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Rice Football Recruiting: TE Ethan Powell signs with Owls

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The 2023 Rice Football recruiting class picked up an important signing day addition, landing DIII tight end transfer Ethan Powell to their ranks.

The 2023 Rice Football Recruiting class had its high school component wrapped up in the week or so leading up til the Early Signing Period, but there was more work to be done. Next, the Owls raided the transfer portal, picking up several instant impact players including DIII transfer tight end Ethan Powell from Southwestern University.

Head coach Mike Bloomgren praised Powell’s commitment to the game, nothing that DIII players aren’t on scholarships. They have to want to be there. Now Powell’s commitment is paying off.

On the field, Powell is almost as much of a wide receiver as a tight end. He’s a true vertical threat, filling the “F” position in the Rice offense. In the words of offensive coordinator Marques Tuiasosopo, Powell’s addition will allow Rice to “continue to live in 11 personnel” with Powell able to line up outside rather than in-line with that role fitting incumbent starter Jack Bradley better.

Premium: Rice Football Recruiting Offer and Commitment Tracker

Powell was part of a three-man haul at the position for the Owls, all of which possess different skill sets. While the pass-catching highlights are the ones that tend to make it onto the film for all tight ends, seeing what Powell has already done on the field with the football is particularly encouraging including 879 receiving yards and five touchdowns in 10 games last season.

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Rice Football Recruiting: JT Daniels to transfer to Owls

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Former five-star recruit JT Daniels is the newest member of the 2023 Rice Football recruiting class, starting the early signing period with a bang.

The 2023 Rice Football recruiting class got off to a roaring start on the eve of the Early Signing Period. First reported by Pete Thamel, former five-star quarterback JT Daniels is set to transfer to Rice.

Even before his inclusion in the rankings, the 2023 class was already trending toward the highest rated in program history. Now Daniels — who incidentally will become the highest-rated player to ever play for Rice football since recruiting rankings were introduced in the early 2000s —  will send that rankings score even higher.

Daniels initially committed to USC out of high school and has since had stints at Georgia and West Virginia. He helped the Bulldogs win a national title in his time in Athens and brings 45 career touchdown passes and just shy of 7,000 passing yards. He’s 17-12 as a starter, most recently starting 10 games with the Mountaineers last season.

Rice has taken swings at relatively big quarterback names in the Transfer Portal before under head coach Mike Bloomgren, but this is arguably the biggest windfall the Owls have had at the position yet, based purely on the talent and resume Daniels brings with him to South Main. It’s also worth noting, as Thamel reported, Bloomgren had recruited Daniels before.

Daniels provides Rice with an influx of talent at the most important position on the field, a position Rice has struggled to find consistency at under Bloomgren thus far. If things work out for the best, all parties might have found exactly the pairing they need for a productive future in the American Athletic Conference

There’s more… Stay tuned to our Early Signing Period live blog for live updates on the 2023 class as it unfolds. Who knows, maybe there are some more fireworks coming?

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Rice Football Recruiting: 2023 Early Signing Period Live Blog

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The majority of the 2023 Rice Football Recruiting class will become signees during the Early Signing Period. Follow all the action here.

Like many others before it, the 2023 Rice Football recruiting class is shaking up to be a strong group. Rice has had three of its five highest-rated signing classes under Mike Bloomgren and they don’t appear to be slowing down any time soon.

This live tracker will follow all the latest news and updates throughout the day, with some notes along the way on the class as it is finalized. If you’re not a subscriber yet, here’s your chance.

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Which newcomers will make sizable impacts as soon as they arrive on campus like Isaiah Esdale, Chris Conti and others did this past fall? This class has plenty of talent which could find its way to the field soon.

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Now, let’s dig into the latest from the Early Signing Period, below.

Updates

9:20 p.m.

Historic Rice football recruiting class to send Owls “soaring to new heights”

5:00 p.m.

What’s next? Stay tuned later this evening for a writeup on the historic haul. In the next few days there will also be detailed position-by-position breakdowns of the entire class plus some coaches notes on the new additions.

We’ve also recorded a brief microcast on the Daniels addition for our All-American and Booster level patrons.

4:55 p.m.

It’s official. The rest of Wednesday’s haul is official and as follows:

West Virginia transfer quarterback JT Daniels is in.

https://attheroost.com/2022/12/20/rice-football-recruiting-jt-daniels-to-transfer-to-owls/

Nassau CC transfer defensive lineman Jordan Campbell is in.

Safety Ashton Ojiaku is in

Linebacker Ty Morris is in

Corner AJ Stephens is in.

Corner Jamarion Clark is in.

Southwestern transfer tight end Ethan Powell is in.

1:58 p.m.

Linebacker Beau Barton is in.

