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Rice Football Recruiting: Official Visit weekend hits high note

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Rice football recruiting season is in full swing. With 20 official visits on campus over the weekend, there’s a lot going on.

Things have been somewhat quiet on the Rice football recruiting front over the end of the regular season. A few offers have gone out, but the Owls were waiting with anticipation for the Transfer Portal to open and calendars to free up for official visits. Both coincided this past week and fireworks ensued at South Main.

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In the boat

First and foremost, there have been four new members of the 2023 Rice football recruiting class who have announced commitments this past week. Safety Jabaria Ellison was first, soon followed by fellow high school commit Ashton Ojiaku and then the Owls’ first pair of transfer portal additions, both along the defensive line.

JUCO product Jordan Campbell and Colgate transfer Coleman Coco are on board. And that might not be the last of the noise. The labors of this weekend are expected to produce more fruit before the Early Signing Period begins next Wednesday. There are at least two additional commitments forthcoming.

What’s next?

Because of the fluid number of scholarships amid transfers in and out, nailing down an exact number of scholarships is challenging at this stage of the game, particularly with so few announced departures at this point — more on that in a minute — propping that number upward.

For the time being, it’s safe to say the Owls’ primary strategy is going as planned. Rice loaded up on high school targets in the spring and summer, selectively adding in a few key pieces here and there where they were able to flip targets from elsewhere (Dalean Alexander from Air Force, Justin Williams from Louisiana).

Next up, the portal. Look toward last year as a blueprint for what Rice wants to do in the portal. Add depth at key positions with a deep rotation (defensive line, offensive line, wide receiver) and cherry-pick potential starters at positions of need. Last year that looked like Chris Conti at linebacker, Gavin Reinwald at tight end, a few specailists and a slew of wideouts.

Given the fluctuations at the quarterback position, it might behoove the Owls to look at the growing market of signal callers to see if there’s a fit. It’s worth noting Rice has had its best production at the position under Bloomgren from transfers (Mike Collins, Tom Stewart, TJ McMahon). That said, the staff is really high on current high school commit Chase Jenkins, so adding a transfer there isn’t necessarily a must.

Transfer Portal tango

There’s one interesting twist Rice is experiencing with the portal this season that they haven’t in years past, namely where it falls on the calendar and what the team is doing this December. The prime portal season now overlaps bowl season for the Owls, setting up an interesting situation for potential outgoing players.

To that end, Rice has only seen three players announce they would be entering the portal thus far with the potential for other departures once the Owls’ postseason is done. That would logistically leave them with time to find a new home before the early signing period ends, or afterward if they don’t latch on anywhere initially.

Right now, linebackers Aidan Siano and Garrett Braden have announced their intentions to transfer as well as safety Treshawn Chamberlain. The twist? All three were at practice this week and preparing for the Owls’ bowl game against Southern Miss. Like he has all season, Chamberlain is slated to start and there doesn’t appear to be any changes to the depth chart despite his publicly announced intentions.

Whether this becomes the norm going forward might depend on several factors. The bowl game occurring before the early signing period is certainly an unusual quirk based in large part because the signing period is later this year than in prior seasons. Still, it remains uncharted territory. For now, they’re all set to play and then move on.

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Rice Football Recruiting: JUCO DE Jordan Campbell commits to Owls

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The 2023 Rice Football recruiting class keeps stockpiling pass rushers, this time earning a commitment from JUCO defensive end Jordan Campbell.

Hours after another transfer portal pass rusher made his announcement, the 2023 Rice football recruiting class doubled up on big men in the trenches. JUCO defensive end Jordan Campbell has committed to the Owls.

Campbell is the first JUCO addition the Owls have added in this recruiting cycle but they’ll hope he’s part of a what’s become a long-standing tradition of success in the JUCO ranks. The Owls plucked tight end Boden Groen and running back Dean Connors from the JUCO ranks last season. Before them, linebackers Desmyn Baker and Blazer Alldredge found success, too. As well as wideout Bradley Rozner.

One success becomes a nice story. Several become a trend. Could Campbell be next? He picked Rice over offers from Fordham and Delaware State, both of which came earlier in the year. Rice was evidently intrigued by what they saw and decided to scoop him up, adding to a growing arsenal of pass rushers already in the fold in the 2023 class.

Campbell announced his pledge shortly after fellow transfer Coleman Coco, from Colgate, announced his commitment. They join high school commits Chris Clark and Joseph Mutombo in the defensive trenches in this growing class.

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Whether it’s inside, outside or right through a block, Campbell can win in a variety of different ways. That’s got to be something that stood out to Rice evaluators when looking over his JUCO highlight. The 6-foot-3, 240-pound defensive end could fit in a few places on the ever-shifting Rice defensive line, but having the get-to-the-quarterback ability is a prerequisite for all of them.

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Rice Football Recruiting: Colgate DL Coleman Coco commits to Owls

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The Transfer Portal has delivered a potential difference-maker in the trenches. Colgate defensive lineman Coleman Coco is the latest commitment to the 2023 Rice Football recruiting class.

The past several months have been focused on building a strong base of high school talent. Now with the Transfer Portal officially opened to collegiate players, the 2023 Rice Football Recruiting class has added its first veteran player. Colgate defensive lineman Coleman Coco has committed to the Owls.

