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Rice Football Recruiting: Breaking Down the 2026 Signees – Defense, Special Teams

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The 2026 Rice Football Recruiting class includes several hand-picked impact players on defense and special teams. Here’s how those sides of the ball stacks up.

The 2026 Rice football recruiting class began with 18 signees during the Early Signing Period, the second recruiting haul for new head coach Scott Abell. Of those players, 16 are current high school seniors, eight play on the offensive side of the ball, plus one specialist.

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“I think we have found some great future Owls who are going to have an impact on our program,” Abell said during his introductory remarks regarding the group.

We’ve gone position by position breaking down each of those new people, dissecting how these Owls will help the program on the field.

* Denotes players who will enroll early in January

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** This piece has been updated to reflect new signees as of 2/5/2025 **
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Rice Football Recruiting: EDGE JD Singletary commits to Owls

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The 2026 Rice Football recruiting class has added another pass rusher to its ranks. Middletown (OH) edge JD Singletary has committed to the Owls.

The defensive front is looking rather nice as far as the 2026 Rice Football recruiting class is concerned. Following a commitment from defensive end Quincy Tchikou to kick off the month of June, the Owls had added another potential difference-maker in the trenches. Milddletown (OH) Edge JD Singletary has committed to the Owls.

Singletary had already racked up more than a dozen offers before he’d decided to shut it down in favor of the Owls. Rice beat out offers from Kentucky, West Virginia, Appalachian State, Marshall, Toledo, Temple and others.

The summer months typically mark the heart of the recruiting calendar with official visits and camps scattered throughout the next several weeks. To get Singletary and Tchikou in the fold as building blocks for the class is a tremendous accomplishment. That tandem has Rice set up for a impressive first full class under head coach Scott Abell and his staff.

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Singletary is a disruptor in every sense of the word. His film demonstrates a cavalcade of sacks and pressures, using a variety of tools to beat his man and find his way into the offensive backfield. His 6-foot-3, 220-pound frame should be fertile soil as he develops at the next level.

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