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Rice Football: Special Team Coach Drew Svoboda hired by Memphis

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The Rice football coaching staff will look slightly different next season. The Owls will have to replace special teams coach Drew Svoboda.

Coaching staff changes are part of the norm in today’s college football. Rice football coach Mike Bloomgren has fairly well when it comes to retaining his staff but hasn’t curtailed turnover completely.

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This offseason Rice football will have to replace its special teams coordinator. Drew Svoboda has been hired for the same role by the Memphis Tigers. Yahoo’s Pete Thamel was first to report. The Roost has since confirmed.

Further Staff notes

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Rice Football 2020: NFL Owls final regular season update

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Rice Football is well represented on 2020 NFL rosters. Here’s the latest from the NFL Owls in action in Week 17.

There are former Rice football players scattered across the NFL. Stay tuned each week for their game results and notables from each player. Playoff matchups have been notated. Three Rice football alums are on playoff teams this year.

Week 17 results

Baltimore def. Cincinnati (Covington), 38-3
Cleveland (Sendejo) def. Pittsburgh (Boswell, McDonald), 24-22
Las Vegas def. Denver (Anderson, Callahan), 32-31
Minnesota def. Detroit (Fox), 37-35
Tennessee def. Houston (Gaines), 41-38
Seattle def. San Francisco (Walter), 26-23

Wildcard Round Schedule

Cleveland (Sendejo) at Pittsburgh (Boswell, McDonald) – Sunday at 7:15 p.m. CT

Offense

Calvin Anderson – OT, Broncos

Week 17 marks completed a full 17 game run for Anderson with the Broncos this season. He played in every game, making two starts and contributing weekly on special teams. The Broncos did not qualify for the playoffs.

Vance McDonald – TE, Steelers

McDonald saw an uptick in activity as a pass catcher in the Steelers’ Week 17 game against the Browns. He caught five passes on six targets for 33 yards. That’s the most receptions and targets he’s had this season and the most yards he’s tallied since a Week 4 game against the Texans when he had 35 yards.

He finishes the regular season with 15 receptions for 99 yards. This was the first year since 2014 in which he did not score a touchdown. The Steelers won the AFC North and will be the No. 3 seed for the AFC in the playoffs. They get a rematch with the Browns in the Wildcard Round.

Austin Walter – RB, 49ers

Walter was activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list this week in time for the 49ers’ final game of the 2020 season. He returned two kickoffs against the Seahawks, with a long return of 18 yards.

After signing with the team midseason, Walter tallied five kick returns, one rush for three yards and one reception for 27 yards. The 49ers did not qualify for the playoffs.

Defense and Special Teams

Chris Boswell – K, Steelers

For the third time in five games, Boswell was inactive because of injury. Instead, Matthew Wright handled field goal duties for the Steelers.

Boswell’s regular season stat line was impressive. He converted on 19 of 20 field goal attempts, with his lone miss coming beyond 40 yards. He made 34 of 38 extra point tries. The Steelers won the AFC North and will be the No. 3 seed for the AFC in the playoffs. They get a rematch with the Browns in the Wildcard Round.

Bryce Callahan – CB, Broncos

Callahan’s last game of the season came in Week 12 against the Saints, landing on injured reserve with a foot injury for the remainder of the year.

When he was healthy, Callahan was one of the best cover corners in the league. He had five passes defended, one shy of a career-high even with his shortened season. He also had one fumble recovery and one tackle for a loss on 42 tackles. Per Pro Football Reference, he was the allowed third-lowest passer rating in the league when targeted. The Broncos did not qualify for the playoffs.

Christian Covington – DL, Bengals

Covington had a season-high six tackles in the Bengals’ Week 17 regular season finale against the Ravens, giving him 39 tackles for the year, a career-best. Covington started 14 of the Bengals’ 16 games. Coming into the season, he’d started 15 games in five seasons, spanning stints with the Texans and Cowboys. The Bengals did not qualify for the playoffs.

Jack Fox – P, Lions

Fox finishes a Pro Bowl season among the league leaders in most punting statistics. He ranks third in punting average, second in net punting and tied for sixth with 26 punts inside the 20 yard line. He punted 59 times this season. The Lions did not qualify for the playoffs.

Phillip Gaines – CB, Texans

Gaines was inactive for the Texans’ final game against the Titans in Week 17. He finishes 2020 with 12 appearances, the most he’s had in a single season since 2014 when he was with the Chiefs. Gaines had one pass defended this season and 24 tackles, making two starts. The Texans did not qualify for the playoffs.

Andrew Sendejo – Saf, Browns

Sendejo missed the Browns’ regular season finale against the Steelers after being placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list earlier in the week. His status for the Browns’ playoff game is unknown.

During the regular season, Sendejo accumulated 67 tackles, his highest mark since making 80 tackles in 2017. He also had two passes defended and one forced fumble. The Browns clinched a wildcard berth. They get a rematch with the Steelers in the Wildcard Round.

More Owls in the NFL

From practice squads to current free agents, there are others 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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Rice Football 2020 Team MVP: Austin Trammell

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Team captain Austin Trammell broke records and more than earned the selection for our 2020 Rice Football Team MVP.

