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Rice Football 2022 Team MVP: Bradley Rozner

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Wide receiver Bradley Rozner made plays that won games, often putting the team on his back in key moments. He’s our 2022 Rice Football team MVP.

The story of how Bradley Rozner impacted Rice football in 2022 can’t be told on one play, but it’s fitting there is one moment that stands out above the rest and it’s equally fitting that one man rose to the occasion when his team needed it the most. In a do-or-die moment, Bradley Rozner reminded everyone why he was our 2022 Rice Football team MVP.

It’s already been written about in much more detail here, but the cliff notes version is pretty simple. Rice was tied with UTEP with 30 seconds on the clock and in range for about a 40-yard field goal should the gain no more ground. Rather than settle for the kick attempt, head coach Mike Bloomgren called up Rozner’s number and quarterback TJ McMahon hit No. 2 a step in front of the pylon or the game-winning score.

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“It’s kind of like [we] dare people to cover him one on one,” Bloomgren joked after the game. “That’s a heck of a weapon to have as your X-receiver.”

In what felt like a must-win game after falling to Charlotte the week prior, Rozner made what might have ended up becoming the most defining moment of the 2022 Rice football season. And that weapon, as Bloomgren referred to him, did much more than terrorize UTEP.

Rozner finished the 2022 campaign with 876 yards and 10 touchdowns. He became the first Rice football player to have double-digit receiving touchdowns in a single season since Jarrett Dillard and James Casey each accomplished the feat in 2008.

The depth at the wide receiver position allowed Rice to spread the ball out more often this year than they had in the past, but whether it was a highlight reel day or not, Rozner always seemed to make an impact that changed the game. He had 100 yards receiving or a touchdown in eight of the Owls’ 12 games this season.

More: Defensive Player of the Year — Josh Pearcy

What makes that run of dominance even more special is the path Rozner took to get to this point. After a breakthrough 2019 season, Rozner missed essentially the entirety of the 2020 and 2021 season with injuries, catching just two passes in the 2021 season opener against Arkansas before being shelved for the year.

Rozner’s first of two touchdowns in the Owls’ runaway win over McNeese State in their home opener was his first home touchdown in his Rice football career and his first touchdown grab as an Owl since November 16, 2019 against Middle Tennessee. Rozner’s emergence had been a long time coming.

Making it back to the field in any capacity and contributing to the offense would have been a relief for Rozner who hadn’t seen the field in such a long time. Becoming a go-to game-breaker was even more impressive. In many ways, it’s just like that game-winning score against UTEP. Someone gave Rozner a chance. He did the rest.

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Rice Football 2022 Defensive Player of the Year: Josh Pearcy

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A first-year team captain, Joshua Pearcy did not disappoint, leading the team in sacks on his way to becoming our 2022 Rice Football Defensive Player of the Year.

Having too many good players is a coach’s dream. That’s one of the reasons head coach Mike Bloomgren wasn’t too worried about how the preseason rotation on the edge would play out. Regardless of who “won”, Rice would be better. Joshua Pearcy emerged from the competition and parlayed that into an outstanding season worthy of being named our 2022 Rice Football Defensive Player of the Year.

Through camp, the conversation at Pearcy’s position centered around how the defensive staff would get both Pearcy and fellow edge rusher Kenneth Orji on the field. Pearcy was coming off a tremendous 58 tackle, four sack performance when the competition began to heat up in earnest this spring.

It was during those spring sessions that defensive coordinator Brian Smith began to drop some breadcrumbs. “He’s playing better than he ever has,” Smith said of Pearcy, going on to detail what sort of packages they could use to get both him and Orji on the field. In the end though, not only did Pearcy win the job, his rapid ascent just continued to reach new heights.

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Pearcy was named a captain prior to the season, in part because of his impressive work on special teams. Special teams coordinator Chris Monfilleto singled him out as one of the key voices of the unit. Pearcy had tied for the team lead in special team tackles the season before.

In addition to his special team’s work, Pearcy became a leader of the defense too. He finished fourth on the team in tackles in 2022, the most among any defensive lineman on the roster. His 10 tackles for a loss and 6.5 sacks put him in the top seven in both categories among all Conference USA defenders. He had become a force.

“We got to stop the run [and] make the plays that we’re supposed to make,” Pearcy said of the defense heading into the regular season finale. “But when it comes down to those plays where talent takes over, beyond just doing your job, you got to make those plays too.”

Those plays, the ones that prove differential, game-changing. Those are the plays that Pearcy gravitated to the most.

More: Offensive Player of the Year — Luke McCaffrey

It’s no coincidence that Pearcy started in what was arguably the most emphatic defensive play of the season, cementing an upset win over UAB for the second consecutive year. The Blazers had the ball on the Rice 35-yard line with time ticking under one minute to play. After a sack by Trey Schuman on first down, Pearcy was credited with a forced fumble on the next play, forcing third and long.