1:21 p.m.

Defensive lineman Coleman Coco is in.

12:55 p.m.

Defensive end Chris Clark is in.

12:42 p.m.

New 2024 offers are starting to come in. We won’t’ track them all here, but you can always find them and the latest updates on the 2023 signees/commits on the recruiting tracker.

12:28 p.m.

Finally, the first defender is in the fold. Not a fan of the Owls sitting on these signatures this long. Anyhow, defensive end Joseph Mutombo is in.

12:13 p.m.

Wide receiver Drayden Dickmann is in.

11:28 a.m.

Wide receiver Justin Williams is in.

11:01 a.m.

Wide receiver Landon Ransom is in.

10:34 a.m.

Quarterback Chase Jenkins is in.

10:12 a.m.

A quick recap. Nine official announcements so far.

  • OL Luke Needham
  • OL Phillip Gallegos
  • RB Daelen Alexander
  • OL Brant Banks [Nebraska]
  • OL Peyton Farmer
  • TE Matt Hall [Truman State]
  • OL Nate Bledsoe
  • OL Patrick Valent
  • TE James Falk

10:06 a.m.

The sixth (and likely final) offensive lineman in the 2023 class is official. Luke Needham is in.

9:53 a.m.

Offensive lineman Phillip Gallegos is in.

9:45 a.m.

Rice is clearly spacing out announcements today, but there are already a few commits that have publically announced they’ve signed including WR Landon Ransom and QB Chase Jenkins.

9:32 a.m.

Running back Daelen Alexander is in.

9:07 a.m.

Nebraska transfer offensive lineman Brant Banks is in.

8:47 a.m.

Another offensive lineman is official. Peyton Farmer is in.

8:36 a.m.

How on brand is this? Of the first four announced additions to the 2023 class, two are offensive linemen and two are tight ends.

8:32 a.m.

Truman State tight end Matt Hall is in.

8:14 a.m.

Offensive lineman Nate Bledsoe is in.

7:48 a.m.

Offensive lineman Patrick Valent is in.

7:13 a.m.

The first letter of intent is in! TE James Falk is official.

6:48 a.m.

While we wait for the presses to warm up, one tidbit to pass along. Rice hasn’t signed a recruiting class better than 80th in the country in program history. The Owls’ current best, from a national rankings perspective, was the No. 82 class in 2009. Rice started the day with the No. 75 class in the nation.

6:36 a.m.

As is typically the case, the majority of the incoming Owls are based in the central time zone. The class has no Florida commits as of yet, that’s usually where the fireworks have started in recent signing days. No official announcements as of yet, but 7:00 central in Texas is ticking closer and there’s going to be a lot happening then. Hang on.

Wednesday morning – 5:55 a.m.

National letters of intent can start arriving from the Eastern time zone in just a few minutes. It’s time to get this show on the road.

Tuesday night

The college football world was fixated on Rice football on Tuesday night. On the eve of the early signing period, the Owls landed former 5-star and national championship-winning quarterback JT Daniels.

https://attheroost.com/2022/12/20/rice-football-recruiting-jt-daniels-to-transfer-to-owls/

Tuesday afternoon

The initial group of December signees for the 2022 Rice Football recruiting class was a bit on the smaller side given the initial uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 waivers and their impact on future rosters. That’s not the case this time around. While there are a few spots remaining for additional Transfer Portal candidates, Rice has brought in a robust group they will sign in December.

And once again, as has been the case in year past, several Rice signees have yet to receive a 247 Sports rating. Even still, the 2023 Rice Football Recruiting class has already come in strong. Here’s where the group stands as of Tuesday evening. Players are eligible to fax in their signatures starting at 7:00 a.m. local time.

Rice has the No. 3 class in Conference USA entering Wednesday morning. When accounting for the conference moves upcoming in 2023, Rice football owns the No. 7 class among all 2023 members of the AAC. The Owls were as high as fourth in the new AAC as recently as Monday evening. There’s a lot to watch as the dust settles here.

Make sure to stay tuned on Twitter and follow our live blog here during the day for updates. Get the latest list of the 2023 Rice Football Recruiting commits by clicking the tracker below.

Rice Football, Rice Football Recruiting

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Rice Women’s Basketball falls to MTSU in first loss of season

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Rice women’s basketball falls for the first time this season, running out of time in their conference opener against Middle Tennessee.

After posting a sterling 9-0 record through non-conference play, Rice women’s basketball was thrown a tough test in their first Conference USA matchup of the season. The Owls squared off with the 7-2 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders on Tuesday afternoon with the winner set to climb to the top of the young conference standings.

