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Rice Football 2022: NFL Owls Week 15 Roundup

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Rice Football is well represented on 2022 NFL rosters. Here’s the latest from the NFL Owls in action in Week 15.

There are former Rice football players scattered across the NFL. Stay tuned each week for their game results and notables from each player.

Team NFL Owl(s) Week 15 Result Week 16
Denver Broncos Calvin Anderson (OL)
Elijah Garcia (DL)		 vs Cardinals W, 24-15 at Rams
Detroit Lions Jack Fox (P) at Jets W, 20-17 at Panthers
Indianapolis Colts Kylen Granson (TE) at Vikings L, 39-36 (OT) vs Chargers (MNF)
LA Chargers Bryce Callahan (DB)
Christian Covington (DL)		 vs Titans W, 17-14 at Colts
LA Rams Austin Trammell (WR) at Packers (MNF) L, 24-12 vs Broncos
Pittsburgh Steelers Chris Boswell (PK) at Panthers W, 24-16 vs Raiders
Seattle Seahawks Myles Adams (DL) vs 49ers (TNF) L, 21-13 at Chiefs
Tampa Bay Bucs Nick Leverett (OL) vs Bengals L, 34-23 at Cardinals

Offense

Calvin Anderson – OT, Broncos

Anderson returned to a reserve role for the Broncos this week. After making six consecutive starts he played primarily on special teams against the Cardinals.

Kylen Gransen – TE, Colts

Gransen caught two passes for 34 yards on Saturday in the Colts’ Week 15 loss to the Vikings.

Nick Leverett – OT, Buccaneers

Leverett started his seventh consecutive game this weekend. He’s appeared in every game for the Bucs since Week 7.

Austin Trammell – WR, Rams

Trammell has now appeared in three straight games for the Rams. He did not have any receptions on their Monday Night Football appearance this week, but did play on offensive and defensive snaps.

Defense

Myles Adams – DL, Seahawks

Adams came through on Thursday Night Football with his first tackle for a loss and his first pass deflection of the season, also playing a season-high number of special teams snaps.

Bryce Callahan – CB, Chargers

Callahan had one tackle in the Chargers’ Week 15 win over the Titans.

Christian Covington – DL, Chargers

Covington was placed on Injured Reserve after suffering a pec injury in the Chargers’ Week 10 game against the 49ers. He hasn’t played since.

Elijah Gacia – DT, Broncos

The Broncos signed Elijah Garcia to their active roster off the Rams practice squad early last week. He was inactive this week.

Special Teams

Jack Fox – P, Lions

Fox punted four times on Sunday with a long of 49 yards. He put one ball inside the 20 and average 44.5 yards per punt.

Chris Boswell – K, Steelers

Boswell was productive in his second week back after a stint on the injured reserve. He connected on all three of his extra points and his lone field goal try, a 50-yard attempt.

More Owls in the NFL

From practice squads to current free agents, there are other Owls on the cusp of returning to active rosters. Find more detail on current contractual agreements and former Rice football players waiting for their next opportunity here.

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The Roost Podcast | Ep 137 – Rice Football vs SoMiss Recap

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Bowl season ended on a downer with Rice football falling to Southern Miss in the Lending Tree Bowl. We recap it all on The Roost Podcast.

Rice football rallied to take a second half lead but wasn’t able to seal the deal, falling to Southern Miss in the Lending Tree Bowl. Getting to the postseason was a positive, but the Owls showing left a lot to be desired. What can we take from this game for the future and how much did what transpired on Saturday matter in the grand scheme of things? We unpack it all on this week’s show.

You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 137.

Episode Notes

Housekeeping

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Rice Football vs Southern Miss game recap

  • Was this an entire season summarized in one game?
  • AJ Padgett has earned a seat at the table in next year’s quarterback battle
  • The offensive line not working just doesn’t make any sense
  • Does this game really impact how one feels about this program moving forward?
  • What’s next for Rice football on the to-do list for this off-season?

Where can you find us?

Download and subscribe to The Roost Podcast on any of your favorite podcast providers. The show is available on iTunes, GooglePlay, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn and PodBean. Please consider leaving a review wherever you listen.

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Rice Football Recruiting: Former Husker OL Brant Banks commits to Owls

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The 2023 Rice Football recruiting has added a Big Ten transfer in the trenches. Former Nebraska offensive lineman Brant Banks has committed to the Owls.

Rice Football recruiting classes have always stressed talent up front, making the addition of at least one veteran offensive lineman a must for the 2023 class. Rice has filled that need with a productive transfer from Nebraska. Houston native Brant Banks has announced he’s coming home and has committed to the Owls.

Banks played his high school ball at Westbury Christian where he played both ways before heading north to the Big Red. He originally chose Nebraska over offers from around the country. He turned down Baylor, Boston College, Cal, Houston, Pitt and Missouri.

After redshirting in 2019, Banks became a key special teams player and offensive line contributor from that point onward. Banks started the 2021 season opener against Illinois and saw extensive action in several other contests.

