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2019 Rice Football recruiting National Signing Day predictions

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National Signing Day is upon us and the 2019 Rice Football signing class is nearly complete. Here’s how the Owls will look to finish.

Rice signed 17 players during the early signing period in December. Since then they’ve picked up commitments from four scholarship players, bringing their total up to 21 commitments on the eve of National Signing Day.

They’ve also added a host of preferred walk-ons, including a trio of players who made announcements on Monday: running back Ayden Noriega, safety Chike Anigbogu and wide receiver Bennett Mecom

The Owls have five spots remaining, but there isn’t a rush to fill them at all costs. The coaching staff is going to stay tuned in to the transfer markets as the day unfolds. Don’t be surprised to see a spot (or two) unused by the end of the day on Wednesday. The Transfer Portal will remain open for a while, giving the teams and players ample time to feel out which situations work best for all parties involved.

Here’s how the class is most likely to finish

QB – Stewart*, Johnson
OL – Riddle, Jones, Leverett*, [Chaffin*], [Gooseberry*]
WR – Knipe, Rozner*
TE – Bradley
FB – [Williams*]
RB – King
DL – Floyd, Bickham, Pearcy, Carroll
LB – Braden, Morrison 
S – Henry, Lockhart, Smith*
CB – Bailey, Landrum
K – Hoban

* = Graduate or JUCO transfer
(italics) = unsigned players
[projected additions]

That projection calls for three new additions: Stanford transfers Brian Chaffin and Reagan Williams as well as OBU offensive lineman Justin Gooseberry. Other targets Mike Hinton, Kenyon Reed, Ardell Brown and others remain options, but none are probable to sign with the Owls on Wednesday. Any of that trio of grad transfers could decide to keep their options open too, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Don’t Miss: Full commitments profiles on each of Rice football 2019 signees and commits

If Rice can pick up at least two of those grad transfers before they close the book on the 2019 class, they’ll be in good shape. Even if they don’t this is shaping up to be another strong class for Mike Bloomgren and his staff headed into Year 2.

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Aston Walter granted additional year of eligibility by NCAA

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Rice football running back Aston Walter will return to South Main in 2019 after being granted an additional year of eligibility by the NCAA.

In what has to be seen as a sign of good fortune for Rice football as the team heads into 2019, the NCAA has granted running back Aston Walter an additional year of eligibility. The young team will be flush with freshman and sophomore on the two-deep this fall. That makes the retention of a veteran leader who can contribute to the team on and off the field extremely important.

Aston signed with Rice in 2014 his brother Austin Walter. After redshirting his freshman season, Aston saw minimal usage in 2015 — 10 carries for 41 games. He scored his first touchdown in 2015, carrying the ball 23 times for 141 yards, also catching two touchdown passes.

The 2017 season was lost almost entirely. Aston registered a single carry against UTEP before suffering a shoulder injury which sidelined him for the year. He returned to a crowded backfield in 2018, fighting for carries with his brother Austin, Emmanuel Esukpa and later freshman Juma Otoviano.

Aston came in on spot duty throughout the year, picking important third downs and making big plays. As the season progressed, he proved to be one of the most reliable ball carriers on the team. His consistency earned him more touches and he made those touches count.

In his fifth year on campus, Aston saw some of his most productive games of this collegiate career last season. He tallied 72 yards rushing against Louisiana Tech and LSU in consecutive weeks, just the second and third time rushing for more than 50 yards in his career.

He returns to a backfield in 2019 which he’ll share with Otoviano and freshman Jawan King, among others.

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MBB: Owls unable to hold off Old Dominion rally

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Rice basketball battled first place Old Dominion to the wire but fell short of the upset, dropping the Owls to 5-6 in Conference USA play.

Rice never seemed fazed or outmatched during their road game against the top team in Conference USA. The Owls and Old Dominion traded baskets throughout the first half of their game on Saturday. The lead jumped back and forth between the two teams with neither side pulling ahead by more than four points before half time.

It was Rice who took the four-point lead into the break, setting up an intriguing finish. The back and forth continued until Old Dominion emerged on top, 80-76. The Monarchs outrebounded the Owls 40-33, but the stat sheet beyond that looked fairly similar with both teams shooting about 45 percent from the field with more than 10 made three-pointers apiece.

