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Rice Football Recruiting 2020: Owls to add JUCO LB Jaren Banks

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JUCO linebacker Jaren Banks will transfer to South Main and be part of the 2020 Rice Football recruiting class as the Owls pluck another transfer.

The final weekend before National Signing Day was productive for the 2020 Rice Football Recruiting class. Along with the already announced transfer of former Stanford kicker Collin Riccitelli, Rice will add another transfer for the upcoming season. Junior College linebacker Jaren Banks has committed to the Owls.

Originally from Junction City, Oregon, Banks spent the last two seasons at the New Mexico Military Institute. He had 61 tackles in nine games last season, including five tackles for a loss, one fumble forced and one fumble recovery. That’s in addition to 34 tackles the year before. After a productive start to his collegiate career, Banks is ready to make the jump to Division 1.

Blaze Alldredge was the last linebacker Rice nabbed from the JUCO ranks. He set a high bar to achieve, but the Owls’ success rate on additions from junior colleges remains above the norm. Brad Rozner and Naeem Smith both excelled in their first seasons removed from JUCO in 2019. The academic rigors alone make the transition from the junior college to Rice a road less traveled. Banks’ ability to fulfill both requirements speaks to his desire and ability to continue to excel.

More: Rice football 2020 recruiting class commitment list

Banks will have two seasons of eligibility at Rice, ostensibly setting him up to play a key role in 2020 as an experienced hand, if not sooner. The 5-foot-11, 215-pound backer has prototypical size and power. He attacks the ball with ferocity and will make his presence felt in opposing backfields. Watch him explode into the backfield on the first play of his highlights below. He’s going to be fun to watch at South Main.

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Rice Football Recruiting: Stanford kicker Collin Riccitelli transfers to Owls

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The Stanford-to-Rice pipeline continues to flow toward South Main. Former Cardinal kicker Collin Riccitelli will be join the 2020 Rice Football recruiting class.

Mike Bloomgren made it clear upon his hiring that he intended to bring the Stanford culture of Intellectual Brutality to South Main. The 2019 Rice Football recruiting class features two of his former pupils: offensive lineman Brian Chaffin and fullback Reagan Williams. The 2020 class will feature another, former Cardinal kicker Collin Riccitelli.

Riccitelli appeared in three games as a junior in 2018. He made 8-of-10 extra point tries. He converted his lone field goal attempt, a 21-yarder in his collegiate debut at Washington.

Riccitelli will have one season remaining when he arrives at South Main. He’ll be the clear favorite to be the Owls’ starting kicker for 2020. Rice hopes he’ll provide stability at a position that had its share of ups and downs during the 2019 campaign. At the punter position, Rice has high hopes for Charlie Mendes, a freshman who redshirted last season.

With the field goal duties spoken for in Palo Alto, a change in scenery made since for Riccitelli. The Owls were a logical fit. In addition to the obvious connection he already shared with Bloomgren, Rice had an opening at the kicker position for the 2020 season. Seniors Jack Fox and Haden Tobola tag-teamed the job in 2018 before ceding to senior Chris Barnes for the 2019 season.

Originally slated to be the Owls’ punter, Barnes beat out Will Harrison and Zach Hoban for the place kicking duties as well. Hoban announced his decision to transfer in January, leaving the door wide open for a potential new arrival to win the job next season.

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Rice Football 2020: Transfer portal and roster notes

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The Transfer Portal has made itself a part of the 2020 Rice football offseason. Who’s on their way out and who could be on their way to Houston?

Suspensions and outgoing players

Aaron Cephus was suspended for the entirety of the 2019 season. After the season, multiple sources told me he was a longshot to return to the program. He has since put his name into the Transfer Portal alongside corner D’Angelo Ellis, who had also been suspended. Ellis was suspended after appearing in two games this season. In four years at Rice, he never appeared in more than seven games, battling through injuries and more recent off the field issues. He was not expected to be a significant contributor in 2020.

The newest entrant, kicker Zach Hoban, handled kickoffs for the Owls last season. He did not attempt any kicks.

It’s possible we could see another name or two added to the list of outgoing players, but the players most likely to be added to that list did not see much, if any playing time in 2019. Rush end Anthony Ekpe and offensive lineman Uzoma Osuji, both of which put their name in the portal earlier this winter, are likely the biggest hits Rice will see via transfers to their depth this offseason. Any other potential departures aren’t expected to be significant.

