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Rice Football: 2020 Athlete Devin Gunter commits to Owls

June 13, 2019 By Matthew Bartlett

The 2020 Rice Football recruiting class is picking up steam, grabbing their second commitment of the week from potential two-way standout Devin Gunter.

The Adidas 3 Stripe camp gave Rice football an opportunity to showcase their facilities and their brand with some of the top recruits in college football. That busy day at South Main has already paid dividends. Camp attendee and 2020 athlete Devin Gunter has committed to Rice.

The Missouri City, Tx native had nothing but good things to say following his camp experience. He was impressed with the facilities and enjoyed his time working in person with the Rice coaches. Those relationships have continued to strengthen over the last few weeks.

Gunter has a lot of film at wide receiver, but where he’ll play in college remains up in the air. The tentative plan is to start him off at corner, but his athleticism and raw speed are going to have the offensive coaches chomping at the bit to get him the ball in space and watch him work. Another D’Angelo Ellis situation where he plays two ways could be possible in at least some capacity. He’s that talented.Rice Football, Rice Football Recruiting

Beyond his athleticism, Gunter has legitimate track star speed. He ran a 4.47 at camp and had that time confirmed with a laser timer later this summer. Rice needs speed on the edges and Gunter is undoubtedly one of the fastest guys they’ve landed thus far.

Whether he ends up on offense or defense, Gunter is a big play guy in the making. A 6-foot-1, 180-pound athlete, he has great hands and a knack for attacking the football in the air. He’s only to get better at the next level.

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Rice Footbal: 2020 Wide receiver Andrew Mason commits to Owls

June 11, 2019 By Matthew Bartlett

The 2020 Rice Football recruiting class picked up another important addition. Wide receiver Andrew Mason has committed to the Owls.

Adding explosiveness has been near the top of the list in terms of priorities for Rice in the incoming recruiting classes. The Owls bolstered their receiving corps in 2019 with speedsters Jake Bailey and Zane Knipe.

The Owls knew they could never have too much speed, though. They continued on that theme with their first wide receiver commitment of the 2020 class, Andrew Mason.

Rice Football, Rice Football Recruiting

Mason started drawing interest from Rice this spring right around the time his offer list began growing. The Brentwood, TN receiver has picked up a dozen offers over the past few months, adding Rice in May. It was clear from the start he was near the top of the pecking order for the Owls who fought off Army, Yale and others to earn his commitment.

He was on campus for a visit on Monday following a string of recruiting camps and visits that have made up a busy summer for the Owls. His interactions with the staff, the location of campus and the totality of the entire experience proved to be enough for him to make his pledge.

Mason is the first commitment for the Owls since running back Khalan Griffin came aboard in May. If things continue to track well on the recruiting trail there might be a few more additions before the summer is through.

Don’t let his star-rating fool you, Mason is a game-changer. He’ll be a dynamic playmaker for Rice as soon as he gets on the field. Incorporating someone with his brand of quickness and ability to extend plays will add a wrinkle the Owls have been missing.

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Rice Football: Owls extend four offers at 3-Stripe Camp

June 3, 2019 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice football had the opportunity to host the Adidas 3 Stripe Camp over the weekend, bringing top coaches and players to Houston on Saturday.

It was a big weekend at South Main. More than 500 recruits arrived on campus to participate in the Adidas 3 Stripe camp. After evaluating the talent at hand, Rice handed out four new offers: athlete Trey Johnson (Cy Falls), wide receiver Devin Gunter (Ridge Point), wide receiver Kade Renfrow (Stephenville) and linebacker Kenneth Phillips III (Fort Bend Bush).

If there was a common theme with the offers that went out this weekend, it was speed. Gunter turned heads with a blazing 40-yard dash during drills and Phillips and Johnson weren’t far behind. Getting speed at the skill positions is an area Rice needs to improve on. Several of these guys are built in that mold and there could be others from the weekend who get their names added to the list down the road.

Rice Football, Rice Football RecruitingThe Owls have been hard at work on a few targets who weren’t able to make it to campus this weekend as well. Shreveport, LA linebacker Geron Hargon and Mission Viejo, CA defensive end Lance Kenely like what they’re hearing from the Owls.

