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Rice Football Recruiting: JUCO LB Blaise Tita commits to Owls

January 5, 2024 By Matthew Bartlett

The 2024 Rice Football recruiting class picked up another transfer this week. JUCO linebacker Blaise Tita has committed to the Owls.

The first junior college transfer in the 2024 Rice Football recruiting class is officially in the fold. A local product who played his high school ball just down the road at Alief Taylor High School, Killgore Junior College linebacker Blaise Tita has committed to the Owls.

Tita spent the 2022 season with Lamar, initially playing sparingly before finishing the season with 19 tackles in his final three games. From there he transferred to the JUCO level, looking for a bounce back. When he reentered the portal this offseason he had received offers North Alabama, Southeastern, Mississippi Valley State and Abilene Christian. Then Rice swooped in and sealed the deal.

“It’s truly a blessing,” Tita told The Roost. “I can’t wait to make the most of it.”

Tita is the first commitment since the early signing period when Rice formally announced 13 additions to their program. He’s the second linebacker in the class and should pair well with incoming freshman Kaleb Blanton. Tita has at least two seasons of eligibility remaining, with the potential for a third.

Premium: Rice Football Recruiting Offer and Commitment Tracker.

Tita is always ready to deliver a big hit. A quick look at his play from his stint at Lamar makes that abundantly clear. And unlike a perfectly cut up highschool highlight reel, Tita’s season’s worth of action at Lamar lays his play out in the open. He’s aggressive and instinctive and appears to have some range. Rice football definitely knows what it wants from an outside linebacker at this point. Tita fits the bill.

Highlights from Lamar University‼️
6’2 225 Linebacker/Edge
December Graduate 3.6 GPA! pic.twitter.com/f0RZO9M3bs

— Blaise Tita (@blaise_tita) November 29, 2023

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Filed Under: Archive, Football, Football Recruiting Tagged With: Blaise Tita, Rice Football, Rice Football recruiting

The Roost Podcast | Ep 171 – Rice Football Season Review and Signing Day

January 5, 2024 By Matthew Bartlett

It’s time to put a bow on the 2023 Rice Football Season as we recap the bowl game loss, break down signing day and more.

There are bad quarterback days, and then there’s the sort of disastrous day Rice football experienced in the First Responders Bowl against Texas State. The end result stung and there’s a lot to unpack. Where does Rice go from here? And how do we make sense of that game? Also, some closing thoughts on the season as a whole and a look at the Owls recent signing class.

You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 171.

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Episode Notes

DCTF

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

Homefield

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

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Rice Football End of Season Review

  • What went wrong for the Owls in the bowl game?
  • Can we write off the anomalously bad quarterback play and what needs to be fixed?
  • Did the defense quietly post its most impressive outing of the season?
  • The most encouraging moments from the season
  • Reasons to be concerned moving forward
  • Highlights from the 2024 Rice Football recruiting class and more

Where can you find us?

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

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Filed Under: Featured, Football, Football Recruiting, Podcast Tagged With: bowl game, Rice Football

Rice Basketball drops first-ever AAC tilt to Tulane

January 3, 2024 By Matthew Bartlett

The shooting woes continued for Rice basketball who dropped its American Conference opener on the road against Tulane on Wednesday night.

Playing in their first-ever AAC game, Rice basketball looked every bit the part in the opening minutes against the Tulane Green Wave. The Owls got to the line, made their free throw shots, knocked down a big three and otherwise went toe-to-toe with a Tulane squad that had won seven of eight on their home court so far this season. Then things went sideways.

The three ball faded away quickly. The foul trips stopped. But Tulane just kept scoring. A five-point game with a little under 13 minutes to play in the first half ballooned into a double-digit deficit in the blink of an eye. Then Rice was down by 14. Then 18. Rice was held to 25 percent shooting from the floor in the first half as the deficit continued to grow.

When Rice did manage to string a few baskets together, things got interesting, albeit in brief flashes. Rice got the game back within seven points early in the seven half. Tulane lengthened their advantage only for Rice to sneak back within nine points via a 7-0 run midway through the half. The Owls wouldn’t have much more of a resistance after that, though.