While neither team came out of the gates shooting particularly well, Middle Tennessee was able to take an early advantage in the first quarter, leading by as many as give points before Rice battled back and finished the first frame up three thanks to a three-pointer by India Bellamy.

Dominque Ennis pushed the Owls’ advantage further in the second, making back-t0-back threes of her own to put Rice up seven before MTSU fought to close the gap to five at halftime. Rice would lead by as many as eight in the third until Middle Tennessee found its shooting stroke. They chipped into the Rice lead through the first before an 11-0 run put Rice firmly in comeback mode in the fourth quarter.

Following a four-minute scoring drought, Rice slowly began to climb back into contention. Ashlee Austin hit a jumper followed soon afterward by eight consecutive makes from the charity stripe as the Owls tied the game with 1:35 to play. Ultimately a Middle Tennesee three followed by a costly Rice turnover would be the difference as Rice found the loss column for the first time this season.

“Wins and losses do definitely happen,” head coach Lindsay Edmonds said after the game. “It’s how we respond to this. Do we lay down? Or do we punch back at our next game and say, this is who rice women’s basketball is?”

Rice will play Middle Tennesee again in January, getting another crack at the Blue Raiders in the not-too-distant future.

Spotlight | Malia Fisher

Fisher has developed a knack for being in the right place at the right time. Whether it was a key rebound or a decisive play to the basket, Fisher was everywhere down the stretch, scoring 11 of her team-leading 18 points in the fourth quarter. She also added six rebounds and two assists. This was the third time this season Fisher reached 18 points.

Final Box | MTSU 74 – Rice 68

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice women’s basketball will take a brief holiday break over the course of the next week before they return to conference play towards the end of the year. They’ll host games against Western Kentucky (Thur, Dec. 29), and UTEP (Sat, Dec. 31).

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Rice Football 2022: NFL Owls Week 15 Roundup

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Rice Football is well represented on 2022 NFL rosters. Here’s the latest from the NFL Owls in action in Week 15.

There are former Rice football players scattered across the NFL. Stay tuned each week for their game results and notables from each player.

Team NFL Owl(s) Week 15 Result Week 16
Denver Broncos Calvin Anderson (OL)
Elijah Garcia (DL)		 vs Cardinals W, 24-15 at Rams
Detroit Lions Jack Fox (P) at Jets W, 20-17 at Panthers
Indianapolis Colts Kylen Granson (TE) at Vikings L, 39-36 (OT) vs Chargers (MNF)
LA Chargers Bryce Callahan (DB)
Christian Covington (DL)		 vs Titans W, 17-14 at Colts
LA Rams Austin Trammell (WR) at Packers (MNF) L, 24-12 vs Broncos
Pittsburgh Steelers Chris Boswell (PK) at Panthers W, 24-16 vs Raiders
Seattle Seahawks Myles Adams (DL) vs 49ers (TNF) L, 21-13 at Chiefs
Tampa Bay Bucs Nick Leverett (OL) vs Bengals L, 34-23 at Cardinals

Offense

Calvin Anderson – OT, Broncos

Anderson returned to a reserve role for the Broncos this week. After making six consecutive starts he played primarily on special teams against the Cardinals.

Kylen Gransen – TE, Colts

Gransen caught two passes for 34 yards on Saturday in the Colts’ Week 15 loss to the Vikings.

Nick Leverett – OT, Buccaneers

Leverett started his seventh consecutive game this weekend. He’s appeared in every game for the Bucs since Week 7.

Austin Trammell – WR, Rams

Trammell has now appeared in three straight games for the Rams. He did not have any receptions on their Monday Night Football appearance this week, but did play on offensive and defensive snaps.

Defense

Myles Adams – DL, Seahawks

Adams came through on Thursday Night Football with his first tackle for a loss and his first pass deflection of the season, also playing a season-high number of special teams snaps.

Bryce Callahan – CB, Chargers

Callahan had one tackle in the Chargers’ Week 15 win over the Titans.

Christian Covington – DL, Chargers

Covington was placed on Injured Reserve after suffering a pec injury in the Chargers’ Week 10 game against the 49ers. He hasn’t played since.

Elijah Gacia – DT, Broncos

The Broncos signed Elijah Garcia to their active roster off the Rams practice squad early last week. He was inactive this week.

Special Teams

Jack Fox – P, Lions

Fox punted four times on Sunday with a long of 49 yards. He put one ball inside the 20 and average 44.5 yards per punt.

Chris Boswell – K, Steelers

Boswell was productive in his second week back after a stint on the injured reserve. He connected on all three of his extra points and his lone field goal try, a 50-yard attempt.

More Owls in the NFL

From practice squads to current free agents, there are other Owls on the cusp of returning to active rosters. Find more detail on current contractual agreements and former Rice football players waiting for their next opportunity here.

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