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Rice Football Recruiting: Recapping the Owls’ status with a few key targets

April 11, 2019 By Matthew Bartlett

The 2020 Rice football recruiting class is picking up steam and the Owls might not be done adding to their numbers. Here are a few names to know.

It’s been a busy few weeks for the Rice football recruiting staff. Most notably was the hiring of former Houston assistant Alex Bown as the Owls’ Director of Recruiting and the promotion of James Burnett. The staff is already making waves, landing Fort Bend athlete Kobie Campbell this week as well as making significant headway on a few other key targets. Here are some names to keep a close eye on this spring.

Logan Kyle, WR – Tomball, Tx

The race is heating up for Tomball Memorial wideout Logan Kyle. All reports from his most recent visit to campus over the weekend were positive and there’s a belief the end could be in sight for his recruitment. At this point, the Rice and Vanderbilt lead the pack and the Owls feel good about their chances.

Sage Ennis, TE – Tallahassee, Florida

Rice finds themselves in a battle for another prized weekend visitor, too. Out of state tight end target Sage Ennis said his experience at Junior Day “couldn’t have went any better.” Barring an offer from in-town Florida State at some point down the road, Rice is sitting in good position for his commitment. Memphis is the key competitor is his recruitment.

Joseph Alexander, Connor Finucane and Brian Hibbard, OL – Baton Rouge, LA

Rice has two offensive linemen in the 2020 haul already and will look to add at least a few more before the class is complete. Three teammates from the same high school are drawing the Owls attention, all of which have been on campus in the last few weeks. Hibbard made his pledge over the weekend and the other two are trending in the right direction.

Other news and notes

The Noah Teliancich commitment to Lousiana came a bit out of left field. He had a great time at the visit and was in communication with those on the staff on his journey home. Less than 24 hours later he’d committed elsewhere. The motivation on his end is uncertain, but the abruptness of the decision suggests Rice could stick around if they choose to do so.

Rice is taking a shot on a few higher tiered recruits in this cycle, too. They know they won’t bat 1.000 on that front, but a focused effort on a few key guys could yield a big commitment or two. Drake Metcalf, a teammate of 2019 commit Jake Bailey is currently being courted by Stanford, Oregon and some other big names. Right now Rice has a foot in the door. If there’s a chance he leaves the west coast, the Owls are in as good of a position as they could be,

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Filed Under: Archive, Featured, Football, Football Recruiting Tagged With: Rice Football, Rice Football recruiting

Rice Football Recruiting: 2020 ATH Kobie Campbell commits to Owls

April 9, 2019 By Matthew Bartlett

The 2020 Rice football recruiting class continues to add weapons to their arsenal, this time with the commitment of do-it-all athlete Kobie Campbell.

Campbell enjoyed his experience on campus on Junior Day this spring and came away with nothing but positive comments regarding the program and the staff. Not long afterward he returned to campus to observe spring practice and make his pledge, committing to play his college football at Rice in 2020.

Rice was the first D1 program to offer Missouri City athlete Kobie Campbell, securing his commitment in the span of a few weeks from the initial offer. The expedited recruiting process reflects how focused the staff was on landing Campbell and how much Campbell bought into the trajectory of the program. He joins an arsenal of talent which has only continued to grow.

Prior to Campbell coming on board, an impressive succession of recruiting wins already had Rice football at four commitments. Campbell raises that tally to five — Rice didn’t have their first commitment last year until the summer months began. The hot start has continued from March into April with more positive news likely on the horizon.

Campbell played just about everywhere in high school, but Rice intends to play him at running back. The 5-foot-8, 160-pound ball carrier has burst, quickness, and an elusiveness which leaves defenders flat-footed in his dust.

His time spent in the secondary gave him a fearlessness at the point of attack and he’s more than powerful enough to run through tackles. He’s a fantastic addition to an already strong class.