“I was open to deciding wherever felt like home,” Coco told The Roost. “From the start of Rice recruiting me I knew deep down that they were the best fit.”

Coco burst onto the scene in 2018 as a sophomore. He started seven games that year and led all Patriot League defensive linemen with 46 tackles. After playing a two-game schedule because of COVID-19 in 2020/2021, Coco reemerged with 40 tackles in 11 games in 2022. He brings 12 career sacks with him to South Main.

This is the second time Rice has landed a transfer from Colgate in recent years, signing offensive lineman Jovaun Woolford in 2020.

Coco was the third defensive lineman in the class at the time of his commitment, which began with a run of offensive linemen last fall. Chris Clark was the first member of the 2023 Rice football recruiting class in the trenches. He committed to the Owls this past summer. One month later, he was joined by defensive end Joseph Mutombo.

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Coco’s natural position is on the edge, but he’s fairly versatile for a man of his size (6-foot-3, 240 pounds). Perhaps his most exciting trait, though, is his drive. From the first snap on his highlights it’s evident he plays through the whistle and finishes with power.

Part of what drew Coco to this defense was its depth and his ability to be a potential game-changing piece on the outside. “I feel like the defense is one that I can make a ton of plays in and also give my teammates a lot of opportunities,” he said. “I will excel at dominating the line of scrimmage and making big time game changing plays.”

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Rice Football Recruiting: ATH Ashton Ojiaku commits to Owls

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One of the final high school additions to the 2023 Rice Football recruiting class is in the fold. Athlete Ashton Ojiaku has committed to the Owls.

The bulk of the high school recruiting for the 2023 Rice football recruiting class has been wrapped up for some time. With the exception of a few players the Owls flipped from other schools during the course of the season, the Owls had most of the prep commits accounted for before the calendar reached December before ultimately deciding they needed at least one more. Athlete Ashton Ojiaku has committed to the Owls.

Ojiaku had his pick of destinations before settling on the Owls. He helped offers from Vanderbilt, Houston, Army, Air Force and others before deciding Rice was the place for him. Head-to-head recruiting wins over any program are big for Rice, but getting the leg up on an SEC school is a decidedly important milestone.

If he does make the transition to defense, he’ll likely join fellow commit Ty Morris on the back end at safety. That tandem, along with corners AJ Stephens and Jamarion Clark gives Rice a rather robust group of defensive backs already on board.

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Listed as an athlete in some places, a running back in others, and a safety, elsewhere, Ojiaku’s athleticism leaps out as soon as you turn on the film. Rice has made a habit of finding playmakers like this in recent years, getting them to campus and finding the right role afterward.

From Luke McCaffrey, who transitioned from quarterback to running back, to Izeya Floyd who has played on both sides of the ball to multipurpose offensive weapons like Cameron Montgomery and Quentin Jackson, the Owls aren’t afraid to move people around. They’ll find the right spot for Ojiaku, who is quite simply, a really good football player.

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Rice Basketball loses upset bid in OT, falls to Texas

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Rice basketball took Texas to the brink but was unable to secure the historic upset, falling to the Longhorns in overtime.

Whether it was good fortune or a willingness to take advantage of what had been a turbulent day for the Texas program, Rice basketball came out ready to play on Monday evening at the Moody Center. Max Fiedler put Rice on the board with a layup to start the scoring, which would casually ping-pong back and forth in the early goings as both teams adjusted to the pace of the game. Then the Owls took off.

Alem Huseinvoic knocked down back-to-back threes with Quincy Olivari following with another, a 9-0 Rice run. Texas would battle back but was never able to get in front. Rice went into the break with a 33-29 lead and a real shot to pull off a monumental upset.

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The Owls, who hadn’t beaten a ranked Texas squad since 1982 and had lost their last 10 meetings with the Longhorns, sensed an opportunity and never quit. Although Texas was able to take the lead in the second half, Rice always seemed to answer.

Both teams exchanged minored leads throughout the remainder of the contest. Texas would lead by as many as six points in regulation but was never able to pull away. Ultimately, Rice would have their shot, a jumper by Huseinovic in a tie game with the buzzer imminent. Instead, the ball hit iron and the Owls would go on to lose in overtime.

The loss will sting, but it’s worth noting this wasn’t just a bad night from Texas that Rice stumbled upon. No, Texas shot 50 percent from the floor and narrowly outrebounded Rice 40-39. This was a full 45-minute dogfight and the Owls acquitted themselves well before ultimately running out of game.

Player Spotlight | Quincy Olivari

Olivari had strung together some impressive games over the month of December, but his performance against Texas might have been his most inspired showing yet. Olivari tied for the lead among all scorers with 28 points, connecting on 4-of-9 from three and 6-of-7 from the free throw line, also grabbing five boards and dishing out four assists.

It felt like he was involved in most of the momentum-shifting plays on Monday night. Had it not been for his effort, the Owls wouldn’t have been in this game.

Final Box | Texas 87 – Rice 81 (OT)

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice basketball heads back home for a three-game homestand which gets started on Thursday night against North American. They’ll play another on Saturday against Northwestern State before taking on Jarvis Christian in their final non-conference game of the season. All three of those games are scheduled to be streamed on CUSAtv.

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