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Rice Football: Undrafted free agent signings after 2023 NFL Draft

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The 2023 NFL Draft has come to a close. No Rice football players were drafted, but a few could still find NFL homes as undrafted free agents.

The streak continues. For the eighth consecutive season, Rice Football did not have a player selected in the NFL Draft. Owls’ defensive lineman Ikenna Enechukwu had been the most recent Owl who hoped to challenge that streak, but his name was not called.

Enechukwu’s time as a free agent did not last long. Within an hour of the conclusion of the 2023 NFL Draft, the initial report broke from The Draft Network that Enechukwu was expected to sign with the Atlanta Falcons.

Enechukwu stopped by The Roost Podcast this offseason to visit about his leadup to the draft, his time at Rice and more. He also provided listeners with a brief scouting report on the members of the defensive line he leaves behind, including a few notes on some of the up-and-coming players that could see significant action on the field this fall. Give it a listen here.

As for any other NFL Owls, any additional updates will be shared here as they come. Kicker Christian VanSickle, corner Miles McCord, defensive tackle Quent Titre, running back Uriah West, defensive end Trey Schuman and wide receiver Isaiah Esdale have all expressed interest in exploring professional careers and could latch on with a team in the days to come.

2023 Rice Football NFL Undrafted Free Agent Signees

Rice Football recent NFL Draft history

The Owls’ streak of drafts without a selection has now stretched to eight. The last time a Rice football player heard his name called on stage was the 2015 NFL Draft when Christian Covington was chosen by the Houston Texans in the sixth round

RkYear▼LgRndPickTmPlayerPos
12015NFL6216HOUChristian CovingtonDT
22014NFL387KANPhillip GainesDB
32013NFL255SFOVance McDonaldTE
42013NFL5158SEALuke WillsonTE
52012NFL7211TENScott SolomonDE
62011NFL7254HOUCheta OzougwuDE
72009NFL5152HOUJames CaseyTE
82009NFL5144JAXJarett DillardWR
92003NFL5142CLERyan PontbriandC
102003NFL6176JAXBrandon GreenDE
111997NFL5152PHIN.D. KaluDE
121994NFL245ATLBert EmanuelWR
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Rice Baseball 2023: MLB Owls update – Apr 25

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The 2023 MLB season is underway and Rice baseball alums are busy on the mound and at the plate. Here’s the latest from the MLB Owls.

Anthony Rendon – Los Angeles Angels

At this moment, Rendon is the only healthy Owl left standing after injuries have put a trio of former Rice baseball pitchers on the shelf for the time being. After a resurgent middle of the month, it was tougher sledding for Rendon this past week, going hitless in three straight games before posting a two-hit, two-RBI game against the Athletics on Monday. He followed that up with a couple of walks against the A’s on Tuesday, bumping his on-base percentage up to .353 for the season.

Through April 25, Rendon is hitting .226 with two extra-base hits, 11 walks and nine strikeouts. His OPS is .617 and he’s collected 11 RBI.

Injured List

Lucas Luetge – Atlanta Braves

On April 17, the Braves placed Lucas Luetge on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to April 14, with what they termed left bicep inflammation. He hasn’t appeared in a game for the team since April 12.

Through April 18, Luetge has an 8.10 ERA with a 1.800 WHIP. He’s averaging 8.1 strikeouts per nine innings.

J.T. Chargois – Miami Marlins

Chargois has been sidelined since April 10 with a right oblique strain. Per Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald, he resumed playing catch this week, a positive development towards his eventual return.

Through April 18, Chargois has a 0.00 ERA with a 0.000 WHIP. He’s averaging 8.3 strikeouts per nine innings.

Glenn Otto – Texas Rangers

Otto did not appear on the Rangers Opening Day roster despite making 27 starts for the club last season. Instead, he began the year on the injured list, landing on the 60-day IL on March 30 with a right shoulder strain. He will be sidelined for the foreseeable future.

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Post Spring Rice Football Recruiting Updates — April Patreon Q&A

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There have been a few significant updates on the Rice football recruiting front since spring practice ended. What’s the latest news?

The end of spring practices also coincided with the reopening of the Transfer Portal and another period of transfers. That means new Rice football recruiting updates, in the form of outgoing and potential incoming players.

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Rice Football rises in 2023 ESPN FPI, but competition is tougher

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The 2023 ESPN FPI projections are out. What do the projections look like for Rice Football and how much stock should we put in those estimations?

