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The Roost Podcast | Ep 51 – 2020 Top 15 Most Important Rice Football players

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The 2020 Rice football team is constructed of studs and up-and-coming stars. Carter and Matthew debate the 15 most important players.

The upswing of this week’s college football rollercoaster has Carter and Matthew optimistically looking toward a 2020 Rice Football season this fall. The duo compares their lists regarding which players are the most important factors in that season becoming a success.

You can always find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 51.

Episode 51 Notes

  • Housekeeping — Make sure you hit the button and subscribe on Patreon so you don’t miss what’s happening. As always, thanks to all of you who have followed the show on Twitter and left a review on iTunes. It’s quick, but it makes a difference.

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  • Return to play and news updates
    • The Big Ten announced their return to play plans this week
    • Pac-12 schools cleared by governors to return to practice
    • Recruiting dead period extended through Jan. 1, 2021
  • Top 15 Most important Rice football players for 2020
    • Carter and Matthew each compiled their own lists independently then revealed them and discussed their criteria live on the podcast.
    • There were seven players featured on both lists and a spirited debate on who was too high, too low and who they might have missed.

 

Spoiler Alert — Top 15 lists below

If you don’t want to know who makes each list before listening… stop reading now.

 

*Bold players appear in both lists

 Carter’s Top 15

T1. Mike Collins, QB
T1. JoVoni Johnson, QB
3. De’Braylon Carroll, DT
T4. Jason White, CB
T4. Andrew Bird, CB
6. Juma Otoviano, RB
T7. Trey Schuman, DE
T7. Kenneth Orji, DE
9. Tre’shon Devones, CB
10. Zane Knipe, WR
11. Treshawn Chamberlain, Viper
12. Blaze Alldredge, LB
T13. August Pitre, WR
T13. Christian McStravick, WR
15. Jovaun Woolford, OL

 Matthew’s Top 15

1. Mike Collins, QB
2. Blaze Alldredge, LB
3. De’Braylon Carroll, DT
4. Clay Servin, OL
5. Jordan Myers, TE
6. George Nyakwol, SAF
7. Brad Rozner, WR
8. Treshawn Chamberlain, Viper
9. Austin Trammell, WR
10. Antonio Montero, LB
11. Trey Schuman, DE
12. JoVoni Johnson, QB
13. Shea Baker, OL
14. Juma Otoviano, RB
15. Charlie Mendes, P

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Rice Football: 2021 Wide Receiver Peyton Stevenson commits to Owls

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The 2021 Rice Football recruiting class has picked up their first commitment from a wide receiver. Alabama native Peyton Stevenson has committed to the Owls.

Rice football has been on the hunt for pass catchers to add to the 2021 class for some time. Tight end Jaggar Hebeisen was one of the first in the fold during the spring, but the Owls had yet to secure a pledge from a wide receiver as the calendar crept out of the summer and towards the fall.

Then Rice offered Demopolis, AL wide receiver Peyton Stevenson on Sep. 10. A week later the big-bodied pass catcher had pledged his commitment to the Owls. Stevenson will fill a pressing need on the outside, giving Rice some more options to “rebound” and outjump defenders in the redzone. Brad Rozner has taken up that role for the time being, but he won’t be around forever.

With his decision, Stevenson becomes the second quickest from offer to commit in the 2021 recruiting class. Only Ethan Onianwa who committed two days after his offer was quicker. The rest of class, which is likely more typical of college recruiting these days, took weeks to sift through their options. Stevenson clearly knew what he was after an made the jump.

“The academic excellence as well as the high caliber football is what initially turned my head,” Stevenson said, “I was also comfortable with the coaching staff because of the way they communicated and the effort they put into me and my family. I felt like it was a great opportunity, and I’m glad to be a part of the family!”

Premium: 2021 Rice Football Recruiting Offer and Commitment Tracker

Rice also continued their trend of identifying talent early. The Owls were the first FBS program to offer Stevenson, who also had offers from Jacksonville State, North Alabama and Culver-Stockton and the time of his Rice commitment.

Versatility is a huge plus in the Rice football offense. Stevenson’s playmaking ability with the ball in his hands as a quarterback will only aid to what he’s able to do as a wide receiver. This was a good pickup for the Owls who now have 12 commitments and a Top 5 class among their Conference USA peers.

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Rice Football: What happened to playing in the spring?

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The 2020 Rice Football season is cloaked in uncertainty, but playing in the spring is unlikely to be the answer for the Owls.

Over the past several months I’ve had conversations with several folks about the feasibility of spring football. Should Rice football not play a fall season, could they play later in the academic year? The answer: it’s theoretically possible, but unlikely.

I’ll start with something that most everyone I’ve spoken to at Rice seems to agree with. If a fall season can be played, that’s the best option.

Plan A, if you were to call it such, would enable Rice to play for a conference championship. That would be the closest semblance to a “normal” schedule the Owls could achieve. Rice has already chopped that “normal” down to a slightly less recognizable “familiar”, but the general theme remains.

Moving to the spring would bring with it a new set of challenges that go beyond whatever the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic were at that point.

