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Rice Football Burning Questions: How high is the team’s ceiling in 2021?

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Now in Year 4, Mike Bloomgren and Rice football will face the highest expectations they’ve encountered to this point. How far can they realistically go?

Things were never expected to get better for Rice football overnight. The roster needed retooling. New schemes needed to be put in place and other adjustments were necessary in the name of program-building. With three years* (two, plus whatever the COVID-19 season counts as) to tinker, the expectations are starting to mount.

Which brings us to the third installment in our Burning Questions series this offseason. What are fair expectations for Rice football in 2021 and more importantly, can they reach them?

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Rice Football Recruiting: 2022 Safety Reece Sylvester commits to Owls

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The 2022 Rice Football recruiting class closed the summer on a high note, adding safety Reece Sylvester to the fold as the calendar marches toward the fall.

Fall camp is right around the corner, but that hasn’t slowed the Owls down on the recruiting front. The 2022 Rice Football recruiting class has now added its sixth member to the fold, earning a commitment from Baytown Sterling safety Reece Sylvester.

Sylvester is the second defensive back among the Owls’ current 2022 commits and the fourth defensive player so far. The other safety in the class, Southwest Christian safety Tyson Flowers, was the most recent pledge prior to Sylvester.

Rice was the first to offer Sylvester, who had no other public offers when Rice made their push in mid-July. That was true on August 1 when Sylvester decided to pull the trigger.

Sylvester played a little on both sides of the ball in high school, but although he proved himself a capable wide receiver, he’ll primarily slide in at safety for the Owls. The proven versatility and knowledge of the game should give him a leg up in Brian Smith’s defense.

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When it comes to his prowess as a safety, Sylvester is an intriguing prospect. He reads the ball well coming out of the quarterback’s hand and closes the distance between himself and the pass catcher at a furious rate. When he gets there, he’s not afraid to deliver a punishing blow. His pursuit seems to have an extra gear and his drive has the makings of a difference maker at the next level.

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Rice Baseball: 2021 MLB Owls End of July update

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The 2021 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 from this week.

Anthony Rendon – Los Angeles Angels

Rendon’s continued absence from the Angels’ lineup continued on this week with no clear end in sight. LA Daily News reports he has yet to resume baseball activity during his rehab. He hasn’t appeared in a game since July 4.

Through July 31, Rendon is hitting .240 with 19 extra-base hits, 29 walks and 41 strikeouts. His OPS is .712 and he’s collected 34 RBI.

Brock Holt – Texas Rangers

Holt played sparingly this week, completing two games over the span of the past seven days, appearing in four, often being limited in games against left-handed starters.

Through July 31, Holt is hitting .200 with 12 extra-base hits, 19 walks and 34 strikeouts. His OPS is .569 and he’s collected 15 RBI.

Tyler Duffey – Minnesota Twins

Duffey made three appearances in the span of five days this week picking up a pair of holds in consecutive games against the Tigers before running into trouble against St. Louis on Friday. He was saddle with the loss in that outing, allowing three hits and three earned runs, the most earned runs he’s allowed in a single game since May 20.

Through July 31, Duffey has a 3.79 ERA with a 1.388 WHIP. He’s averaging 7.4 strikeouts per nine innings.

Lucas Luetge – New York Yankees

Luetge has been rock solid in the Yankees’ pen this season. He pitched two innings in a pair of games this week, striking out four batters in both games and earning his fourth win of the season on Saturday.

Through July 31, Luetge has a 2.94 ERA with a 1.143 WHIP. He’s averaging 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings.

J.T. Chargois – Tampa Bay Rays

Chargois was sent across the country at the trade dealine, dealt from the Seattle Mariners to the Tampa Bay Rays. He made his first appearance for his new club on Friday, working a scoreless inning of relief with one strikeout and no hits allowed.

Through July 31, Chargois has a 2.90 ERA with a 0.935 WHIP. He’s averaging 8.7 strikeouts per nine innings.

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Ranking the Conference USA Football Quarterbacks: July 2021 Patreon Q&A

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The quarterback landscape is going to be interesting for Conference USA football teams this season. Where does Luke McCaffrey fit in among the league’s signal callers?

If you haven’t checked out any of our Conference USA team previews on The Roost Podcast yet, go ahead and subscribe to the show and put those episodes in your listening queue over the next few weeks. I bring that up because a recurring theme as we work through the Owls’ upcoming opponents is the lack of certainty at the quarterback position across the conference.

Among returning quarterbacks, at least from a purely statistical evaluation, it’s essentially Marshall’s Grant Wells and that’s about it. The list gets murky quickly with players like UTEP’s Gavin Hardison and UTSA’s Frank Harris showing up frequently in the Top 5 of major statistical categories like completion percentage, yards per attempt and touchdowns. That means, in all likelihood, the best quarterback that will play in Conference USA in 2021 wasn’t in the conference last season.

Which brings us to the question at hand? Who is the best quarterback in Conference USA and where does prospective Rice signal caller Luke McCaffrey fit into the mix?

Here’s my best projection of the conference quarterbacks, ranked from the best to worst:

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The Roost Podcast | Ep 84 – Conference USA Football with Phil Steele

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Creator of one of the most in-depth previews in college football, Phil Steele joins the show this week to dig into his 2021 Conference USA football outlook.

We were fortunate enough to cross paths this week with Phil Steele, create of the most jam-packed college football preview year after year. He was excited to step away debates about the Alabama’s and Texas’s of the world, turning his attention this week to the UAB’s and Texas San-Antonio’s of Conference USA.

Be sure to stick around for some Conference USA sleepers that Steele thinks could have big years, including a couple of picks from the Rice roster. You can always find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 84.

Episode Notes

  • Housekeeping
    • Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to the podcast on your platform of choice. Every little bit helps.
    • Please support us on Patreon. Be the first to get the inside scoop on what’s going on with Rice football and stick around for even further analysis. That includes our debriefing series on spring football, recruiting news and more.
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    • Pick up your copy of the Rice Football or Conference USA Season Preview today or as it’s been called by others, The Bible for Conference USA!
  • Phil Steele joins the show — Steele unpacks his Conference USA projections and dives deeper into the 2021 Rice Football season, including:
    • The impact Luke McCaffrey will have on Rice football
    • Where Rice fits in his Conference USA projections
    • The potential upside Rice football has in 2021
    • How the magazine comes together
    • Under-the-radar players to watch in Conference USA

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