Box

PLAYER FG 3PT FT OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
J. Williams 3-8 2-3 4-5 1 9 10 0 0 1 1 4 12
Q. Millora-Brown 3-3 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 4 6
D. Peterson 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0
C. Mullins 6-11 0-2 2-4 2 1 3 5 1 0 0 1 14
A. Adams 3-10 3-8 2-2 0 1 1 4 0 0 4 3 11
R. Martin 4-13 3-7 2-2 1 6 7 0 0 1 0 1 13
J. Parrish 4-4 0-0 0-0 2 1 3 2 1 0 2 1 8
P. Moore 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
T. Murphy III 3-9 3-9 1-3 1 3 4 1 0 0 2 4 10

Player of the game – Jack Williams

Despite the loss, this was one of the Owls’ better games as a unit this season. Five players scored double-digit points. It was Jack Williams, though, who managed his sixth double-double of the year.

This team has done a lot of growing up over the course of the season. The freshmen have taken tremendous steps in just a few months, but it’s been Williams and guard Ako Adams who have paced this team with consistent performances night by night. Williams did it again on Saturday.

Up Next

After a brief two-game road trip, Rice will return home for a pair of games next week. First, they’ll welcome Western Kentucky on Thursday. The Hill Toppers have won four of their last five (prior to 2/2 UTEP game). Tip off is set for 8 p.m.

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Quarterback Jovoni Johnson commits to Owls

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Rice football has a quarterback in their 2019 class. Arkansas native Jovoni Johnson has committed to Mike Bloomgren and the Owls.

Houston, we have a quarterback. After a surprise decommitment from long-time commit Trevor Bycznski on the first day of the early signing period, Rice was left in need of a signal caller. The Owls could have gotten by without signing a high school quarterback in the 2019 class, but the number of injuries suffered at the position last year combined with roster turnover made getting at least one a clear priority.

After whittling down their list to a select few, Rice keyed in on Conway, Arkansas product Jovoni Johnson. The 6-foot-5, 205-pound dual threat quarterback held offers from Central Arkansas, Delta St, Ouachita Baptist and Arkansas Tech. Instead of staying near home, he elected to head south to Houston. Johnson made his pledge to Rice during the Owls’ first official visit weekend of 2019.

Johnson brings a unique skillset to the table. Not only can he sling it, but he also carries the ball with power. Slides don’t make the highlight tapes, neither does throwing the ball away. Nevertheless, Johnson’s willingness to power through contact and make plays however possible make his upside exciting. A year or two under the tutelage of Bloomgren and offensive coordinator Jerry Mack should unlock even more ability from an already talented athlete.

The quarterback room is better and much more diverse with the addition of Johnson. Adding his skillset to the flashes of production this offense saw from Wiley Green and Evan Marshman last season makes for a brighter future for Rice quarterbacks in 2019 and beyond. Johnson is a big pickup for this class and one of the finishing touches for the staff in the final days before National Signing Day.

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MBB: Old Dominion could be Owls’ toughest road test yet

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Rice basketball heads north to Virginia for one of their most challenging road games of the season. How to the Owls stack up against Old Dominion?

Coming off their first road win in conference play, Rice will be tasked with earning their first road winning streak on Saturday against Old Dominion. The Monarchs are one of the hottest teams in Conference USA right now, but the Owls have played them close in recent years. Rice and Old Dominion went to overtime last year and the Owls’ lone head-to-head win came at Ted Constant Convocation Center in 2015.

The game is scheduled for TV broadcast on ESPN+. Radio is available via the Stretch Internet Portal.

Old Dominion 17-6 (7-3), Last 5 (4-1)

  • W, 72-61 vs North Texas
  • L, 74-73 @ UTSA
  • W, 50-48 @ UTEP
  • W, 76-70 vs Charlotte
  • W, 78-60 vs Southern Miss

Rice 9-13 (4-5), Last 5 (2-3)

  • W, 65-61 vs Charlotte
  • L, 89-86 vs UAB
  • W, 79-68 vs MTSU
  • L, 76-75 @ North Texas
  • L, 65-64 @ UTEP

Old Dominion players to watch

BJ. Stith and Ahmad Caver could be one of the best scoring tandems in Conference USA. Collectively the pair averages 35.0 points per game while also accounting for 13.4 rebounds. As they lead the charge, the rest of the unit fills in with superb defense. The Monarchs allow a CUSA-best 61.4 points per game and are outrebounding their opponents by an average of 5.7 boards per game. Smith is sixth in the conference, averaging 7.7 rebounds.

Rice keys to victory

Old Dominion has lost only one home game this season, falling by three points to a tough Marshall team who’s hovered around the top of the Conference USA standings all season.  In that game Marshall did two things extremely well: share the basketball and play fundamentally sound basketball.

If Rice is going to knock off Old Dominion, they’ll need to limit their turnovers. They’ve averaged 13.8 turnovers over their last five games and have a -3.44 turnover margin in conference play. The ODU defense is stiff enough without doing them any additional favors. Rice needs to play smart and take care of the basketball. If they can do that, they have more than enough firepower to pull off the upset.

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