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Rice Football 2021: Captains, position battles and practice notes

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Rice football announced captains this week and solidified some of the final starting spots for Saturday’s opener against Arkansas.

The 2021 Rice football season is approaching quickly. Rice football has wrapped up its final full practice prior to their flight to Arkansas. And has been customary over the last several years, the Owls announced their captains for the season at what is officially the end of fall camp.

This update will kick off with more on who those captains, including a significant quarterback inclusion, then we’ll turn our attention to (primarily) good news on the injury front, updates on key position battles at linebacker and corner and some last-minute notes from practice before the season begins on Saturday.

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For those checking in for the first time, or those returning, a quick programming note. Practice reports are reserved for our subscribers. If you want updates on how Rice football plans to deploy its quarterbacks, position battles, standouts, injuries and more, this is your go-to source. You can get access to all practice notes, recruiting updates and special features like this one when you subscribe to our All-American Tier on Patreon today.

2021 Rice Football Captains Announced

As has been customary under Mike Bloomgren, Rice football announced its 2021 captains after wrapping up the final full practice prior to their season-opening game.

Jordan Myers and Cam Riddle are making repeat appearances after being chosen as captains by their teammates last season. Wiley Green, Trey Schuman and Naeem Smith are new additions this season.

This is Schuman’s fifth season at Rice. He made his collegiate debut at Stanford as a true freshman in 2017 and a fixture in the starting lineup when healthy since 2019.  Smith arrived at Rice in 2019 and became a vocal leader for the defense quickly. Like with Myers and Riddle, their teammates are quick to listen when they offer advice.

The Roost Podcast: Arkansas Game Preview

Green’s journey has been somewhat unique. He began his Rice career as the scout team quarterback in 2018, rising to starter midseason. He battled for the top job in 2019, making seven starters before falling behind in the pecking order in 2020, seeing only one relief appearance.

Many college football players have thrown in the towel after much less daunting odds, but Green persevered and remains the most probable man to get the opening snap against Arkansas. That speaks volumes to Green’s character and perseverance and how highly his teammates value his leadership. Starter or not, Green’s spot in the captain’s circle is significant.

Key players returning to practice

Rice has seen significantly better injury luck during fall camp this year compared to last year, but there have been some bumps and bruises along the way. It’s likely Rice will be without a handful of players on Saturday — but some good news, too — a few key players did return to practice this week.

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Rice Football Recruiting: Breaking down the 2021 signees – Defense

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The 2021 Rice Football Recruiting class has stocked with defensive talent at all three levels from a rangy secondary to powerful additions in the front seven.

Rice signed 18 players on the first day of the Early Signing Period. Of their new additions, 16 are current high school seniors. 11 of them play on the defensive side of the ball, the focal point of this update. Subscribers can check out this position by position breakdown of the 2021 Rice Football recruiting class.

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Defensive Line (4) – Cal Varner, Jalen Hargrove, Elroyal Morris, Blake Boenisch
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Rice Football Recruiting: 5 Takeaways from 2021 Early Signing Period

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The first members of the 2021 Rice Football recruiting class signed this week, setting the stage for an exciting future at South Main.

The ink is starting to dry on the first day of the Early Signing Period and the 2021 Rice Football recruiting class is off to a great start. Rice signed 18 players, representing the majority of their scholarship additions to their 2021 class.

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This class isn’t done yet — there are still a few more weeks before National Signing Day in February — but as it currently stands, here are a few immediate reactions from a group that could end up being pretty special for the Owls.

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1. Ratings boost

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Rice Football Recruiting: 2021 Early Signing Period Live Blog

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The majority of the 2021 Rice Football Recruiting class will become signees during the early signing period. Follow all the action here.

Recruiting is the lifeblood of all college football programs and Rice is not different. The Owls have brought in a tremendous amount of talent under Mike Bloomgren so far and this week will continue that trend. This live tracker will follow all the latest news and updates through the week, with some notes along the way on the class as it is finalized. If you’re not a subscriber yet, here’s your chance.

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Which newcomers will make sizable impacts like Khalan Griffin, Gabe Taylor and others did this year? This class has plenty of talent which could find its way to the field soon.

Now, let’s dig into the latest from the Early Signing Period, below.

Updates

3:43 p.m.

Closing thoughts: Rice adds for the present and future with talented 2021 class

Rice Football Recruiting: Owls move from “needs” to “wants” with 2021 class

12:17 p.m.

