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Rice Football Recruiting: Slot Ben Grice commits to Owls

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The 2026 Rice Football recruiting class has its first new skill position add from the Transfer Portal. Former Wake Forest receiver Ben Grice has committed to the Owls.

Finding the right pieces to plug into the offense was a top priority for the 2026 Rice Football Recruiting class, which already had a wave of incoming high school additions locked in before the Transfer Portal opened. That allowed the Owls to be a bit choosey and make sure they grabbed the right pieces, like this one. Former Wake Forest wide receiver Ben Grice has committed to the Owls.

Grice was a coveted three star recruit out of Atlanta, Georgia in the 2024 cycle, holding offers from Texas A&M, Michigan, Ole Miss and dozens of others before picking Wake Forest. Grice played in every game as a true freshman and was heavily involved on special teams. He redshirted during the 2025 season before entering the portal and heading to South Main.

With Grice on board, the Owls are starting to assemble a nice array of options for transfer quarterback Jacurri Brown (UCF) to work with next fall. Grice joins fellow slot/receiver adds Jai Jacobs-Ford and Fisher Leftwich, both high school recruits who signed with the Owls during the Early Signing Period. Given where the roster stands right now, they should still have space to add in those rooms.

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A wide receiver by trade, Grice probably moves into a more creative role at Rice, likely as a slot player in head coach Scott Abell’s offense that prizes versatility. Wherever he lands, though, his quick twitch and rapid acceleration that he showcases on tape should make an impact on the Owls’ offense in quick order.

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Rice Football Recruiting: SAF Caden VerMaas commits to Owls

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The 2026 Rice Football recruiting class is still making waves in the Transfer Portal. Former Nebraska safety Caden VerMaas has committed to the Owls.

Already in good position with multiple defensive back commits out of the Transfer Portal, the 2026 Rice Football Recruiting class continued to stockpile in one of their largest areas of need. Roughly halfway through this portal cycle, Rice added another defensive back to the fold. Former Nebraska safety Caden VerMaas has committed to the Owls.

VerMaas is a Omaha, Nebraska native who stuck with the Huskers right out of high school. He redshirted in his lone year on campus with the Huskers in 2025, appearing in two games against Akron and Houston Christian.

VerMaas joins Coastal Carolina’s Zach Cody and UAB’s Tariq Watson as the three defensive back additions. While Watson has one year of eligibility remaining, Watson and VerMaas both have three years of college football still to play. The Owls have reloaded at key spots in the secondary with potential multi-year solutions to bolster depth beyond 2026.

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A former two-way player at the high school level, VerMaas was an explosive running back in addition to the successes he had on the defensive side of the ball. At 6-foot, 190 pounds, the now full-time defensive back still showcases his quickness and burst in the open field, even considering most of the tape is still from his high school days.

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Rice Football Recruiting: LS Phoenix Derichsweiler commits to Owls

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The 2026 Rice Football recruiting class is filling needs across the board, including special teams. Former Tulane long snapper Phoenix Derichsweiler has committed to the Owls.

There was always going to be an increased special teams presence to the 2026 Rice Football Recruiting class after losing several starting pieces to the Transfer Portal and graduation. With a new punter already added to the fold, the Owls picked up one more on that phase on Friday. Former Tulane long snapper Phoenix Derichsweiler has committed to the Owls.

Derichsweiler didn’t see action with Tulane in 2025, his freshman season with the Green Wave. The former Dallas Jesuit product opted to enter the Transfer Portal and return to his home state, committed to the Owls with four years of eligibility remaining. He fills an immediate need for Rice after former starting long snapper Wyatt Freeman entered the portal this offseason.

Rice also added a high school long snapper in this class, Hamilton Sharpe from the Woodlands College Park. He’ll officially sign with the Owls in February, giving the program multiple options to battle for the starting job next fall. Also coming in on the special teams front is punter Charlie Durkin from Kent State and high school place kicker signee Tommy Bauchiero.

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Like most specialists, the tape reflects the best moments. Consistency will always be key, something Derichsweiler will do his best to demonstrate when he arrives on campus.

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Rice Football Recruiting: CB Tariq Watson commits to Owls

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The 2026 Rice Football recruiting class is doubling down on defensive backs in the Transfer Portal. Former UAB corner Tariq Watson has committed to the Owls.

Graduation and transfer attrition made corner a position of priority in the 2026 Rice Football recruiting class. In the week since the Transfer Portal opened, Rice has now picked up two pledges at the position, including their most recent add from an American Conference program. Former UAB corner Tariq Watson has committed to the Owls.

Watson committed to Minnesota out of high school and, after redshirting his freshman season in 2022, played all 13 games for the Gophers before transferring to UAB. He played in 11 games for the Blazers that year, starting one, before becoming a mainstay in 2025, starting seven games while appearing in nine.

With Watson aboard, Rice football has arguably filled its biggest portal needs this cycle. They added a pair of quarterbacks in former UCF quarterback Jacurri Brown and former UNLV passer Gael Ochoa as well as another corner, Coastal Carolina’s Zach Cody.

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In Watson, Rice gets a 5-foot-10, 185 pound veteran who immediately bolsters a room in need of bodies, preferably ones with experience at the FBS level. A former track athlete, the tape shows Watson can run and plays with aggression, two attributes that make him a nice fit for the Owls’ defense.

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Rice Women’s Basketball Crushes Charlotte

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Rice women’s basketball completed a sweep in the Sunshine State, taking down Florida Atlantic a few days after knocking off South Florida on the road.

Rice women’s basketball has won a lot of games this year, but few of them were less eventful than the contest they played against Charlotte on Wednesday night. Even though Rice trailed by as many as six points in the early moments of the second quarter the red-hot shooting of Louanne Battiston made it clear the home team wouldn’t be behind for long.

When Rice finally regained the lead midway through the second quarter they were off to the races. An 11-point halftime lead snowballed to 27 as the third quarter began to wind down. By the time the fourth arrived, both sides knew the game way over.

MORE: Rice Women’s Basketball Midseason State of the Program

Most of the starters were off the floor by the final media timeout, save for Battiston who earned the right to finish the game after her tremendous 20-point outburst, which included four three-pointers plus a block and a steal.

With the victory, Rice women’s basketball improves to 13-3 on the season and 7-0 at Tudor Fieldhouse.

Final Box | Rice 84, Charlotte 59

Key takeaway | The Best Kind of Boring

Rice women’s basketball did not win a single game by double digits in their first six games. Granted, there were some tough opponents in that stretch, but even the games the Owls’ controlled were closer calls than they might have liked. That switch flipped in Puerto Rico, though.

Even with a one point loss to UCF accounted for, Rice has won seven of their last 10 games by 16 or more points, leading up to Wednesday’s 25-point blowout. They’ve won nine of 10 and look to be in cruise control for the first time this season.

Good teams find ways to win. Great teams never let the other team have a chance. The Owls are looking to prove they’re in the latter group. More wins like this will help that cause.

Up Next: vs UAB (Wed. Jan. 14 at 7:00 pm)

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