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Rice Football: Tracking NFL Owls on pro rosters in 2019

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Several former Rice football stars who are currently playing at the next level. Here’s where the NFL Owls will suit up in 2019.

Nine former Rice football players were on NFL rosters in 2018. Four of those players are staying put with the same team this coming season. A few others have found new teams, while several are still on the hunt. Here’s where each of the Owls stands entering the 2019 season.

Active players

Calvin Anderson (Broncos) – Anderson was signed from the Jets practiced squad to the Broncos roster on Oct. 1 as first reported by The Roost.

Chris Boswell (Steelers)  – Signed through 2022 on a four-year, $16.8 million deal

Bryce Callahan (Broncos) – Formerly with the Bears, Callahan signed a three-year, $21 million deal with the Broncos this offseason. His contract runs through 2021.

Christian Covington (Cowboys) – Formerly with the Texans, Covington signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal with the Dallas Cowboys this offseason.

Emmanuel Ellerbee (Seahawks) – Signed through 2019 on a one-year, $570,000 deal

Phillip Gaines (Texans) – After being released with an injury settlement by the Browns, Gaines signed a one-year, $805K deal with the Texans.

Vance McDonald (Steelers) –  Signed through 2021 on a three-year, $19.6 million deal

Andrew Sendejo (Vikings) – Formerly with Eagles, the former Viking was claimed by Minnesota on waivers following his release from the Eagles in Week 9. He’s back with the Vikings now.

Luke Willson (Seahawks) – Briefly with the Raiders, Willson signed a one-year, $805K deal with the Seahawks following Week 3 of the 2019 season.

Practice squad

Jack Fox (Lions) – Undrafted in the 2019 NFL Draft, Fox signed with the Kansas City Chiefs. He’s been on and off the Chiefs’ practice squad this season and had workouts elsewhere before signing with the Lions in November.

Free agents

Jordan Taylor – Formerly of the Broncos, Taylor signed a one-year deal with the Raiders before he was released during roster cutdowns at the end of the preseason.

Austin Walter Undrafted in the 2019 NFL Draft, Walter signed with the Giants’ practice squad before being promoted to the active roster in Week 6. He was waived following the game.

**All contractual information sources from OverTheCap and SpotRac**

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Rice Football Pro Day results and workout updates

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The Rice Football Pro Day was held on Monday, March 25 in front of scouts and NFL onlookers who flocked to Houston to see four Owls work out.

A 2019 roster laden with freshman and sophomores still produced a few players with professional football aspirations. Four of those now former Owls put their abilities to the test on Rice Football’s 2019 Pro Day. Punter Jack Fox, fullback Gio Gentosi, edge rusher Graysen Schantz and all-purpose back Austin Walter will participate in NFL Combine-style drills as well as on-field workouts

From my count, seven different NFL teams were in attendance: Jets, Panthers, Colts, Browns, Raiders, 49ers and Texans.

Jack Fox, Punter — 6-2 5/8, 213

Coming off a season in which he was nominated for Ray Guy Award, Fox attended the NFL Combine and the NFL Shrine Game this spring. Monday will mark his third opportunity to kick in front of NFL personnel in hopes of being selected in the upcoming NFL Draft.

Workout notes

Fox did a full array of drills: directional punting, distance punting and backed up in the endzone. He drilled some nice balls with a few hang times in the area of 4.8 seconds.

Highlights

 

 

 

Gio Gentosi, Fullback — 6-0 1/8, 239

Gentosi came to Rice in the fall of 2019 after graduating from UCLA. He saw sparse playing time for the Bruins before earning the starting fullback job with the Owls. He scored his first collegiate touchdown in his final game against Old Dominion. Gentosi did not participate in any on-field workouts.

 

 

Grayson Schantz, Defensive End — 6-2 5/8, 247

Schantz battled injuries throughout a lengthy college career which comes to an end following the 2019 season. He registered a season-high nine tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery against UTEP.

Vertical 33
Broad 95

Workout notes

Schantz participated in just about every drill including a few as a pass catcher. He exhibited his power and burst well on the bag drills toward the later portion of the day.

Highlights

 

 

 

Austin Walter, Running back — 5-6 7/8, 194

At one point the national leader in All-Purpose yardage, Walter became one of the Owls’ most versatile weapons on offense in 2019. He raised some eyebrows with a 4.49 40-yard dash time at the NFL Regional Combine in mid-March.

Vertical 31
Broad 89
Bench 15

Workout notes

Walter had a few hiccups on his starts in the 40-yard dash and shuttle drills. Once he settled in he posted times of 4.54 in the 40 and 6.75 in the three cone drill. The pass catching drills are where he shined the brightest, including a nice acrobatic catch on a ball throw with a bit too much juice over the middle. He hauled in everything and moved quickly in the agility drills.

Highlights

 

 

What’s next?

The NFL Draft runs from April 25 to April 27. It goes without saying the NFL is the primary goal for all college football players, but there are only so many roster spots to go around. There will be opportunities in the newly formed Alliance of American Football as well as the coming XFL reboot. Those who don’t stick in the NFL or don’t receive a camp invite could have further opportunities.

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Jack Fox earns invite to 2019 NFL Combine

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Former Rice football punter Jack Fox has been honored with an invitation to the 2019 NFL Combine to workout in front of NFL teams in Indianapolis.

Jack Fox is one step closer to achieving his NFL dreams. The former Rice football punter has received an invitation to participate in the 2019 NFL Combine. A trip to Indianapolis doesn’t guarantee Fox a professional career, but it does give him one more touchpoint with NFL teams, several of which will have interest.

Special teams continue to grow as an area of importance in the college and pro game. One doesn’t have to look much further than the Los Angeles Rams, who clinched a Super Bowl berth on the leg (and the arm) of punter Johnny Hekker.

