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2023 Rice Football Season Preview: Running Back

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Next up in our 2023 Rice Football Season Preview: running back. Let’s dive into the position and break down the Owls’ plans for the group this year.

The running game was meant to be the bread and butter of the Rice football offense under Mike Bloomgren, but it’s been a slog in recent years for a myriad of reasons. Will 2023 be the year the ground game breaks through? And if so, what is it going to take from the personnel on hand (and/or the scheme) to get that aspect of the Owls’ offense moving? Here’s how the position looks in 2023.

Rice Football Preseason Preview: Check out the rest of the series here.

This piece is part of our 2023 Rice Football Season Preview. Get access to it, as well as all other preview posts such as positional breakdowns, depth chart and schedule analysis and more when you subscribe on Patreon today. 

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Rice Football 2023 Roster Tracker

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The Rice football roster is ever-evolving. From the Transfer portal to high school signees, stay tuned here for updates.

Roster churn has become a part of college sports as we know and Rice football is not immune to the ebb and flow of players coming in and out. With the 2022 season in the books, this page will serve as a running tracker regarding the roster for the upcoming season as it currently stands.

Looking for the latest recruiting changes such as offers and new commitments? Subscribers can access the recruiting tracker here. Not a subscriber yet? Join here. Feel free to bookmark it and refer back to it from time to time as players announce their intentions throughout the offseason.

All roster changes are up to date as of July 7, 2023.

Rice Football Preseason Preview: Check out the rest of the series here.

This piece is part of our 2023 Rice Football Season Preview. Get access to it, as well as all other preview posts such as positional breakdowns, depth chart and schedule analysis and more when you subscribe on Patreon today. 

Subscriber content.<br /> Please login to see the full post or visit our Patreon page.
Sorry! This part of content is hidden behind this box because it requires a higher contribution level ($10) at Patreon. Why not take this chance to increase your contribution?

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Rice Football

Rice Football: APR Path to Bowl Eligibility Unlikely

Posted: November 27, 2025

Should there be a shortage of six-win teams, Rice football could turn to Academic Progress Rate to reach the postseason. How would that work? The simplest path to bowl eligibility for Rice football would be a win over South Florida on Saturday. A win over the Bulls would be the Owls’ sixth victory of the […]

Rice Football

Know Your Foe: Rice Football vs South Florida

Posted: November 27, 2025

USF is next up on the 2025 Rice football schedule, so we’re going behind enemy lines with Bulls’ insider Seth Varnadore of the Bay Area Examiner. Bulls’ insider Seth Varnadore was kind enough to stop by and answer a few questions about the upcoming matchup between Rice Football and South Florida. The answers below should […]

Rice Football

Rice Football 2025: South Florida Game Week Practice Notes

Posted: November 26, 2025

Rice Football has a bowl game on the line against South Florida and is doing all they can to squeeze one more win from this schedule. Here’s the latest from the field. The offense took a step forward against North Texas, but there’s a long way to go to keep up with the elite teams […]

The Roost Podcast, Rice Football, Rice Football Recruiting, Conference USA, Rice Basketball

The Roost Podcast | Ep. 220 – Rice Football Outpaced by North Texas

Posted: November 25, 2025

Rice Football started fast but couldn’t finish against North Texas. What to take from the loss, which featured free ice cream and beer for students. For roughly one quarter, everything was looking good for Rice football. Then the North Texas offense took off and did not slow down. The Owls didn’t get the win, but […]

Rice Football, Press Conference

Rice Football 2025: South Florida presser quotes and depth chart

Posted: November 25, 2025

Next up for Rice football, a road game against South Florida. Here’s what head coach Scott Abell had to say about the matchup and a few depth chart notes. Head coach Scott Abell and a set of players met with the media for their customary weekly availability. They recapped the North Texas game and looked […]

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The Roost Podcast | Ep 149 – AAC Draft, State of Texas Preview with Mike Craven

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The Roost Podcast continues its AAC football previews with DCTF’s Mike Craven, drafting every AAC city and discussing key storylines in Texas.

Rice football officially joined the AAC on July 1, meaning Rice fans can swap Ruston, LA for New Orleans and Murfreesboro, TN for Memphis, TN on their future road trip schedules. Mike Craven from Dave Campbell’s Texas Football helped us draft every AAC school and walked us through the most pressing storylines in the state, keying in on which programs face the most pressure in 2023 and beyond.

You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 149.

Episode Notes

DCTF

The Roost Podcast is now part of the Dave Campbell’s Republic of Football Podcast Network. You’ll still get the same content with the same hosts, but now under the DCTF banner.

Homefield

We’re thrilled to partner with Homefield Apparel, the premier proprietor of college football clothing. First-time buyers can use the code ROOST for 15% off their order. The Owls hoodie is a personal favorite. Shop the Rice collection or pick up something else (or both)!

Patreon

Get exclusive insight on Patreon. Be the first to get the inside scoop on what’s going on with Rice football and stick around for even further analysis. That includes practice updates, analysis and more. Your support matters and makes The Roost better. The 2023 Rice Football Season Preview is available exclusively for subscribers right now!

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Previewing 2023 Texas college football preview with Mike Craven

  • What’s going on with the state’s newest FBS team, Sam Houston?
  • Is 2023 finally the year for Texas?
  • Why might SMU be the team poised to take the most advantage of realignment moves in the near term?
  • What does Rice have going for it in 2023?
  • What should success look like for the Owls this season? Moving forward?
  • The Lightning Round, Texas Style

AAC Football Road Trip Draft

The rules were straightforward. You’re taking your dream road trip through AAC programs and get to enjoy the destinations themselves, food, culture, entertainment, etc. Where are you going to go? We drafted every city from No. 1 (Annapolis) to No. 15 (Denton). Which is your favorite draft?

The Roost Podcast, AAC, AAC football

Where can you find us?

The Roost Podcast is part of the Dave Campbell’s Republic of Football Podcast Network. You can find this podcast and all of our partner podcasts on Apple, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts.

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2023 Rice Football Opponent Season Preview: ECU

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Last season East Carolina posted its highest win total since 2014 and won its first bowl game in a decade. What can Rice Football expect from the Pirates in 2023?

Head Coach: Mike Houston
Record at School: 22-24 (4 Yr) | Career FBS Record 22-24 (4 Yr)
Offensive Coordinator: Donnie Kirkpatrick | Defensive Coordinators: Blake Harrell

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Rice Football: Bradley Rozner enters Transfer Portal

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Rice football has potentially lost a significant name to the Transfer Portal. Wide receiver Bradley Rozner has reportedly entered on Wednesday.

After an offseason of largely positive momentum and encouraging signs, Rice football was dealt a potentially significant blow in early July. Wide receiver Bradley Rozner has reportedly entered the Transfer Portal.

Rozner was set to enter his eighth season of college football with the Owls in the coming weeks with fall camp set to begin in early August. Instead, it’s looking likely he’ll be suiting up elsewhere. The eighth-year pass catcher sat out the spring but had returned to the program for offseason conditioning and was expected to retake his starting spot this fall.

Rozner led all Rice receivers with 876 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2022 and was also the team’s leading receiver in 2019, missing the bulk of the 2020 and 2021 seasons with injuries.

Most of the transfer portal churn happened in the early summer with teams filling out their depth charts and undergraduate players seeking opportunities to go elsewhere. Graduate students have the opportunity to transfer and play immediately, prolonging the window for players like Rozner to make a decision this late in the offseason calendar.

Stay tuned for more updates on what the receiver room might look like without Rozner this fall and what the Owls can do to replace Rozner’s production on the field.

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