Then the first miracle happened. Sykes walked out of the hospital and was cleared to return to practice. Members of the coaching staff were making resurrection jokes on the sideline while inwardly breathing sighs of relief that their top passing game option would be on the field, still not knowing for sure how much he’d have in the tank to give. As it turns out, he had plenty.

Days removed from his hospital bed, Sykes hauled in seven receptions for 85 yards, setting a career-high in receiving for the fourth time this season and the third consecutive game. This time, though, it wasn’t just the counting stats that told the story.

With nine seconds remaining on the clock on third down, Rice had the ball at the UTSA 18-yard line trailing by four points with one time-out. Even by conservative estimates, that meant the Owls had time for two shots at the endzone should they require it. Warner took the snap, dropped back and fired a missile to the middle of the field, finding the fingertips of Sykes at the top of the capital C in the white RICE OWLS lettering that adorned the navy blue endzone.

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Blanketed by a defender who had one hand already on his jersey and another swiping at the ball, Sykes momentarily juggled the pigskin in the air before hauling the precious rock into his arms, which smacked the turf in bounds milliseconds later. At that moment, fans listening to the radio broadcast heard longtime Rice Owls Voice announcer JP Heath exclaim, “Matt Sykes pulls down a miracle, back of the endzone, Rice scores.”

Touchdown. Not only had Sykes secured the ball, he’d won Rice the game.

“I knew I was definitely one of the reads to get open on the post and I know EJ likes to take chances with me so I knew, regardless, that I had to win my route,” Sykes said after the game. “I knew that was a must-do, do-or-die moment, so I had to come down with it.”

In so many ways, Sykes’ journey has been unbelievable. A fifth-year senior who had one catch to his name and was bound to a hospital bed just days before had somehow transformed into a storybook ending.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” Sykes said. “I don’t think I’ll ever have something like this again, to feel this great.”

The 2024 version of Matt Sykes remains a work in progress. There will be more highs and lows along the way. But it’s hard to imagine where Rice football would be without him.

“He just became a dominant catcher of the ball, like he was so confident in his ability, he saw the ball in the sky and went and got it,” head coach Mike Bloomgren said of Sykes’ ascension. “That’s the standard he set for himself and what we have to expect of him. When you ask what’s different, I think it came down to confidence in allowing him to grow into the player we thought he could be.”

** This story has been modified from its original version ** Photo credit: Maria Lysaker **



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“He’s a Bulldog”: Parker Smith’s Journey to Rice Baseball Ace

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Rice Baseball, Parker Smith
March 03, 2023: Game One of the Shriners College Classic of the game between Texas Tech Red Raiders and Rice Owls at Minute Maid Park, Houston, Texas. (Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker | Rice Athletics)

 

From youth summer camps to Friday night starts, Parker Smith has turned childhood dreams into reality as Rice baseball’s ace.

Parker Smith’s desire to one day play for Rice baseball began as early on as his elementary school years. The initial passion was cultivated at Reckling Park, the Owls’ ballfield which hosted the collegiate team every spring before giving way to youth camps in the summers — the very same youth camps Smith grew up attending.

Smith, a Bellaire native from just down the road, was only 10 years old or so at the time, but he still remembers being on that field and having those dreams.

He dutifully came to camp at Rice year after year, ostensibly there to learn about baseball. But the ballpark itself and the traditions and trimmings of Rice baseball which surrounded it started to make a mark on his young mind, too.

A pastime that began, he later joked, “just so my parents could get me out of the house”, continued to grow. Summer camps turned into private lessons, first with volunteer assistant Clay Van Hook and then with volunteer assistant Pat Hallmark. It was during those days the dream really began to take hold.

“I was around the ballpark a lot and it kind of imprinted on me,” Smith said “I knew my way around the offices and the [pitching] lab.”

Almost by happenstance, Rice had become a part of Smith before he had become a part of Rice. Smith continued to show up and continued to learn.

Every young boy dreams of playing in the major leagues from the moment they first pick up a bat. Smith certainly had those aspirations too, but it wouldn’t feel right if his path didn’t first go through West University Place and Rice baseball.

Eventually, the proverbial call would come, albeit in a manner Smith could never have anticipated. A right-handed pitcher with a successful high school career at Bellaire, Smith had been lightly recruited, which came with one reassuring caveat. His dream school, Rice, wanted him to make the short drive to South Main and play for the Owls.

There was a catch, though, and it was a big one. Recruited initially by head coach Matt Bragga, Smith had been informed the Owls would be moving on from the manager following the 2021 season. If he were to commit, it would be to a program without a coach.