In addition to his prowess on the football field, Banks actually suited up for the Nebraska men’s basketball team prior to the Big Ten Tournament following the 2019 season. He played three minutes in the Huskers’ first round game against Indiana. A big man that can move is always a plus and Banks’ brief appearance on the hardwood gives evidence he can do just that.

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Banks has some high school film available if you want to dig that far back, but the reality is the 6-foot-7, 300-pounder has only grown bigger and stronger since those clips were taken. He’s a Big Ten-caliber blocker who can move people around. That’s a big plus for a Rice offensive line that needs reinforcements. Here’s a clip from the Huskers’ spring media sessions before the season.

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Rice Football Recruiting: TE Matt Hall commits to Owls

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The 2023 Rice Football recruiting class is making key additions from the Transfer Portal including Truman State’s Matt Hall who has committed to the Owls.

A veteran tight end seemed an obvious candidate for the 2023 Rice Football recruiting class, given how important the position is to the Owls’ offense. With the Early Signing Period just days away, Rice has their man. Truman State grad transfer Matt Hall has committed to the Owls.

Hall comes to Rice after a standout career at Truman State, a Division II program in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. In three seasons, Hall caught 86 passes for 962 yards and 13 touchdowns. He averaged 11.2 yards per catch and mixed in a few explosive plays, too.

For Hall, Rice was near the top of his list from the start. “There were three things I was looking for,” Hall told The Roost. “A place with great culture, a place that has great academics, and a place that would challenge me on and off the field to be a better player, student, and man. Rice checked every one of those boxes.”

Rice tried to engineer a similar addition at this time last year, landing a commitment from Cal transfer tight end Gavin Reinwald. Unfortunately, Reinwald never saw the field at Rice following a preseason injury. A healthy Hall should ease the burden from starter Jack Bradley and provide the Rice offense with another vertical threat.

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What Rice football saw in Hall becomes pretty clear from a brief glance at his film or a look at his boxscore. He’s fluid in space, can get downfield and make a play after the catch. He’s an aggressive blocker that can fill multiple roles within the Rice offense. He’s going to provide instant production to a position that needed another trustworthy option.

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Rice Football: Disappointed Owls ready to turn the page

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Rice football found itself on the wrong side of history in the Lending Tree Bowl against Southern Miss. Now they’re ready to turn the page.

Nobody in the Rice football locker room had envisioned participating in what Mike Bloomgren aptly dubbed “the Frank Gore show” on a chilly December night in Mobile, AL. The last team to make it into the postseason was rewarded with a spot in college football history, albeit one they’d rather not be linked to. In some ways, though, it’s a fitting in-between that’s representative of who this team was this season.

“There are a lotta guys in that locker room that are in shambles,” head coach Mike Bloomgren said after the game. “They’re incredibly invested in what we’re doing and they wanted to find a way to win this game, but we didn’t get it done.”

The failure drops the Owls to 5-8. It’s their most wins since 2014, yet somehow symbolizes the floor of expectations moving forward. Senior defensive end Ikenna Enechukwu, who likely played in his last game as an Owl, forcing a fumble and being credited with a sack, said as much in his comments following the game.

More: Takeaways from Rice football loss to Southern Miss

“I want this to the bare minimum for them,” he said. “The bare minimum should be those six wins and they should be aiming for that conference championship, even if it’s in the AAC. I feel like they can do it.”

In a sense, Enechukwu knew that being in Mobile as a five-win team required a stroke of luck. Rice didn’t get much luck on Saturday evening, whether from their own efforts, a set of dubious officials or anyone else. The results were what they were. Now the next step is figuring out how to be on the right side of history next year and beyond.

There is hope on that front. Freshman quarterback AJ Padgett completed 19-of-37 passes for 295 yards and three touchdowns against Southern Miss, just his second career start. Luke McCaffrey, who led the Owls in receptions, was a go-to target for Padgett after missing essentially the last three games. Joshua Pearcy had a sack.

Joining Enechukwu, Gabe Taylor and Izeya Floyd each forced fumbles. The offense finished with two turnovers of their own, the final one occurring on the arm of backup quarterback Shawqi Itraish in the final minutes. Still, it was only the third time this season Rice had finished with a positive turnover differential. And most of those playmakers are set to return.

And then there’s Padgett, who transformed himself from a fourth-stringer to starter in the span of a few weeks. Whether he’s given the shot to start next season or not, he wasn’t afraid to echo the sentiments of Enechukwu and Bloomgren when they turned their eyes to the future,

“[Going bowling] should 100 percent be the standard. If that’s not the standard, then what is? We should approach a season with the attitude that we want to win a bowl game. We want to win conference. We want to beat everybody we play,” he declared. “I don’t really think there’s any other mindset to approach a season with or you’re just going out there to lose and that’s not what I’m about. I’m a ballplayer. I go out there to win.”

Rice didn’t win on Saturday. Everyone is crushed by that. Now they’re tasked with getting their house in order for 2023 to ensure that a loss like that — bowl game or otherwise — isn’t a part of their future again.

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