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Head Coach: Jeff Traylor
Record at School: 30-10 (3 Yr) | Career FBS Record 30-10 (3 Yr)
Offensive Coordinator: Justin Burke | Defensive Coordinator: Jess Loepp
For the first time in six summers, the Rice football quarterback discussion looks starkly different. There is no competition nor controversy. There is no uncertainty regarding the most crucial position on the Owls’ roster. They have a guy. They have the guy. It’s JT Daniels’ show in 2023, but what exactly will that look like? Here’s how the position looks in 2023.
This piece is part of our 2023 Rice Football Season Preview. Get access to it, as well as all other preview posts such as positional breakdowns, depth chart and schedule analysis and more when you subscribe on Patreon today.
In a statement released by the school on Sunday, Rice Athletics has named Tommy McClelland its next athletic director.
“We’re thrilled to be able to attract someone with Tommy’s breadth of experience and success,” DesRoches said. “He brings the values of academic excellence and deep integrity that define Rice, coupled with a passionate desire to compete successfully at the highest level of intercollegiate athletics. These attributes will be critical for Rice’s first season in the American Athletic Conference and the years to follow.”
“I am incredibly grateful to President DesRoches, the search committee and the Board of Trustees for the opportunity to serve as vice president and director of athletics at Rice University,” McClelland said. “My family and I are thrilled to join the Rice family and the Houston community.”
The news was initially reported on Saturday by Pete Thamel before being announced formally by Rice today.
McClelland is slated to begin duties on August 14, two weeks from today. In the meantime, senior associate director Tanner Gardner will serve as interim athletic director for the department.
The full statement is available to read here.
No Rice football position group will look more different than it did a year ago than the defensive line. While there is a lot of quality production returning, the Owls do have several prominent names to replace up front and a few position battles still to sort out when fall camp arrives. Here’s how the position looks in 2023.
This piece is part of our 2023 Rice Football Season Preview. Get access to it, as well as all other preview posts such as positional breakdowns, depth chart and schedule analysis and more when you subscribe on Patreon today.
First reported by Pete Thamel, Rice Athletics is targeting current Vanderbilt deputy athletic director Tommy McClelland. According to Thamel, the deal is “expected to be finalized in the upcoming days.”
McClelland cut his teeth as an athletic director at McNeese State before moving to Louisiana Tech, where he served as the Bulldogs’ athletic director from 2013 to 2020 before departing for Vanderbilt. His particular penchant for fundraising, noted by Thamel and separately confirmed to The Roost, is one of his most distinctive traits.
The addition would be another step in a season of change for the entire Rice Athletics department and the university as a whole. Rice has recently installed a new president, Reginald DesRoches, moved to a new conference, the American Athletic, and now will be finalizing the addition of a new athletic director.
The hire would presumably enable Rice to have their card in order for the upcoming fall athletic season, which is quickly approaching. Rice football just completed media days last week and is set to open fall camp in the coming days. A new athletic year is poised to begin and it looks now as if the Owls have their man to lead them into an exciting new future.