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Rice Football: Austin Trammell signs UDFA deal with Atlanta Falcons

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Rice football did not see any players selected in the 2021 NFL Draft, but former wide receiver Austin Trammell has since signed with the Atlanta Falcons.

The 2021 NFL Draft had a much smaller player pool this season than it typically does. Relaxed eligibility rules saw many draft-eligible upperclassmen choose to return to school, including several Rice football seniors. Wide receiver Austin Trammell was the only Owl to make a serious run at the professional ranks.

Trammell participated in the College Gridiron Showcase and did his NFL Pro Day with the University of Houston. He stopped by The Roost Podcast in the weeks prior to the draft to share what the process was like and talk about what life was like during the Owls’ unpredictable 2020 season.

After doing all he could to get himself on the radar of NFL teams, Trammell knows his next steps. Although he was not selected during the 2021 NFL Draft, Trammell has signed an undrafted free agent contract with the Atlanta Falcons.

Trammell’s signing is one of several such free agent agreements for Conference USA players. In total, Conference USA had four players chosen during the draft itself:

Rice Football recent NFL Draft history

The Owls’ streak of drafts without a selection has now stretched to six. Christian Covington is the most recent Rice football draftee. He was selected by the Houston Texans in the sixth round of the 2015 NFL Draft.

Covington’s selection marked the end of a nice run of selections for Rice. From 2009 to 2015 eight Rice football players were seelcted: Jarret Dillard (2009), James Casey (2009), Cheta Ozougwu (2011), Scott Solomon (2012), Vance McDonald (2013), Luke Wilson (2013), Phillip Gaines (2014), Christian Covington (2015). McDonald was the highest selection, going No. 55 overall to the San Francisco 49ers.

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Rice Baseball 2021: Previewing the Southern Miss series

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Rice baseball welcomes their return to the friendly confines of Reckling Park, but their weekend matchup with Southern Miss looms large.

It’s hard to believe, but May baseball is already upon us. The calendar is turning quickly and more than just the hot corner is heating up. The Rice baseball regular season schedule is winding down, but before it concludes in its entirety, the Owls have another ranked C-USA opponent to battle. Southern Miss enters the weekend 26-13 and ranked No. 23 in the D1 Baseball Top 25.

Times: Friday 2:00 p.m. / ~5:00 p.m. | Saturday 1:00 p.m. | Sunday 1:00 p.m.
Venue: Reckling Park
Radio: Stretch Internet Portal
Watch: CUSAtv

How each team fared this week

Rice baseball (17-23-1) split a weekend series with UTSA in San Antonio, their second series matchup with the Roadrunners this season. The Owls held a 2-0 upper hand but were unable to slam the door in the final two games to earn their first series win of the season.

Southern Miss (26-13) took three of four games from Western Kentucky, winning their third conference series of the season. The Golden Eagles have earned at least a split in each weekend of conference play since they opened things up with a series loss to Louisiana Tech at home.

Probable Pitchers

Friday | Roel Garcia (1-3, 5.36 ERA)
Saturday 1 | Mitchell Holcomb (4-4, 7.35)
Saturday 2 | Blake Brogdon (2-5, 6.14)
Sunday | Brandon Deskins (2-4, 4.24)

Southern Miss Pitching

The Southern Miss pitching staff has been the gold standard in Conference USA this season. The Golden Eagles lead the league in ERA, thanks in large part to the contributions of a potent quarter of starting pitchers. Hunter Stanley (5-1, 2.51 ERA), Ben Ethridge (4-1, 2.88), Walker Powell (6-2, 3.20) and Drew Boyd (2-2, 4.41) have been superb.

Southern Miss Hitting

When the pitching is that good, the offense doesn’t have to be top of the line to win ballgames. There have been outbursts here and there, but this lineup largely relies on the big bats of Gabe Montenegro and Charlie Fischer. Montenegro leads the team with 50 hits and a .338 batting average whereas Fischer leads C-USA in on-base percentage and sports a heft 1.1116 OPS.

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The Roost Podcast | Ep 74 – Rice Football and C-USA mailbag

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We reached out to the masses for this week’s mailbag show, with topics ranging from Rice football recruiting, Conference USA towns and tacos.