UAB nearly converted a game-winning hail mary to upend the Owls last season, but Rice was saved via penalty. This time, it was Pearcy, who sacked quarterback Dylan Hopkins on the final play of regulation to secure the win and enable Rice to move to 3-2 on the season.

Pearcy would go on to make more plays, including tying a season-high seven tackles with one sack and 1.5 tackles for a loss in the Owls’ Lending Tree Bowl matchup with Southern Miss. All three of those measures tied or lead the team outright. In another big moment, Pearcy showed up. Because that’s what great players do. The answer to the preseason musings had been solved. No matter what Rice football chooses to do, they’d better make sure Josh Pearcy is on the field.

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Rice Football 2022 Offensive Player of the Year: Luke McCaffrey

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First-year wide receiver Luke McCaffrey proved to be a game-changer at his new position and was a clear pick for our 2022 Rice Football Offensive Player of the Year.

More than a year ago, amidst introductions of another decorated 2022 Rice football recruiting class, head coach Mike Bloomgren dropped one not-so-subtle nugget regarding one of her current players. Luke McCaffrey, brought to campus to play quarterback, would be playing wide receiver going forward. “It was Luke’s idea,” Bloomgren shared

By the time spring practice came around a few months later, McCaffrey seemed to be taking to the new position like a fish to water. His route running was smooth. His cuts were crisp. And if all else failed, he could beat most every defensive back that lined up against him in a footrace.

“Quarterback was something I loved,” McCaffrey admitted. “But I’m so happy I made the switch.”

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Wide receivers coach Mike Kershaw was just as happy about the switch. It didn’t take more than a few practices in the spring to understand the possibilities McCaffrey as a receiver would bring to the Rice offense. “He’s that puzzle piece that has a lot of different prongs to it. The creativity you can come up with him is endless,” Kershaw said. “He will not stand in one spot.”

Kershaw’s prediction would come true in the months ahead. McCaffrey hauled in nine passes for 46 yards in his first two contests before exploding for 105 yards and two touchdowns on 10 receptions in his third game playing the position. He followed that up with a seven-catch, 121-yard and one-touchdown game the week following against Houston.

As it weren’t clear enough at that moment, McCaffrey was proving to be even more lethal as a pass catcher in space than he was with the ball in his hands under center but even he would testify that his experience as a quarterback helped him fully understand this other side of the offense.

Offensive coordinator Marques Tuiasosopo, who watched the entire development process unfold before his eyes, was amazed. “I do think he’s special,” he said of the Owls’ newfound pass-catching weapon.

McCaffrey would go into the bye week averaging 72.2 yards per game and just shy of a touchdown per contest, with a few near-misses scattered in between. No Rice receiver would average more yards per game during the season than McCaffrey did during that stretch, and it was just the beginning of his career as a wideout.

“He’s playing well and a lot of people will forget, this is his first year playing receiver,” Kershaw mentioned during the Owls’ bye week. “He’s played five games at the position. He’s still learning.”

After a quiet game for the Rice offense against Florida Atlantic, McCaffrey exploded the following weekend against Louisiana Tech. He amassed 202 all-purpose yards, catching 10 passes with two scores through the air and another on the ground. He was unstoppable. It was his third 100-yard receiving game in seven tries.

McCaffrey would score again the following week against Charlotte but left the next contest against UTEP early with an ankle injury. That would essentially sideline him for the remainder of the regular season, one single snap against Western Kentucky notwithstanding.

More: Rice Football Iron Man — Shea Baker

Through the first nine games that McCaffrey was able to start, Rice was 5-4. They would lose the final four contests, with McCaffrey playing in just the bowl game against Southern Miss. 100 percent or not, he still posted seven receptions (all other Rice receivers had eight combined) and 67 yards.

It would be hyperbole to call McCaffrey the silver bullet, but there was no denying he made the Rice football offense work. Three of the Owls’ five worse scoring outputs of the season came without him in the lineup (at WKU, vs UTSA, at North Texas).

The emergence of McCaffrey coincided with an offensive awakening that never seemed to be fully realized. Rice football is better with McCaffrey on the field and the Owls are fortunate he’s got more eligibility to spend catching footballs at South Main.

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Rice Football 2022 Iron Man: Shea Baker

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In a season filled with ups and downs, offensive lineman Shea Baker steadied the offense on his way to being named our 2022 Rice Football Iron Man.

To some extent, everything about the Rice football program has changed in the past five seasons. A new head coach, upgraded facilities and a revamped roster make it hardly recognizable from the scene head coach Mike Bloomgren walked into when he was hired following the 2017 season. But at least one thing has been constant, our 2022 Rice Football Iron Man award winner Shea Baker.

When Baker donned his helmet for the final time against Southern Miss in the Lending Tree Bowl he put an exclamation point on a Rice football record that won’t soon be broken, if ever. Baker leaves Rice as the all-time leader in career starts, making 53 starts over his six-year career.