Many players would have balked at such a suggestion. Commit without a coach? But Smith was deadset. He wanted to pitch for Rice. So, despite the uncertainty, he made the leap and committed to the university of his boyhood dreams.

Bragga was relieved of his duties soon after. Weeks later, Rice would announce the hiring of current head coach Jose Cruz Jr. That fall Smith was on campus and just like that his Rice career — a dream that had been cultivated and nurtured for more than a decade — had become a reality. But there was still more work left to be done.

Wednesday

For those who follow college baseball, there’s something unconventionally curious about midweek games. In short: they’re breeding grounds for chaos.

The most established pitchers, the aces, are reserved for Friday night. If a team is chock full of arm talent, that might bleed into Saturday, perhaps even Sunday. All bets are off by the time you get to Tuesday or Wednesday.

It’s unusual for 15-run games to happen very often on Fridays when both teams are throwing their top arms. By Wednesday, however, things can get squirrely fast.

Wednesday is the proving ground for underclassmen, for veterans struggling to climb the ladder back into more prominent weekend roles. That’s primarily where Smith landed in his first year on campus and it’s when he earned his first start, just down the road against Houston Baptist.

Smith was dominant that night, earning his first career win while tossing six innings of shutout ball with four strikeouts. He allowed just two hits. The next week, also on a Wednesday, he was tagged for six runs (although only two were earned) in 4.2 innings against Baylor. To this day, he’s never given up more runs in a collegiate game. Thus were the ups and downs of learning on the job.

Despite the ever-changing assignments, Smith made the most of a challenging freshman season. By midseason he was appearing regularly on the weekend, tallying three Saturday appearances and four Sunday outings. He was never the front-line Friday night guy, that was Cooper Chandler’s role, but he was getting closer and closer to the top of the pecking order.

Looking back, Smith attributes some of his early struggles to that constant uncertainty. “Bouncing around and not being able really to have a routine [was hard],” he said. Would one bad night get him banished to the back end of the bench? The worries crossed his mind, he admitted.

Even with those doubts, Smith’s talent had a knack for overcoming adverse circumstances. He made the final start of the season for the Owls on May 21 against FIU, throwing 5.1 innings and allowing three hits and one run en route to a Rice win, ensuring the only series sweep the team registered all year.

The victory was a high point, both for the Owls and for Smith, who felt a change coming to a program yearning to take the next steps back toward greatness.

The first-year pitcher ended the regular season with the best ERA among Rice baseball starters (4.19) and made the second most starts on the team (10), three of which came against crosstown rival Houston, earning Smith a selection to the All-Silver Glove team. It was a promising beginning for the young hurler who seemingly hadn’t yet found his groove.

Following the season finale against FIU, head coach Jose Cruz Jr. singled Smith out specifically in his postgame comments. “He’s a freshman,” Cruz Jr. said, “and we have big plans for him.”

Good

Baseball truly is a year-round sport, particularly for those with an itch to better themselves and hone their craft. Smith, as many players do, made the commitment to offseason work.

Following his debut freshman season he packed his bags and headed west to the California Collegiate League where he spent the summer as a member of the Santa Barbara Foresters. Something clicked for Smith while pitching with the Foresters. In seven starts, he went 5-0 with a 2.31 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP with 37 strikeouts in 25 innings.

His final outing came in the league championship game and he dazzled, throwing six innings of one-run ball, allowing just four hits and striking out five. Behind Smith’s strong start, the Foresters won the title.

The triumph was the capstone moment in a summer of growth and self-assurance. “It was the first time where the ERA had been kind of eye-popping,” Smith said. “It was nice to know, ‘I’m good. I can hang with anybody,’ and that mentality I kind of brought into this fall and spring.”

That mental shift meant everything to Smith.

“No matter what happens, who does something, who hits a home run off you, that didn’t make me bad,” Smith recounted. “I missed a spot. I’m still good. I’m still better than the hitter in the box, no matter what.”

“No matter what happens, who does something, who hits a home run off you, that didn’t make me bad. I missed a spot. I’m still good. I’m still better than the hitter in the box, no matter what.”

More than any strikeout total or ERA threshold, that discovery unlocked something inside of Smith and set the course for a breakthrough 2023 season. He didn’t add any pitches or drastically overhaul his approach on the mound. He believed in himself, truly believed, and attacked the offseason with a zealousness that was impossible to miss.

Cruz Jr. took notice of the intensity with which he approached his training. “He wants to be great,” he said of Smith. “He works really hard. He wants the ball.”