Fox showed off his impressive leg at the East-West Shrine Game in mid-January. He already compares favorably in several measures to the punters drafted in previous years. He’s answered every test with a resounding “Yes”. There’s no reason to expect anything else when Fox works out for every NFL team for the second time in a little over a month’s time.

The NFL Combine is scheduled to begin Tuesday, Feb. 26 and end on Monday, Mar. 4. Specialists will arrive on Day 1 where they’ll complete the necessary registration and orientation. Measurements will be taken on Day 2 with media sessions and on-field kicking workouts scheduled to take place on Day 3. The final day, Day 4, will include televised on-field workouts and then the whirlwind will be over.

Those days will come, and if the past year is any indication, he’ll be ready to rise to the occasion. For Fox, this is just the next chapter, one that he’s been prepared for the entire way.

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Jack Fox measures up to recent drafted punters

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Jack Fox, Rice football’s ace punter, has his eyes set on the NFL Draft. Will a brilliant showing at the East-West Shrine Game be enough to earn a selection?

After a strong showing in practices leading up the exhibition, Jack Fox wowed under the lights in Tampa at the East-West Shrine Game. The Ray Guy Award semifinalist booted five kicks, downing three inside the 20 with a long of 57 yards. Now he’s on to the NFL Draft.

Fox hasn’t learned yet whether or not he’ll be invited to the 2019 NFL Combine. It goes without saying an invitation would be a plus. The trip to Indianapolis would afford him one more chance to speak with NFL teams.

With or without an invitation, Fox will be fine. He had the opportunity to speak with all 32 teams during the Shrine Game festivities. Those conversations were extremely positive and gave the Fox camp a better understanding of the teams with which he would be the best fit.

At this point, Fox is going to get a shot. The biggest question that remains is this: will he be pursuing his professional football future as a 2019 NFL Draft selection or as an undrafted free agent?

There have been 37 punters taken in the NFL Draft since 2000, roughly two per year. Four punters were selected in the 2018 draft, with Michael Dickson from Texas coming off the board first in the fifth round. The all-time record for most punters selected is five, most recently in 1983.

Two of three finalists for the Ray Guy Award, Texas A&M’s Braden Mann and Cincinnati’s James Smith are all returning to school next season. Utah’s Mitch Wishnowsky, Stanford’s Jake Bailey and NC State’s AJ Cole will challenge Fox for the top spot on team’s punter boards.

By the numbers

Here’s how Fox stacks up against Wishnowsky and Bailey as well as every punter drafted in the past five drafts. Data is from each player’s final college football season. **Note: not all data was readily available for FCS players. Table scrolls left to right.**

PlayerTeamPuntsYdsAvgLgTBIN20BlkNetRetRYdsSeason
Michael DicksonTEX84398447.476842044.2171122017
Johnny TownsendFLA64304347.570527140.6283062017
Mitch WishnowskyUTAH59266945.268424340.613712018
Drew KaserTAMU60284847.571921040.5222412015
Jack FoxRICE80363645.5761331140.1151272018
Jake BaileySTAN6829954484102404014752018
JK ScottALA54232043644271406342017
Bradley PinionCLEM76323742.660228039.8271742014
Riley DixonSYR65283943.764528139.7141192015
Pat O'DonnellMIA53249847.171919139.3161962013
Logan CookeMSST52222042.767520139.28402017
Lachlan EdwardsSHSU74307441.5628190NANANA2015

Drafted or not. Jack Fox can punt. He’ll get a chance one way or another.

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Owls in the NFL – 2018 Wrap up

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Rice football has nine alumni currently active on NFL rosters. Here’s how the NFL Owls fared through the entirety of the 2018 season.

Chris Boswell, K (Steelers) – Boswell made 13 of his 20 field goal attempts this year, missing more than four attempts for the first time in his professional career all the while dealing with injuries which caused him to miss two games. His highlight play came in Week 12, a 2-yard touchdown pass on a fake field goal. He ended the season on IR.

Bryce Callahan, CB (Bears) – Callahan set career highs in tackles (45), tackles for a loss (6) and quarterback hits (5), tying personal bests for passes defended (6) and interceptions (2). Like Boswell and several other Owls, he ended his season on IR, missing the Bears’ final three games of the regular season.

Christian Covington, DE (Texans) – Covington had a strong season which came to an end in the Texan’s Wildcard Round loss to the Colts. Highlighted by a 2.5 sack breakout against the Titans in Week 12, Covington finished the year with a career-best 3.5 sacks and eight quarterback hits.

Phillip Gaines, CB (Browns) – Gaines started the year with the Bills before being cut after seven games. He was picked up by the Browns and played in four contests before an injury forced him to miss the remainder of the season. Between both stops he registered 39 tackles and two passes defended.

Vance McDonald, TE (Steelers) – McDonald was an important piece in the Pittsburgh offense this season, finishing third on the team in targets, receiving yards and touchdowns, trailing only Antonio Brown and Vance McDonald. All such marks were career highs.

Andrew Sendejo, S (Vikings) – Sendejo was productive for the Vikings in five weeks before suffering a groin injury that ultimately landed him on injured reserve. He started the first five weeks, registering 27 tackles, 21 of them solo. He was on pace for a career-best 67 solo tackles before his season came to an end.

Jordan Taylor, WR (Broncos) – Taylor never saw the field for Denver this season after hip surgery landed him on the PUP list to start the season. He was able to return to practice in mid-October but was never activated during the season.

Luke Wilson, TE (Lions) – Wilson started eight games for the Lions this year. He caught 13 passes for 87 yards, failing to score for the first time in his six-year NFL career.

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