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Rice Football Recruiting: JUCO DL AJ Sargent commits to Owls

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The 2021 Rice Football recruiting class has picked up its first JUCO addition. Defensive lineman AJ Sargent has committed to the Owls.

The summer is in the books and Rice football is in the home stretch for its 2021 recruiting class. The early signing period is two months away and its time for Rice, and their peers to begin finishing up their classes. Rice has already turned some of its attention to offers for the 2022 class ($).  Rice entered October with a Top 5 class in Conference USA and 13 commitments from high school recruits.

On Saturday they added their first junior college player to the fold. Coffeyville C.C. defensive lineman AJ Sargent has committed to the Owls. Rice offered Sargent in September. The Owls’ primary competition for Sargent was an offer from Missouri State.

Sargent will provide a much-needed injection of talent on the interior of the defensive line where numbers have grown a bit thin. De’Braylon Carroll is the Owls’ only interior defender with meaningful game experience that won’t be a senior this coming fall. Adding someone who can contribute quickly will be a big building block for this class.

Premium: 2021 Rice Football Recruiting Offer and Commitment Tracker

Beyond what he can do in the fall of 2021, Sargent is expected to enroll early. He’ll be on campus for the upcoming semester, ensuring he’ll be available for spring practice next February/March. Getting transfers on campus early is always a plus. Head coach Mike Bloomgren acknowledge its benefits multiple times this spring when grad transfer Mike Collins saw his first action on the field with the Owls.

For Sargent, it only takes one quick glance through the film to see how impactful he could be at South Main. The 6-foot-1, 290-pound tackle sheds blockers quickly and has great pursuit. Having him and Carroll along the same front could prove to be a powerful combination for the Owls in the trenches.

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BREAKING: Mike Collins named Rice Football starting quarterback

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Mike Collins has won the starting quarterback job for Rice football in 2020. The TCU transfer will be the man under center when the Owls open the season.

Rice football will have a new starting quarterback when they open the 2020 season. Graduate transfer Mike Collins will be the Owls’ starting quarterback this fall. He beat out redshirt freshman JoVoni Johnson who had been competing with Collins for the starting job through the spring and into fall camp.

Throughout camp, head coach Mike Bloomgren was clear Collins had the leg up. “I think Mike Collins is just a little bit ahead still.” Bloomgren said, “Pretty much every day he’s just a little bit ahead.”

His arm strength and ability to command the offense has been noticeable thus far. For a bigger guy, he’s pretty fleet of foot too. Rice won’t lose too much in terms of mobility from the position by opting for the 6-foot-5, 225-pound TCU transfer.

Bloomgren noted earlier this year the Owls were guaranteed to have the starting quarterback on campus this spring. Rice did not bring in any new passers over the summer, a decision that proved fortuitous given the rapidly changing environment. Collins was present for spring practice, an added benefit the staff believes will pay dividends in the coming weeks.

Collins will become the latest new face to start a season opening game for Rice football. Prior to his forthcoming debut, Rice has started a different quarterback in their opening game every year dating back to 2015, when Dryphus Jackson returned as the Owls’ QB1.

From 2015 on, Rice turned to Tyler Stehling (2016), Sam Glaesmann (2017), Shawn Stankavage (2018) and Wiley Green (2019) in their openers. Only one, Stehling maintained the starting job for the entirety of the year.

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Rice Football Recruiting: Owls add to early list of 2022 offers

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Rice football has extended four offers to prospective members of the 2022 class, including three more this week.

The second, third and fourth offers of the 2022 Rice Football recruiting class have been extended. One of the Owls earliest commitments in the 2021 class (linebacker DJ Arkansas) was an October offer, and Rice beat out an Arkansas offer for his services. The Owls hope getting in early with some of their top targets will pay dividends down the road.

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The Roost Podcast | Ep 55 – The Rice Football Rankings Show

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The Rice Football season is two weeks away. In preparation for the games, Carter and Matthew ranked the Owls position groups and opponents.

Rice football is back on the practice field. For the first time in months, we’ve had the chance to see the Owls in action. (Our subscribers can get access to all those practice updates here.) After getting a closer look, Carter and Matthew rank every position group by confidence level.

They also turned their gaze beyond the hedges toward the rest of the Owls’ 2020 opponents. Could another team on the Rice football schedule be more beatable than UTEP? It’s certainly possible.

You can always find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 55.

Episode 55 Notes

  • Housekeeping — Don’t miss this opportunity to subscribe on Patreon. You’ll get practice reports, recruiting news and the latest analysis and updates on all things relating to Rice Athletics.
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  • Rice Football opponent rankings
    • Which teams on the Owls’ schedule should Rice have the greatest confidence against?
    • UTEP is NOT the easiest game on the schedule this year
    • The Owls’ toughest opponent might not technically be on the schedule just yet
  • Rice Football positional rankings
    • The defense is ahead of the offense, but one offensive position group is near the top of the list
    • What’s most important? Top end talent or having plenty of depth
    • Unknowns at quarterback remain a quandary until we see it on the field.

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Rice Football 2020 Practice Notes: Quarterbacks, specialists and injuries

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Rice football is nearly halfway through fall camp. The quarterback situation is clearing up but the running back depth chart is heating up.

On Monday, Rice football had its first practice following Scrimmage No. 1. That extra session, combined with time to break down the scrimmage film, gave head coach Mike Bloomgren a better feel for where the team stands as the midpoint of fall camp approaches.

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The quarterback situation is starting to crystalize, but Khalan Griffin is making the running back depth chart extremely hard to parse out. I’ve got more notes on both position battles, how the special teams situation is looking right now and an update on injuries including three players that I haven’t seen take the field for the Owls this fall.

Timetable for a QB1 decision

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