Aided by pitching coach Parker Bangs, the Pigpen Pitching Lab and that extra level of determination, Smith set out to improve the little things. His only meaningful mechanical adjustment came with his windup motion. His offseason focus became cleaning that up and streamlining it to the point where it was as good as he could make it.

In Smith’s eyes, those tweaks have made all the difference. “The pitches break later, they’re sharper and they move better,” he said of the changes. “Being able to clean [the mechanics] up is why that’s been able to happen.”

Everything felt right and performed well in intrasquads. All that was left was to take those adjustments to the field and throw against players in different jerseys.

Ace

The 2023 Rice baseball season arrived and Smith was tested immediately. The Opening Day starter for the first time in his collegiate career, Smith would breeze through the first two innings at Reckling Park against Louisiana before trouble arrived in the third.

Smith hit the first batter. Then, after a wild pitch, he fell victim to a bunt single that put two men on without any outs. A single put Louisana ahead 1-0. Soon after, another single made it 2-0. Then a sac fly put Smith and Rice in a 3-0 hole.

In the span of 15 minutes of action, Smith had fallen behind 3-0 in what was, at that point, the most prominent start of his pitching career.

“I would have crumbled,” Smith said. “Last year, once things started going bad, they went really bad.”

Rice Baseball, Parker Smith
March 03, 2023: Game One of the Shriners College Classic of the game between Texas Tech Red Raiders and Rice Owls at Minute Maid Park, Houston, Texas. (Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker | Rice Athletics)

Not this year, though. Not only did Smith get out of the inning without allowing further runs, he sent nine of the next 10 Louisiana batters down in a row, allowing one walk sandwiched in between what could only be described as a dominant stretch through the middle innings.

By the time Smith was relieved in the top of the seventh inning by Krisha Raj, Rice had the lead and Smith was in line for the win if the Owls could hold on. Louisiana would rally to take the lead, spoiling a final decision for Smith, but even without the win, the groundwork for a breakthrough season had been laid.

In baseball terms, Smith’s final line — 6 innings pitched, three earned runs allowed, five hits, one walk and five strikeouts — qualified as a quality start. He’d given his team innings and kept them in the game. It wasn’t a perfect outing, but it was good, really good. And it put his team in a position to win. And that was the ultimate goal, after all.

For Smith, how he got there was almost as important as the end result.

“We have a mantra in our pitching staff,” Smith said. “Pitch by pitch. You focus on the pitch that’s at hand. You don’t focus on any other pitch. You focus on what you’ve got to do now, in this moment, and don’t let everything else weigh on top of you.”

“It’s one pitch. You’ve done it a million times. And then you get the ball back, and it’s the next pitch.”

That’s how Smith has attacked the season, pitch by pitch. His 2.75 ERA is the lowest of any starter in Conference USA and ranks inside the Top 25 among all pitchers in the nation. Rice baseball — a program renowned for its pitching prowess — hasn’t produced a qualified pitcher with an ERA that low since 2018.

There was no doubting it. Smith had turned himself into a bonafide ace. His head coach agrees.

“He’s a bulldog.” Cruz Jr. said. “He works hard. His stuff has been really good. He’s able to move the ball around the zone. He has multiple pitches to get you out on. He’s a complete Friday night guy. And he wants the ball.”

Desire

Sitting in the dugout on the morning of the Owls’ final regular season game, Smith drank in the entire surreal experience. “People know who I am now,” he joked with an amused smile on his face. “It’s kind of fun to be the first ‘ace’ in a good while.”

The word ace, as he said it, seemed to come naturally to him. Even if it came accompanied by a humble, “quote-unquote” gesture with his fingers. Truthfully, though, the moniker fits.

Even though so much has transpired since, Smith still carries himself as one who remembered the days spent practicing on the field in front of him as a youngster.

When Smith takes the mound next it’ll be in his first postseason game as a collegiate pitcher. When he steps across the white line painted onto the turf field the wistfulness will vanish and the bulldog will reemerge.

Rice baseball takes on Dallas Baptist in the first round of the Conference USA Baseball Tournament, somewhat ironically, on a Wednesday.

If the Owls are to make a run deep into the tournament they’ll almost certainly need a gem from Smith along the way. He’s been their anchor all season and he’ll be the one called upon when the lights shine brightest.

Much in the same way his mind focuses on the next pitch when he’s on the mound, he hasn’t gotten overly burdened with the challenges that will bring just yet.

“I haven’t even thought about that,” he said with a grin. “It’ll be fun. I’m excited. It’s a challenge and I welcome it. It’s something I look forward to. Bring it on.”



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