Following Rice’s last push to get within nine, Tulane outscored Rice 20-2 in the next six minutes of action. Down by 27 with zero points from Max Fiedler and only one Rice player above 12 points on the night, there wasn’t much more the Owls could do, falling on the road to begin AAC play 0-1.

Final Box | Tulane 84 – Rice 59

FINAL | Tulane 84 – @RiceMBB 59 pic.twitter.com/SJqsfsyN4F

— The Roost (@AtTheRoost) January 4, 2024

Key takeaway | Yellow Light U?

Green Light U has been the Owls’ tagline over the last several seasons, meant to reflect the “green light” head coach Scott Pera gives his shooters in what is meant to be a fast-paced, three-point-heavy offense. There’s just one problem so far this season: the shots aren’t falling. This was covered in further detail in our midseason Rice Basketball State of the Program and it doesn’t appear to have corrected itself in a significant way during the holiday break. Rice isn’t hitting threes.

Rice shot 25 percent from three against Tulane. Conservatively, that’s at least 10 percentage points behind what they’d call a mediocre day and 15 points behind a great day from deep. This team was built to have great days from long range. It can win with okay days. To continually fail to find any sort of production from three is going to render this offense sluggish, at best.

Travis Evee was 3-for-9 (33 percent) from three on Wednesday night. The rest of the team was 5-for-23 (22 percent). Simply put: the shooting wasn’t there and Rice basketball lost by double a landslide.

Up Next: vs UTSA (Saturday, Jan. 6)

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Filed Under: Archive, Basketball Tagged With: game recap, Rice basketball

Rice Women’s Basketball tops Wichita State in AAC opener

January 3, 2024 By Matthew Bartlett

Forced to play away from home in their American Conference opener, Rice Women’s Basketball prevailed nonetheless, topping Wichita State at the Fertitta Center across town.

Rice women’s basketball did not open American Conference play under ideal circumstances. The Owls were forced to play their “home opener” just down the road at the Fertitta Center because of water damage to Tudor Fieldhouse over the holidays.

Makeshift visitors in their inaugural game in a new league, Rice took some time to get settled into their red-clad benches. The Owls and the true visitors, Wichita State, traded baskets and free throws throughout the first quarter. It wasn’t until the midpoint of the second frame that the Owls started to find their groove, opening an 11-point lead, only for the Shockers to whittle it back within one score at halftime.

Wichita State scored the first five points in the second half, but it was all Rice from that point onward. The Owls outscored the Shockers 20-8 through the rest of the third quarter, taking a double-digit lead into the fourth quarter. Dominque Ennis led the charge, scoring 11 of her 17 points after the break. She left the game with a minute remaining in regulation with an injury, souring an otherwise very encouraging night for the Owls.

Staked to a 10-point advantage entering the fourth, the margin waivered below 10 points on two brief occasions, but the Owls delivered clutch free throws and kept things from getting too interesting down the stretch. Despite some early jitters, Rice found a way to close out the “home” win away from Tudor Fieldhouse and move to 1-0 in AAC play.

Final Box | Rice 76 – Wichita State 64

FINAL | @RiceWBB 76 – Wichita State 64 pic.twitter.com/QX2VZTcoaZ

— The Roost (@AtTheRoost) January 4, 2024

Key takeaway | Making the right adjustments

Early on, Wichita State was able to hang around in this game because of their ability to capitalize on extra opportunities. They outrebounded Rice 24-20 and edged Rice 10-5 in second-chance points, netting 33 percent of their first half scoring after their first shot failed. That’s an exorbitant amount of extra chances and something the Owls simply could not let continue if they were going to win this game.

Not only did Rice do a better job on the boards in the second half, 17-14 in their favor, but they stonewalled Wichita State in those second half opportunities. The Shockers had zero second-chance points in the second half, allowing that double-digit point differential that was bypassed in the first half to flow in earnest after the halftime buzzer. Without the extra opportunities, the Shockers couldn’t keep pace with the Owls.