It’s hard to count on relief from other conferences. The Big Ten announced today they’re going to attempt a fall season after all. The Pac-12, which (as of now) is not playing this fall, could reconsider too.

Unless the Mountain West or the MAC choose to have multiple schools make Rice their non-conference game in a hypothetical spring slate, the pickings for opponents will be slim to none.

Without any conference affiliated opponents, a spring slate might not be plausible. Rice’s best-case scenario might be two home-and-homes with New Mexico State and Old Dominion. That might be better than no season at all, but the optics certainly don’t look great. For those reasons, the focus remains squarely on playing this fall.

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Rice Football 2020: Owls in the NFL Week 1 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 1.

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

Week 1 results

Tennessee def. Denver (Anderson, Callahan), 16-14
Pittsburgh (Boswell, McDonald) def. New York Giants, 26-16
Seattle (Willson) def. Atlanta, 38-25
Los Angeles Chargers def. Cincinnati (Covington), 16-13
Chicago def. Detroit (Fox), 27-23
Kansas City def. Houston (Gaines), 34-20
Baltimore def. Cleveland (Sendejo), 38-6

Offense

Calvin Anderson – OT, Broncos

Anderson was active for the team’s Monday Night Football game against the Titans. This was the first game he was active since signing with Denver last year. The Broncos visit the Steelers in Week 2.

Vance McDonald – TE, Steelers

Pittsburgh had their way through the air against the Giants in Week 1. McDonald caught one of two targets for three years with most of the offense running through receivers Juju Smith-Schuster and Diontae Johnson. The Steelers host the Broncos in Week 2.

Luke Willson – TE, Seahawks

Russell Willson connected with nine different pass catchers on Sunday but did not complete a pass to Willson. The Seahawks host the Patriots on Sunday Night Football in Week 2.

Defense and Special Teams

Chris Boswell – K, Steelers

Boswell connected on field goals of 36- and 41-yards against the Giants on Monday Night Football. He made two of three extra points with the miss hitting the right upright. Last season Boswell was a perfect 28-of-28 on point-after tries. The Steelers host the Broncos in Week 2.

Bryce Callahan – CB, Broncos

Callahan finished second on the team in tackles with eight in his debut game with Denver. Six of those were solo tackles. The Broncos visit the Steelers in Week 2.

Christian Covington – DL, Bengals

Covington had three tackles in his Cincinnati debut, playing on 51 percent of the defensive snaps. Earlier in the week, he had this to say about learning the ropes with a new team:

The Bengals visit the Browns on Thursday Night Football in Week 2.

Jack Fox – P, Lions

Fox shined in his NFL debut, blasting a 55-yard punt and a 54-yard punt, both of which were downed inside the 15-yard line. He also registered his first career tackle. The Lions visit the Packers in Week 2.

Phillip Gaines – CB, Texans

Gaines saw all of his action on special teams in his 2020 debut with Houston, playing seven snaps on Thursday night against the Chiefs. The Texans host the Ravens in Week 2.

Andrew Sendejo – Saf, Browns

Sendejo finished fourth on the Browns in tackles in Week 1 with four. Fellow safety Karl Joseph was the only member of the Cleveland secondary who had more (five). The Browns host the Bengals in Week 2.

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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BREAKING: Rice Football games against Marshall, UAB officially postponed

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Rice football games against Marshall and UAB have been officially postponed pushing the season opener back to Oct. 24 vs Middle Tennessee.

Rice Football will not play their games against Marshall (Oct. 3) and UAB (Oct. 10) as previously scheduled. Per an announcement made Monday afternoon, the Owls tentative season start date has been pushed back to October 24. Rice will host Middle Tennessee that afternoon.

We told subscribers this development was coming when Rice announced a further delay in fall practices. The differences between the decision-making factors wouldn’t have changed much between Oct. 3 and Oct. 10. You can read more about that decision and what the Owls hoped to achieve with the delay in our recent update.

The delay marks the fourth time Rice football has modified its 2020 schedule. The LSU game was canceled on July 30 and Rice postponed games against Houston and Army on Aug. 10. The Lamar game was struck from the schedule on August 21.

If things go according to the revised plan, Rice would open their season 49 days after their first opponent (Middle Tennessee) opened their season against Army on Sept. 5. Assuming they were able to complete their games as currently scheduled, Middle Tennesee would have already played five contests, including three conference games (home against WKU and North Texas and away at FIU).

More: This week in Conference USA on The Roost Podcast

As the schedule currently stands, Rice has six opponents. The Owls are home against Middle Tennessee (Oct. 24), UTSA (Nov. 7) and UTEP (Nov. 28). Rice will play at Southern Miss (Oct. 31), Louisiana Tech (Nov. 14) and North Texas (Nov. 21).

Further modifications to the schedule are likely should the Owls proceed with the season. Should Conference USA be willing to move the championship game back, Rice would consider efforts to schedule UAB on Dec. 5 to give them seven conference games. That would bring the Owls back into alignment with the majority of their conference peers.

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