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Filed Under: Featured, Archive, Football, Football Recruiting Tagged With: Kobie Campbell, Rice Football, Rice Football recruiting

Rice Football Recruiting: Owls in the midst of productive Junior Days

April 4, 2019 By Matthew Bartlett

The 2020 Rice football recruiting class is picking up steam. The spring has brought three commitments and more could be on the way after a few official visit weekends.

The winter has barely dissipated and Rice football has already broken the ice on what could be a historic signing class. Not to be hyperbolic, but that’s the sort of trajectory that’s been set by the Owls’ first four commitments.

Safety Plae Wyatt, offensive lineman Braedon Nutter and Brady Feeney and newest commit Nate Kamper have already raised the bar. Wyatt, Nutter and Feeney rate as three of the four highest-rated players Rice has signed since 2015. Kamper is a 6-foot-6 matchup nightmare in the slot and the Owls’ coaching staff is working on reeling in more big fish.

March Junior Day

Rice hosted a dozen or so 2019 recruits at the end of March including Wyatt and Nutter, both of whom gave rousing endorsements of the weekend. It was more than just the committed guys who liked what they saw. So did Kamper, who was back on campus a week and a half later before committing on April 3.

Hightower athlete Kobie Campbell was impressed with the facilities and the personability of the Rice staff. Notre Dame Prep (Az) linebacker Brock Locnikar praised the dedication to improvement and the #IntellectualBrutality culture. Both players are firmly in the crosshairs of the Rice staff as are a few other notable names who were on campus that weekend like St. Thomas offensive lineman Tommy Brandt and Hendrickson defensive lineman Gabriel Hunter.

April Junior Day

Rice will bring in another group of 2020 recruits this coming weekend, too. Sage Ennis, a top 25 tight ranked tight end from Lincoln High School in Florida, will be in attendance as will playmaking Tomball Memorial wide receiver Logan Kyle. A teammate of current Rice commit Braedon Nutter, Kyle’s offer list is blowing up, but remains interested in what the Owls have to offer.

On the defensive line, Desert Ridge High School (AZ) product Joquari Price is making the trip east to Texas and Louisiana native Noah Taliancich from Destrehan High School will make the trip west. At least for this weekend, all roads seem to lead to Houston.

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Rice Football Recruiting: 2020 Tight end Nate Kamper commits to Owls

April 3, 2019 By Matthew Bartlett

The 2020 Rice Football recruiting class keeps getting better and better thanks to the addition of Killeen, Texas tight end Nate Kamper.

A year ago the dream of playing D1 college football wasn’t on Nate Kamper’s radar. Maybe he had thought about it from time to time, but the Killeen, Texas product wasn’t on anyone’s radar before his junior season. When Rice saw the film he rocketed up their boards quickly. He’s been a priority in the 2020 class from the start. Now he’s a Rice Owl.

Kamper stands 6-foot-6 and weighs 200 pounds. He’s a pass catching threat up the middle who can create mismatches with any combination of linebackers and safeties tasked with guarding him one on one. He’s a bit leaner than the other tight ends on the roster right now, but given some time in the weight room with Hans Straub and he’ll be even more physically imposing. That should scare other CUSA squads.

Head coach Mike Bloomgren has stressed speed and size in his quest to instill Intellectual Brutality at Rice. Kamper checks both of those boxes at a position of significance for an offensive like Bloomgren wants to run.

While the other three recruits in the 2020 class had already turned some heads on somewhat of a larger scale, Kamper could be the “diamond in the rough” type player other coaches kick themselves for missing later on. The fourth commit in a growing 2020 class, Kamper turned down offers from SMU and UTSA to play at South Main.

Kamper said the level of care head coach Mike Bloomgren and his staff had for the program was evident. Like several other recruits before him, the vision for Rice football was easy to understand and easy to get behind. Those close to Kamper had indicated he wanted this process wrapped up before his senior year began in the fall. Well, it’s April, and Rice has another top target in the fold.