Wide receiver MJ Singleton is the only scholarship commit not to sign today. He told me earlier in the week he’d be signing in February. That appears to still be the case, but we’ll follow up on him soon. With that, Rice has announced the remainder of their 2021 class.

Head coach Mike Bloomgren will meet with the media at 1:00 p.m. today, then we’ll have some further remarks to share with everyone.

9:53 a.m.

And one from the West Coast. Offensive lineman Faaeanuu Pepe has sent in his letter of intent.

7:42 a.m.

Two more in the trenches. Offensive lineman John Long and defensive lineman Elroyal Morris have signed.

7:39 a.m.

The entire linebacking corps is now in. Kenny Seymour has signed with Rice.

7:37 a.m.

Defensive lineman Blake Boenisch makes it six signees from Texas thus far.

7:29 a.m.

Another Katy product has inked with the Owls, defensive end Cal Varner is in. Right after him, tight end Jaggar Hebeisen‘s signature comes in, as well as another Alabama product, wide receiver Jayden Folmar.

7:26 a.m.

Another from Alabama, this time its wide receiver Peyton Stevenson.

7:18 a.m.

Just picked up a wave of Texas signees: linebackers Aidan Siano and DJ Arkansas as well as offensive lineman Ethan Onianwa are all in.

7:07 a.m.

Make that two from the Yellowhammer state. Fellow safety Marcus Williams has also signed.

7:05 a.m.

The first of a sizable Alabama contingent is on board. Safety Joshua Williams has signed.

6:40 a.m.

A quick reminder, recruits can sign at 7:00 a.m. local time, so the bulk of the Texas and Alabama commits should start getting finalized in the next hour or so.

6:25 a.m.

Defensive lineman Jalen Hargrove is in. That should wrap up the early morning east coast contingent.

6:14 a.m.

That’s two, and this one is a big one. Rice has its quarterback in the boat. Shawqi Itraish has signed.

6:08 a.m.

The first signature is in! Corner  Jonathan “Jojo” Jean is officially an Owl.

5:47 a.m.

Good morning folks. We’ll be posting updates here throughout the morning as players sign as well as updated the recruiting tracker. Should be a good day.

Tuesday night

The majority of the 2021 Rice Football recruiting class is in the boat prior to the beginning of the Early Signing Period. In most typical years, we’d have a firmer timetable of who is putting pen to paper when, but COVID-19 has impacted some of the traditional ceremonies. Players are eligible to fax in their signatures starting at 7:00 a.m. local time.

Rice has the No. 4 class entering Wednesday morning. From a rating perspective, the Owls are on track to surpass last seasons’ average rating, the highest ever from a Rice recruiting class.

Make sure to stay tuned on Twitter and follow our live blog here during the day for updates. Get the latest list of the 2021 Rice Football Recruiting commits by clicking the tracker below.

Rice Football, Rice Football Recruiting

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Rice Football Recruiting: 2021 DL Elroyal Morris commits to Owls

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The 2021 Rice Football recruiting class continues to grow. Dekaney defensive lineman Elroyal Morris has committed to the Owls.

Rice football recruiting has developed a pretty strong track record. They’re not afraid to be the first to offer anyone who meets their rigorous criteria. Those were the circumstances surrounding the recruitment of Dekaney lineman Elroyal Morris.

Rice was the first to offer Morris. They were active in his recruitment from start to finish. In many ways, everything went according to plan.

The Owls offered Morris on National Signing Day as part of a 2021 blitz that included a half dozen other offers. Morris had already established a relationship with the staff at that point and seemed poised to make the jump in short order. His social media accounts profile pictures reflected him decked out in Rice attire, all that was left was to make his lean official.

More: 2021 Rice Football Recruiting Tracker

Morris has done that now, committing to Rice amidst the coronavirus lockdown. He becomes the seventh member of the 2021 Rice Football Recruiting class and the second defensive line commit, joining Blake Boenisch, another Houston-area product.

Rice has broadcast its commitment to a national recruiting strategy, but they’ve maintained a commitment to winning in-state too. Six of the Owls’ seven commits hail from the state of Texas.

The 2021 defensive haul is starting to look rather impressive. Along with Boenisch and Morris, a trio of linebackers rounds out Conference USA’s top-ranked recruiting class. The Owls were already No. 1 on that front before adding Morris to the fold. He’ll add to the Owls’ advantage as the Early Signing Period begins to approach.

Standing 6-foot-3 and tipping the scales at 270 pounds, Morris is a bully in the trenches. He’ll enter Rice with a frame ready to be built upon, already set with a strong foundation for his future.

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