Our offseason interview series took a brief pause this week. Instead, we asked our listeners what they wanted to hear about, and the range of topics did not disappoint. There’s a chance several Conference USA fan bases will have an opinion on which school has the best town in the conference. If you do, make sure to give the podcast a follow on Twitter and chime in.

You can always find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 74.

Episode Notes

  • Housekeeping
    • Plan on hearing more from The Roost Podcast in your feed every other week as we continue our interview series. We’ll have some returning guests and hopefully a few new Owls to talk with over the next few months.
    • 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.
      Become a Patron!
  • Rice Athletics and Conference USA mailbag 
    • Why doesn’t Rice use the great success of women’s sports as a springboard to join a better conference such as the Big 12 or ACC?
    • Who’s stepping up to help fill the loss of Blaze Alldredge?
    • Rank your top-5 C-USA cities outside of Houston.
    • Is Rice recruiting any legacy kids? Why or why not?
    • What’s the best taco shop in Houston?
    • What impact will COVID-19 have on the 2021 football season?

Where can you find us?

Download and subscribe to The Roost Podcast on any of your favorite podcast providers. The show is available on iTunes, GooglePlay, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn and PodBean. Please consider leaving a review wherever you listen.

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Will Rice women’s basketball win without Tina Langley? All-American Q&A

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All-American Level subscribers on Patreon get access to a monthly Q&A with me. This update focuses on Rice women’s basketball and their new coach.

Q. Tina Langley was one of the best coaches Rice Athletics has ever had. Had it not been for COVID and a bad game in the 2021 C-USA Tournament, it’s possible Rice could have made three NCAA Tournament appearances with her direction. The new hire seems strong, but can Rice realistically maintain anywhere near this level of consistency?

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A. What Tina Langley accomplished for Rice women’s basketball was incredible. I won’t reiterate the entire list of accolades, which most of you are probably already familiar with anyhow, but to win 49-of-54 conference games (91 percent) is unbelievable at any level of collegiate athletics, and any sport, for that matter. So what does life for Rice look like after Langley?

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Rice Women’s Basketball coach Lindsay Edmonds ready to bring tempo, focus to South Main

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Rice women’s basketball head coach Lindsay Edmonds was formally introduced this week and by all accounts, seems like a tremendous fit with the Owls.

After nearly a decade as an assistant at NC State, newly appointed Rice women’s basketball head coach Lindsay Edmonds is ready for her next adventure. Athletic Director Joe Karlgaard formally introduced Edmonds in a virtual press conference on Monday, crediting his most recent hire as a candidate that “embodies every characteristic that we were looking for.”

Karlgaard spoke up Edmonds as a person who cared deeply about her players both on and off the court. Edmonds reaffirmed those truisms. stating multiple times in the brief sessions that she was seeking to find and develop the “total-package player,” one who values basketball, academics and personal growth.

But before she could get there, she had to make the decision to step out of her current role and embrace the Owls. “Leaving a great place is hard,” she said of her roots at NC State, “but coming to a great place is a pretty easy decision.”

Recalling her first visit to campus, Edmonds elaborated, “It became very clear, pretty quickly that Rice truly is a special place,” being sure to include a reassuring, definitive opening to her remarks, “I am very honored to be the next coach here at Rice University.”

When it came to specifics, Edmonds’ intentions were crystal clear. Off the court, she plans to prioritize building relationships with her current roster and hiring the right staff, something she emphasized as being a critical factor as a first-time head coach.

The Roost Podcast | Submit question for next week’s mailbag episode!

On the court, she talked about tempo and pace, getting the ball out in transition to score. Whereas former head coach Tina Langley built her brand on ball control and tenacious defense, Edmonds seems to lean towards a more aggressive style, although she did mention a focus on rebounding and defense as well.

We’ll see Edmonds and her team on the court soon enough. For now, the important work of finding the right person for the job has been done. Edmonds aced the interview. Now she’s tasked with taking up the baton and continuing onward.

“I’m really excited about where the program is at, “she said. “I’m excited to continue on that and would love to take it a step forward.”

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