After picking up offers from Rice in the spring, both guys have stayed in contact with the staff. In that short time, Hargon went so far as to say “Rice has made a big jump recently on my list”, citing the genuine nature of the staff and their clear commitment to creating a stronger future. Keneley is working to finish up his school year in California but plans to do everything he can to get to campus at some point this summer.

June will be a busy one for Rice. They’ll bring more recruits to campus for visits as they continue to build on CUSA’s No. 1 class.

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Rice Football Recruiting: Raising the talent profile at South Main

May 26, 2019 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice football has significantly raised their recruiting profile under coach Mike Bloomgren and the best days are still ahead for the Owls.

Much has changed for Rice football since Mike Bloomgren arrived at South Main in the winter of 2017. Beyond practice structures and pregame routines, raising the overall level of talent has been a noticeable improvement.

As demonstrated by the addition of some of the Owls’ biggest recruits in nearly a decade — Blaze Alldredge, Jake Bailey, Tre’shone Devones, Plae Wyatt, Brady Feeney, Braeden Nutter, Khalan Griffin, etc. — playmakers are flocking to Rice with renewed vigor.

It doesn’t just feel like Rice is getting more talented. The recruiting rankings bear out that reality. Take a look at the Owls’ CUSA recruiting finish and the number of three-star recruits signed in the last four seasons leading up to Bloomgren’s first class (2018).

2014 – 7th (in CUSA) – 5 (three-stars)
2015 – 8th – 8
2016 – 14th – 2
2017 – 12th – 3

That’s an average of the No. 10 class in CUSA with four 3-star recruits per cycle. Now let’s look at those numbers alongside Bloomgren’s classes, including the already impressive 2020 haul which ranks first in Conference USA.

2018 – 12th – 9
2019 – 12th – 11
2020 – 1st – 5

That’s an average of the No. 8 class in CUSA with eight 3-star recruits per cycle. If Rice maintains their current pace, they’ll finish with closer to 15 3-star (or better) players in 2020. With that projection factored in, Bloomgren’s first three classes would net an average of 12 3-star recruits in each class that’s TRIPLE the level of talent walking through the doors of the Patterson center compared to the last complete set of recruiting cycles.

Getting talent to campus won’t be worth much if the team doesn’t win. The coaching staff has turned 2-star recruits like Cole Garcia, Clay Servin and Wiley Green into important starting-caliber players. If Rice continues to hit on a few lesser-known recruits each cycle as the ceiling of each class grows, the results will follow.

So if it’s felt like things were different at South Main, that’s because they are.

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Rice Football Recruiting: JUCO cornerback Miles Mccord commits to Owls

May 24, 2019 By Matthew Bartlett

The 2019 Rice football recruiting class added another JUCO product to their secondary, augmenting the existing class with cornerback Miles Mccord.

The secondary was a problem area for Rice during the 2018 season. The safety play showed improvement with the additions of Prudy Calderon and consistent play of George Nyakwol. The 2019 class provided important reinforcement in the form of Hunter Henry, Kirk Lockhart and JUCO transfer Naeem Smith.

The corner position was more up in the air. That spurred additional attention after the bulk of the 2019 class has signed. Rice signed one true corner, Josh Landrum, in the first pass at the 2019 class. They added another with the addition of Duncanville’s Tre’shon Devones.

Even with those signings, there’s still room for more competition at the position. JUCO transfer Miles Mccord has jumped into the mix, committing to Rice after spending the 2018 season at Golden West College.

Rice Football, Rice Football Recruiting

Mccord appeared in eight games for Gold West College. The Rustlers rotated a lot of bodies in the defensive backfield while Mccord was there, keeping him fresh for the Owls in 2019. Even with somewhat limited playing time, McCord stood out with his top-end speed and ability to play the run and the pass well from the split out corner position. He’s an instinctive tackler with some burst and looks to possess the requisite speed to keep in stride with some of the faster receiving corps Rice will face.

Getting faster was a must at the corner position after their struggles with the deep ball in 2018. Way too many receivers got behind the defense. Mccord adds that speed and a raw, 6-foot, 161-pound frame with time to develop the rest of his game alongside a rebuilt secondary which suddenly features a host of options. He’ll be thrown into the mix immediately.

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