Austin Trammell didn’t touch the football in the first two quarters of the Owls’ season opener against Middle Tennessee. In the third quarter of that game, he hauled in his first catch, an eight-yard touchdown reception. From that moment onward, he was a touchdown machine, an unquenchable spark plug for the Rice offense.

It was Trammell on the receiving end of Mike Collins’ fourth down heave in the final minute of regulation. It was Trammell again, on the very next pass, racing into the endzone for the go ahead score. Who else would the Collins hit on the two-point conversion that followed? Once more, it was Trammell.

When Rice needed a play, Trammell produced. After watching how much the star receiver impacted the game down the stretch against Middle Tennessee, wide receiver’s coach Mike Kershaw stated the obvious in the days following the game: “He needs to be more involved.”

The next time Rice took the field, Trammell was more than involved, he was the centerpiece of the Rice offense. He caught three touchdowns against Southern Miss, torching the entire secondary down the sideline for a 72-yard score. He found the paydirt again in the first quarter of the Owls’ third game against North Texas. In the span of seven quarters, from the end of the first game to the beginning of the third, he scored six times.

Entering the season, Trammell has scored seven times in 37 career games, a rate of roughly one touchdown every five or so games. In 2020, he averaged two touchdowns per game. After looking the part in fall camp, he delivered jaw-dropping performances from the gridiron stage every Saturday.

Then, almost out of nowhere, the show stopped.

Trammell suffered an injury against North Texas that prevented kept him out of the Owls’ final two games. When accounting for one defensive score, an offense that averaged 27 points per game with him on the field scored 14.5 points per game with him on the sideline. If the MVP belongs to the team’s most valuable player, it’s hard to argue for anyone else other than the Owls’ team captain and leading touchdown man.

His shortened 2020 season propelled him further up several of the program’s all-time lists. He’s eighth all-time in receiving touchdowns. He’s the ninth Owl with 3,000 all-purpose yards. His six touchdown receptions in a single season were the most since Jordan Taylor caught seven in 2014, and it took Taylor 10 games to reach that mark. Trammell did it in three. The spark he brought to the offense was undeniable.

Trammell first earned a starting job in his sophomore season. He caught 62 passes that year, following that with a 60 catch performance as a junior. His 16 receptions this year, when averaged against a typical 12-game season, put him on pace for 62 receptions. To some extent, his usage was on par with what it had been in the past. In reality, though, how he was targeted took a significant step further down the field.

After averaging 10.2 and 12.1 yards per reception in 2018 and 2019, respectively, Trammell averaged 20.9 yards per catch in 2020. No player in Conference USA averaged more. In fact, he and North Texas wideout Jaelon Darden were the only players in the conference to average at least 15 yards per reception and catch at least five touchdowns. Trammell wasn’t just a deep threat. He was a bonafide playmaker.

Even though he wasn’t playing, Trammell was present in the final weeks of practice and game prep. He mentored Jake Bailey and the younger wide receivers, conversing with them in between drills and providing pointers along the way. Just as he had done when he missed spring practices as he rehabbed from a separate injury, he found a way to lead the team from the sideline.

The narrative of who Austin Trammell was as a player changed in 2020. He went from a reliable slot man to a legitimate weapon. No matter where he goes from here, he’ll always have his place in Rice football history.

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2021 Rice Football Recruiting: MJ Singleton decommits from Owls

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The 2021 Rice football recruiting class lost a commitment on the eve of 2021. Wide receiver MJ Singleton has recommitted from the Owls.

For the second time in this recruiting cycle, Rice football has suffered a decommitment. How will the loss of MJ Singleton impact this class and what does the receiver position look like without him?

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The Roost Podcast | Ep 68 – The Roosties, Rice Football Awards

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The 2020 Rice Football is complete. Carter and Matthew look back at the year and hand out The Roosties, season-long superlatives for top players and plays.

It’s been a wild ride, but the 2020 Rice Football season has reached its conclusion. In addition to the more conventional awards — Team MVP, Offensive Newcomer of the Year, Special Teams Player of the Year, etc — we’ve taken some creative liberties with our second annual edition of The Roosties.

You can always find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 68.

Episode Notes

  • The Roost Postseason Survey — Thank you to all who have followed the podcast or the website this season. The journey has been a fun one and we’ve been glad to be here every step of the way. But we want to get better, too. Let us know what you liked and what you didn’t in this brief survey. Thanks!
  • Housekeeping — Don’t miss this opportunity to subscribe on Patreon. Get two months free when you subscribe to an annual membership today. There’s a lot more in store for this football program, including all our Early Signing Period content. Get the scoop on the Owls’ 2021 class and more now.
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  • The Roosties – The second annual edition of our Rice football postseason award shows, The Roosties highlight some of our favorite players, moments and stories from the 2020 season. Tune in for the following awards:
    • Favorite Play
    • Player You Were Most Wrong About
    • Most Improved Unit
    • Play/Game You Most Want to Redo
    • Player You’ll Miss the Most
    • Out of Nowhere Star
    • Most Valuable Transfer
    • Best Block
    • Most Dominant Game
    • Player You’re Most Looking Forward to in 2020

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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