Prior to Baker, Chris Boswell held the record at 51 starts. Starting statistics weren’t officially kept in Rice game books until the mid-1990s. Even then, redshirt rules weren’t what they are today and teams didn’t even play 12-game regular season schedules with regularity for many years afterward. Few players in Rice football history have appeared in 53 games, let alone started.

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Setting start records was never what Baker set out to achieve when he arrived at South Main. He wanted to leave a legacy and help rebuild a program that had fallen on hard times. “It makes you realize how long I’ve actually been here,” Baker said of the record. “It feels good that I’ve broken a record, I can leave a footprint or a legacy and in the process helping this program get to a bowl game.”

How Baker reached that record only served to further amplify how impressive it was. Baker became the skeleton key along the offensive line, flip-flopping between center and guard, sometimes on a week-to-week basis.

Frequent position changes might have fazed some, but not Baker. “I’m used to it,” Baker admitted. “Over the years I’ve gone guard and center more times than I can count. I think I’m about even on starts with guard and center so to me, both are natural positions now. It’s really no issue at all.”

By mid-September, Baker had played more than 3,000 snaps in his Rice football career, a number that is probably closer to 3,500 now. He missed just one start — he was sick during the week with the flu and missed the walk-through — but entered that game in the first quarter anyways.

More: Rice Football Rising Star — Blake Boenisch

It’s going to be surreal watching a Rice football game without number 58 lined up somewhere in the middle of the line. Whether with the ball in his hands or standing just next to center, Baker has been a mainstay in a program that’s changed so much in such a short time. For Baker, he wouldn’t have his legacy remembered in any other way.

When asked about his legacy, Baker’s everyday availability was near to his heart. “Playing as hard as I can, whenever I can, every play,” Baker said. “Being dependable, being the most consistent and best player I can be.”

Because of Baker’s example, Rice football has a standard in the offensive trenches that will live on well past the time he’s done strapping on shoulder pads. Baker was a true iron man, someone that showed up every day to work and set the stage for what he, and others, hope will be an even better future.

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Rice Football 2022 Rising Star: Blake Boenisch

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From a reserve to a marquee defensive player, Blake Boenisch was a difference maker this season and our 2022 Rice Football Rising Star.

If spring ball was any indication, Rice football was going to have an abundance of riches on the defensive line entering the 2022 season. Unlike at wide receiver where injuries thinned the group near the bare minimum number of bodies needed to operate, the defensive line was relatively healthy this year. Which made the emergence of Blake Boenisch, our 2022 Rice Football Rising Star, even more impressive.

When Boenisch arrived on campus, all the reports were glowing. Head coach Mike Bloomgren called him a “big specimen” with “a great mindset” heading into Boenisch’s true freshman season in 2021. The true freshman from Needville, TX would appear in two games, but not record any statistics.

Boenisch would be one of the first to tell you he had to get adjusted to the college game. Everything was a step up, from the workouts to the practice field. The coaching staff was patient, challenging him and working with him until things started to click this spring.

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“The kid is a freak of nature,” fellow teammate and captain Trey Schuman said of Boenisch. “He’s 6-3, 330 and can move. It’s not every day that you see somebody like him. Really the thing about Blake is his maturation process has been insane.”

Following the spring game, Bloomgren began a short synopsis of who he viewed as the players who stood out the most during the sessions. Blake Boenisch was near the top of the list.

“Blake Boenisch made the jump you want someone to take from freshman ball to spring,” Bloomgren said. “And I’m really encouraged by what he’s doing.” Those wishful platitudes would turn into bonafide praise soon enough.

Boenisch saw some action against USC but really made his mark in the Owls’ first home game of the year against McNeese State. De’Braylon Carroll was forced to exit the game early with an injury, opening the door for Boenisch who wasted no time in announcing his presence.

He racked up five tackles including 1.5 sacks, flashing time and time again. It was impossible not to notice how much impact he was having on the field, regardless of whether or not he registered any tangible statistic on the play. He changed the game, no small praise for someone working in just their fourth collegiate contest.

It was wheels up from that point onward. Boenisch would no longer be a “break glass in case of emergency” reserve. He became part of the active rotation, seeing meaningful minutes from that point onward.

More: Special Teams Player of the Year — Christian VanSickle

Boenisch had four tackles against UAB and four more against UTEP on his way to 28 total tackles for the season. Only Quent Titre (31) had more tackles from the interior line position and outside of Josh Pearcy (43 tackles) off the edge, Boenisch finished just five tackles short of Ikenna Enechukwu who is expected to be an NFL Draft selection this offseason.

When asked to sum up just how impactful the second-year player had been for the Owls, Bloomgren was almost at a loss for words. “Blake’s a lot to deal with,” he remarked, praising Boenisch on the heels of his second consecutive start of the season, which came against UTSA in mid-November.

Rice football will always employ a heavy rotation on the defensive line. Keeping players fresh is a maxim defensive coordinator Brian Smith will forever hold true. But make no mistake, Boenisch has climbed very near to the top of that pecking order and he’s not backing down any time soon.

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