The teams that strive to compete well into March can make those sorts of adjustments. Wednesday’s win was another step in the right direction for a Rice women’s basketball team that hopes to do just that.

Up Next: at SMU (Sunday, Jan. 7)

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Filed Under: Archive, Basketball, Women's Athletics Tagged With: game recap, Rice Women's basketball

The Roost’s 2023 Rice Football Season Superlatives

January 3, 2024 By Matthew Bartlett

The Roost’s 2023 Rice Football Season Superlatives exist to honor exceptional Owls who made a difference on the field this season. Here’s the complete list.

There were many individual performances worth recognizing in the 2023 Rice Football season. In addition to the more traditional awards below, make sure to check out The Roosties, our fifth annual award show from The Roost Podcast, which features a different angle of honors. From our favorite plays to the players that surprised us the most, we cover some of the more creative superlatives on the show. This list comprises the more traditional recognitions.

Iron Man — OL Clay Servin | Full Story

Excerpt: “Four of those five players transferred before their senior season. The fifth, offensive lineman Clay Servin, stuck with the program for the long haul, sticking with Rice football from that point onward through the next six seasons. In the era of the Transfer Portal which has made player movement more possible than ever before, Servin has been the rock Rice football has built on for more than half a decade.”

Offensive Newcomer of the Year — TE Boden Groen | Full Story

Excerpt: “When the games arrived, expectations were mounting. Groen responded by leading the team in receptions in the season opener against Texas. He built on that with at least one reception, usually more, in every game of the season. The only other Rice player to achieve that in 2023? Star wide receiver Luke McCaffrey.”

Defensive Newcomer of the Year — DE Coleman Coco | Full Story

Excerpt: “Always the first to credit his coaches for his growth and his teammates for an assist that set up a big play, Coco’s energy was contagious. It seemed impossible to be morose or downtrodden when he was next to you and his mentality permeated the locker room. No matter the score or the situation, Coco was convinced Rice would come out on top. And he hasn’t stopped preaching that message.”

Rising Star — RB Dean Connors | Full Story

Excerpt: “With the Owls’ backs against the wall, in need of two wins in two weeks to clinch bowl eligibility, Connors delivered a combined 33 carries for 259 yards, the best two-game stretch of his entire career. Rice won both games and made it to the postseason, thanks in large part to Connors’ efforts.”

Special Teams Player of the Year — Peyton Stevenson | Full Story

Excerpt: “The blocked punt score was the first for the Owls since Sam McGuffie in 2012. It was Stevenson’s second blocked kick of any kind, a first for any Rice player since Christian Covington blocked a pair of kicks in 2013. Already in rarified air amongst Rice history, Stevenson was one of just four players in the country this season to have blocked both a punt and a place kick.”

Defensive Player of the Year — Sean Fresch | Full Story

Excerpt: “Fresch began the season strong, tallying three pass breakups in the Owls’ upset win over the Houston Cougars and leading a secondary that would go on to finish second in the AAC in yards per game allowed through the air. Fresch started every game and provided a spark on special teams with his dynamic punt return abilities. Opposing defenses didn’t key in on him anymore. In fact, they started going the other way.”

Offensive Player of the Year — Luke McCaffrey | Full Story

Excerpt: “Three years ago, McCaffrey committed to Rice football with aspirations to play quarterback. He leaves South Main as one of the most productive wide receivers the school has ever seen. McCaffrey was a team captain and a leader, someone his teammates and the entire coaching staff leaned on in big moments. Time and time again, he delivered.”

Team MVP — JT Daniels| Full Story

Excerpt: “Daniels led a run-first team, with an explosive back in Dean Connors, to the top of the AAC leaderboard in passing. He took a team that hadn’t beaten crosstown rival Houston in 12 years to a thrilling overtime victory, the only Power 5 win by an AAC program in the regular season. Lastly, with Daniels leading the charge, Rice football reached six wins and a bowl game, their second-consecutive postseason trip.”

Check out the 2022 Rice Football Season Superlatives here.
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Filed Under: Football Tagged With: postseason awards, Rice Football

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