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Rice Football Recruiting 2020 Commitment Tracker

March 29, 2019 By Matthew Bartlett

The 2020 Rice football recruiting class is beginning to take shape. Here’s where the class currently stands with live updates with each commitment.


2020 Class Positional Breakdowns – Offense and Special Teams | Defense

Player Pos. Hometown / School Commit Date Signed?
Andrew Awe LB Mansfield, Tx 2/3/2020  —
Jaren Banks LB NM Military Inst.(JUCO) 2/3/2020  Yes
Kobie Campbell RB Missouri City, TX 4/9/2019  Yes
Caleb Chappelle WR The Woodlands, TX 2/2/2020  —
Mike Collins* QB TCU (Grad) 12/17/2019  Yes
Jonah Doddridge DB Southlake, TX 2/2/2020  —
Jordan Dunbar CB Tarrytown, NY 6/22/2019  Yes
Terreance Ellis LB Pearland, TX 1/22/2020  —
Sean Fresch CB Austin, TX 6/29/2019  Yes
Khalan Griffin RB Tyler, TX 5/2/2019  Yes
Michael Haack WR El Paso, TX 12/28/2019  —
Geron Hargon  LB Shreveport, LA 6/22/2019  Yes
Van Heitmann DL Houston, TX 2/5/2020  —
Brian Hibbard FB Baton Rouge, LA 4/11/2019  —
Caleb James DL Houston, TX 2/5/2020  —
Nate Kamper TE Fort Hood, TX 4/3/2019  Yes
Cole Latos DE Allen, TX 6/24/2019  Yes
Mike Leone OL Princeton, NJ 12/16/2019  Yes
Payton Lovell OL Trophy Club, TX 2/1/2020  —
Andrew Mason WR Spring Hill, TN 6/11/2019  Yes
TJ McMahon* QB Cerritos (JUCO) 12/9/2019  Yes
Christian McStravick WR Boston College (Transfer) 5/5/2020 Yes
Lamont Narcisse CB Calabasas, CA 2/5/2020  Yes
Braedon Nutter OL Tomball, TX 3/23/2019  Yes
Trey Phillippi OL Montgomery, TX 6/14/2019  Yes
Collin Riccitelli K Stanford (Grad) 2/2/2020  Yes
Jalen Reeves DE Hollywood, FL 9/22/2019  Yes
Adam Sheriff* OL Butler (JUCO) 12/15/2019  Yes
Charlie Stone OL Austin, TX 2/4/2020  —
Gabe Taylor CB Miami, FL 2/5/2020  Yes
Casey Tawa WR West Linn, OR 12/28/2019  —
Jovaun Woolford* OL Colgate (Grad) 12/10/2019  Yes
Plae Wyatt S McKinney, TX 2/28/2019  Yes

*Denotes an early enrollee

This is the latest verbally committed players for the Rice Football 2020 recruiting classes. The list will be updated to reflect the Owls’ current commitments as information comes in. More information on the 2019 Rice Football recruiting class is available here.

Each profile was written at the time of the commitment. Some secondary details may have changed, but player information and analysis remains relevant. As available, each profile will include relevant highlights and news regarding each recruit.

Important dates to know

The early signing period takes place from December 18 to December 20. The Owls signed a large portion of their 2019 class early and expect to do the same in 2020. Recruits who don’t sign will wait until National Signing Day which falls on the first Wednesday of February.

What if this list doesn’t match a major recruiting service?

Recruiting services such as 247 and Rivals typically prioritize the highest-rated players. It’s not uncommon for 2-star and even 3-star players to not be accounted for immediately. The delay could become even more significant following 247’s changes to their recruiting model for the coming 2019 year. Players won’t be considered for their composite ranking until they get a ranking by 247 themselves. The list above includes walk ons.

All football recruiting updates are maintained on our recruiting page. More timely updates can be found by following The Roost on Twitter and Facebook. Have questions? Reach out on either of those platforms, post in The Aviary, or shoot us a message using the contact form.

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