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2025 Rice Football Season Preview: Slot

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Next up in our 2025 Rice Football Season Preview: slot. Here’s our breakdown of the Owls’ plans for the group this season.

The new Rice football offense brings with it new positions. Out are the fullbacks, no longer listed in any capacity on the Owls’ roster. In their place, head coach Scott Abell has introduced the Slot position, a crucial cog in his spread option attack. There’s a lot to unpack with this group that is expected to play a pivotal role for the Owls this season.

Rice Football Preseason Preview: Check out the rest of the series here.

This piece is part of our 2025 Rice Football Season Preview. Get access to it, as well as all other preview posts such as positional breakdowns, depth chart and schedule analysis and more when you subscribe on Patreon today. 

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** Photo credit: Maria Lysaker **

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Rice Football 2025 Fall Camp Notebook: Early Returns

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The first practices of Rice Football fall camp are in the books. Here are a few things that stood out the most in the early work to this point.

It’s always exciting to begin a new season and the first days of Rice football fall camp had a buzz about them, even with the sweltering Houston heat hanging in the air. The Owls continued their installs on both sides of the ball and got a look at their many new faces who have arrived in the past few weeks.

Rice Football Preseason Preview: Check out the rest of the series here.

This update runs through the early standouts and notables with some comments from Abell and early takeaways through the first two days of camp.

Getting started on the right foot

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Rice Football Recruiting: Slot Max Balthazar commits to Owls

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Another Transfer Portal addition is on his way to join the 2025 Rice football recruiting class. Coastal Carolina playmaker Max Balthazar has committed to the Owls.

Adding experienced playmakers on both sides of the ball is the ideal use for the spring Transfer Portal window and the 2025 Rice Football recruiting class has done just that. A running back at his previous stop who will line up as a slot at South Main, Coastal Carolina athlete Max Balthazar has committed to the Owls.

After a redshirt season in 2021, Balthazar started to grow his role at Coastal Carolina. He played in eight games in 2022 before appearing in every game the following season, seeing work as a rusher and receiver out of the backfield. Unfortunately, he would miss the entirety of his 2024 season with an injury before opting to enter the portal this spring.

A 5-foot-11, 205-pound back, Balthazar carried the ball 70 times for 352 yards (5.0 yards per carry) while catching 11 passes for 82 yards. That versatility makes him an ideal piece to transition to the slot. Before his addition, the Owls didn’t have anyone on the roster at that position of his size.

“I feel like I’ll fit in really well,” Balthazar told The Roost. “It’s an offense that puts the ball in their playmakers’ hands, and it’s tough to stop. I believe it’s going to be a lot of fun running this system.”

Balthazar is the third transfer addition of the spring cycle for Rice football so far. Earlier in the week, the Owls received commitments from SMU running back LJ Johnson and North Texas defensive tackle VJ Bronson.

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Balthazar says he views himself as “a very balanced back,” adding “I don’t believe I’m one dimensional.”

It only takes a cursory look at Balthazar’s tape to see the fit. He’s a physical runner who moves well in space. That will give head coach Scott Abell and the offensive staff another chess piece to work with as they work to assemble the offense in the fall.

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