Scott Abell’s first new high school addition to the 2025 Rice Football Recruiting class is in. Offensive lineman Justin Michaelis has committed to the Owls.

The first objective for Scott Abell was to retain as many existing commitments to the 2025 Rice Football recruiting class as possible. With that objective largely met and a dozen players signed in December, he and his staff were able to turn their attention to potential new additions, landing their first from the high school ranks this week. Offensive lineman Justin Michaelis has committed to the Owls.

The connection between Michaelis and Rice is rather straightforward. His father, Derek Michaelis, played baseball for Rice from 1998-2000 before going on to reach AAA within the Los Angeles Dodgers organization.

Further still, Justin was offered by Abell at Davidson before subsequently being reoffered by Abell when he took the job at South Main. After letting the dust settle on most of the coaching staff, Michaelis then quickly opted to follow Abell to Rice where he became the fourth new member of the class.

The marriage of family ties and Abell’s scheme made it an easy decision. “I like how run-heavy they were,” Michaelis told The Roost. “They don’t just have the offensive line sit back and pass block. They instead use them to attack the defense and block and that’s what I like to do.”

The previous trio of new faces all hailed from the transfer portal. In the weeks between Abell’s hiring and Christmas the Owls signed JUCO defensive backs Jerrick Harper and Jo Chavez as well as former Cincinnati wide receiver Aaron Turner.

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Clearly the staff liked what they saw on film when they offered Michaelis the first time and those traits pop immediately upon further examination. Despite being a relatively large human being (6-foot-4, 290 pounds), Michaelis has quick feet and moves well.

“I feel that my lower body and explosiveness is my strength,” he said. “I am very hard and powerful off the ball and can down block or get to the second level very well.”

He’s well suited for this offense and has experience playing with his hand in the dirt and up as more of a tradition h-back or fullback role.

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