Rice football players currently in the Transfer Portal
  • WR Aaron Cephus
  • LB Anthony Ekpe
  • DB D’Angelo Ellis
  • PK Zach Hoban
  • OL Uzoma Osuji

Potential Transfer Targets

The transfer market is going to heat up for Rice over the next several weeks. The Owls have been in contact with a host of potential instant-impact players, including several who started at the Power 5 level. There’s a decent chance that could include some from the exodus of Stanford players. More than a dozen from Mike Bloomgren’s former school are currently in the Transfer Portal.

Look for potential reinforcements at running back, offensive line, defensive line and place kicker. Rice is losing starters in all of those spots. The Owls would also be interested in another outside wide receiver with height to pair opposite Brad Rozner, especially given the status of Aaron Cephus. That would depend on how many 6-foot-5, D1-caliber receivers are available — there won’t be many.

More: Owls extend 10 new offers at 2021 Junior Day

It’s worth noting the timetable for any potential new arrivals. National Signing Day is Wednesday, Feb. 5 but by no means is that the deadline to have the entire class complete. The portal has extended the recruiting cycle into the spring and early summer. Rice needs their class finalized by the time summer workouts begin in June. The Owls won’t delay getting potential transfers in, but they won’t force-fit anyone to reach a “complete” class by signing day.

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Rice Football: 2020 Defense leads nation in returning production

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The Rice Football defense was much improved in 2019, but the Owls could be one of the fiercest units in the nation in 2020.

On paper, the 2020 Rice football defense looks as formidable as it’s been in a long time. When Mike Bloomgren arrived at South Main, he spoke of Intellectual Brutality, of hitting so hard that others knew what was coming and shrank away.

Rice made a jump in 2019, elevating themselves from near the bottom of C-USA to No. 6 in scoring defense. At the same, they got stingier. The Owls finished fifth in the conference in three-and-out percentage and 57th in the nation in stop rate, better than Oklahoma, Texas, Stanford and Houston, among others.

We knew that defense was coming back, almost in its entirety. This week, Bill Connelly of ESPN put that into greater clarity. Not only will Rice have plenty of returning playmakers on defense next season, they’ll have the most returning production in the nation.

The only departing starter who played significant snaps for Rice last season was defensive tackle Myles Adams. Rice will replace him with De’Braylon Carroll, a rising star who was named to the Pro Football Focus all-freshman team as a rotation player behind Adams.

Anthony Ekpe will be missed as well, but injuries kept him off the field for much of 2019. In his place, guys like Kenneth Orji and other younger players got valuable reps.

Experience isn’t everything. Returning bad defensive players leads to bad defenses more often than not. But Rice has a host of talented defenders, with more help on the way. The 2020 Rice defense is going to be good and is already starting ahead of the game. For now, it’s one more reason to be optimistic about what the Owls can achieve next fall.

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Rice Football Recruiting: 2020 Linebacker Terreance Ellis commits to Owls

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With National Signing Day fast approaching, Shadow Creek linebacker Terreance Ellis is the newest member of the 2020 Rice football recruiting class.

The 2021 Rice football recruiting class was the center of attention last weekend. The Owls handed out nearly a dozen offers to prospective juniors who won’t be eligible to sign before December of this year and won’t play college football for at least another 20 months. That future wasn’t the only focus for the Rice staff, though. They also keyed in on some 2020 targets. One of those was Shadow Creek edge rusher Terreance Ellis.

Standing at 6-foot-1 and tipping the scales at 201 pounds, Eliis probably profiles more like a linebacker than a defensive lineman in college. Wherever he lines up, Rice is going to use him to get pressure.

Ellis was part of a state championship team this past season, continuing a tradition of winners the Rice staff has targeted as they rebuild this program. He’ll pair nicely with linebacker Geron Hargon and edge rusher Jalen Reeves, rounding out an impressive collection of havoc makers in the middle.

Class Tracker: Updated list of 2020 Rice Football commits

Houston Baptist and Northwestern State were the only other schools to offer Ellis before Rice swooped in this weekend but he did have a preferred walk-on offer from Baylor as well. Once he set foot on campus it didn’t take him long to make a decision.

Ellis is a versatile pass rusher with the ability to make plays on the ball. He spent a lot of time with his hand in the dirt this past season, powering through blockers on his way to the backfield. His arsenal includes more than brute force. Open field tackling is a requirement at the next level and Ellis has shown he has the burst and the follow-through to succeed in space.

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