ESPN recently released its 2023 Football Power Index (FPI), a statistic geared toward predicting team performance. Rice football (-9.3 FPI) checked in No. 11 in the American Athletic Conference, ahead of Navy (-9.3), Temple (-9.4) and Charlotte (-10.9). On the upper end of the conference SMU (4.7), Tulane (2.4), Memphis (1.3) and UTSA (0.2) stand above the rest.

2023 ESPN FPI

  1. SMU, 4.7
  2. Tulane, 2.4
  3. Memphis, 1.3
  4. UTSA, 0.2
  5. ECU, -3.0
  6. UAB, -3.7
  7. FAU, -4.1
  8. UNT, -4.4
  9. Tulsa, -7.4
  10. USF, -8.4
  11. Rice, -9.3
  12. Navy, -9.3
  13. Temple, -9.4
  14. Charlotte, -10.9

Looking Closer

Even though they rank near the bottom of the AAC, the 2023 projections are still rosier for the Owls than they’ve been in some time. The 2021 FPI for Rice came in at -11.7. That dropped to -14.5 in 2022. Now up at -9.3, Rice is expected to be more potent than either of their more stingy teams of the Mike Bloomgren era.

Those same projections this year give Rice a 0.2 percent chance of winning the AAC Title in their inaugural season (not likely) and 30.9 percent chance of reaching six wins/bowl eligibility. To put that bowl projection in perspective, it’s roughly equivalent of what the numbers expected for Rice at this point last season. With the (presumed) better team comes the (presumed) tougher road.

Had the six new arriving AAC members still been scheduled to play in Conference USA this fall, Rice would have been the eighth team in that league.

All things considered, Rice is within seven points of the majority of their 2023 opponents. They’ll be near a coin flip in their conference opener against USF and still be expected to be competitive against ECU in their first AAC home game. The path is challenging, but it’s not impossible.

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Rice Baseball falters late, drops series to MTSU

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Rice Baseball and MTSU went down to the final inning with the fate of the series in the balance before an MTSU walk-off spoiled the Owls’ weekend.

FRIDAY | MTSU 6 – Rice 0

It didn’t matter which portion of the weather-split game it was for Rice baseball, the bats just weren’t syncing up. Rice was held scoreless in their series opener against Middle Tennessee, which was paused in the sixth inning with Rice trailing 3-0 before being restarted on Saturday afternoon.

Prior to the delay, Tyler Hamilton and Cristian Cienfuegos kept the Blue Raiders to one unearned run through four innings.  Blake Brogdon was tagged for two runs in the fifth, but the Owls were very much still in the game until MTSU tagged Ryland Urbanczyk with three runs in the eighth inning on Saturday to put the game away.

SATURDAY | Rice 9 – MTSU 2

Rice baseball and MTSU traded single runs in the early innings then did so again in the top of the sixth and bottom of the seventh. The game was neck-and-neck, even when Paul Smith singled in Jack Riedel in the top of the eighth to put the Owls in front. Leading 3-2 entering the ninth, the Rice bats exploded.

MORE: Roost Pod – Rice Football Spring Ball Recap and Basketball Recruiting

Three consecutive RBI hits put Rice up 7-2 and prompted an MTSU pitching change. The new reliever didn’t fair much better, getting charged with two additional runs on sacrifice flies as the Owls smacked the Blue Raiders around, scoring six in the ninth to win 9-2.

SUNDAY | MTSU 5 – Rice 4 (11 innings)

MTSU took a 2-0 lead on a first-inning home run against JD McCracken in the series finale, forcing Rice to play from behind. The Owls chipped away with a run in the fourth on an RBI single from Trey Duffield and another in the eighth, this time via a Ben Royo home run. Finally tied again, that’s when the drama would begin.

Both teams traded solo runs in the next two half innings, forcing extra with the score deadlocked at 3-3. Royo came through again in the tenth with an RBI single, but MTSU leveled the score on a wild pitch charged Rice reliever Krishna Raj. After Rice went quietly in the top half of the next inning, Raj gave up the walk-off long ball on the very next pitch, handing the game and the series to MTSU.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

Rice baseball had their chances to win a series for the first time in a month and couldn’t close the deal. Here are a few takeaways from a wet, frustrating weekend in Murfreesboro.

1. RIP RISP

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ON DECK | vs Dallas Baptist (Fri-Sun)

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