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2025 Rice Football Defensive Newcomer of the Year: Tony Anyanwu

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Tony Anyanwu made his one season on South Main memorable, finishing top five in the conference in sacks on his way to being our 2025 Rice Football Defensive Newcomer of the Year.

It’s hard to know for certain what the Transfer Portal is going to bring. When Rice football added former Baylor edge rusher Tony Anyanwu to the fold they were making a bet that the talented recruit who notched just seven tackles in two seasons with the Bears could bring more to the table with the Owls. It turns out the staff was right.

Anyanwu arrived on campus as the presumptive backup to Michael Daley, who would be lost for the season with an injury just four games into the Owls’ 2025 campaign. At that point, snaps were open to any and all who could find a way to get opposing quarterbacks on the ground.

In that same game in which Daley went down, Anyanwu registered two sacks, the best single-game outing of his career by far. And that was as a role player taking on a little bit more responsibility with every passing week.

More: 2025 Rice Football Season Superlatives

“He’s still coming into his own as a pass rusher,” defensive coordinator Jon Kay said. “I think he’s just going to continue to grow as he gets a better understanding of the defense.”

It wasn’t long after Kay started using words like “mainstay” to describe the steadying presence Anyanwu brought to the Rice defense. He became an every-down player, posting what was then a career-best nine-tackle game in the Owls’ upset win over UConn, which drew even more rave reviews from his coaches.

“He can play a lot of positions. He’s just about the most versatile kid out there because you can drop him in coverage. You can put him in an inside technique and get a pass rush. You can put him on the edge,” head coach Scott Abell gushed, rattling off the myriad of ways Anyanwu had proven effective for Rice.

By the time Rice reached its final game in the Armed Forces Bowl against Texas State, Anyanwu was at his best. He finished with seven solo 11 combined tackles, a mark that led the team. He also had 1.5 sacks.

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Anyanwu had become much more than a situational edge rusher. He was an essential cog in the Rice defense besieged by injuries. The unit limped to the finish line and was in danger of a collapse had it not been for a handful of indomitable players like Anyanwu, who refused to go out without a fight.

Mixed results on a team level limited the accolades Anyanwu might have received on a larger scale, but the Owls’ go-to pass rusher finished the season tied for third in the American with 6.5 sacks and was Top 20 in the conference in tackles for loss. More often than not, Anyanwu changed the game when he was on the field. The defense would not have been the same without him.

** Photo credit: Maria Lysaker **

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2025 Rice Football Iron Man: Andrew Awe

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A former walk-on who never gave up, linebacker Awe became the heart and soul of the defense and our 2025 Rice Football Iron Man.

Over the past five seasons, Rice football has perpetually stacked some of it’s highest rated recruiting classes in program history, thinning out the opportunities for non-scholarship players to make significant impacts. That didn’t stop linebacker Andrew Awe, who persevered to become The Roost’s 2025 Rice Football Iron Man.

Awe arrived on campus prior to the 2020 season as a walk-on, devoid of a true position and did not see the field that year or the following. It wasn’t until the 2022 season that he was placed on scholarship and earned a spot on special teams. He earned his first start in the Owls’ opener against USC that season, but saw almost twice as many snaps on special teams that year as he did with the defense.

More: 2025 Rice Football Season Superlatives

To that point, Awe’s story resembled that of many walk-on players at the collegiate level. Getting on the field in any capacity was already beating the odds, and to earn a scholarship meant he’d done better than the vast majority of others in his position.

He’d become a bit more involved in the defense the following season, but it was the 2024 campaign when Awe truly made his mark, making the leap from contributor to a core member of the defense. He started the final 12 games of the season, finishing third on the team with 52 tackles. By the time the 2025 season arrived, Awe was arguably the face of the defense.

Although he wasn’t a captain in name, it was Awe who strode to the microphone prior to the team’s first game against Louisiana. Later in the season, it was Awe who was selected to speak at the announcement of The Gateway Project, playing a role in the introduction of the Owls’ new stadium renovation plans. No longer anonymous, Awe was a rock head coach Scott Abell relied on to build his program.

Before the season, Awe reflected on that journey. “I’ve been here for 16 years,” he joked.

“At the end of the day, what you put on tape is your resume, so we’re just going to focus on what we put on tape this week.”

Awe’s tape dazzled. He racked up 101 tackles across 12 regular season games, becoming the first Rice player to surpass the century mark in takedowns since 2019. With so much of the defense around him wrestling with injuries and inconsistency, Awe was as reliable as they come.

During the year, Awe was named to the Burlsworth Trophy Award watchlist, a honor given annually to the most outstanding college football player who began their career as a walk-on.

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“I don’t think you can put a price tag on what Awe has meant to our program through this season,” Abell said following the Owls’ final game against South Florida. “When you want to know who the best of us is, it’s Andrew Awe. He represents us in the classroom, in the community and certainly on the football field, day in and day out.”

Awe leaves Rice with 195 tackles, more than half of which he accrued in his final season. The redshirt senior stuck it out, battling through two early years without seeing a snap and a coaching change. And as it turned out, Rice football needed him more this year than either he or the program could have ever imagined as recently as two years ago.

“There’s just not enough words or the right words to really describe how special he is,” Abell said.

** Photo credit: Maria Lysaker **

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5 Pressing Questions from 2025 Rice Football Season

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We learned a lot from the 2025 Rice football season, but a few important questions remained unanswered. Here’s what we need to know after Year 1 under Scot Abell.

The new-look Rice football offense made its debut alongside new head coach Scott Abell in his first season on South Main, which culminated in an appearance in the Armed Forces Bowl. The offense showed sparks; the defense struggled through injuries. Both sides of the ball can improve in their levels of consistency and many important questions were left unanswered.

More: 5 Takeaways from 2025 Rice Football Season

Stay tuned for our Team Superlatives, released next week, featuring more traditional awards like Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year and more.

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Rice Football Recruiting: OL Scott Becker commits to Owls

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Another Ivy League product is joining the 2026 Rice Football Recruiting class. Former Princeton offensive lineman Scott Becker has committed to the Owls.

The academic connection between South Main and the Ivy Leagues has long since been established, but the football pipeline between the two realms is picking up steam. Already with one Ivy League product in the fold, the 2026 Rice Football recruiting has picked up another pledge from the region. Former Princeton offensive lineman Scott Becker has committed to the Owls.

Becker steadily saw his involvement at Princeton rise, making 16 starts while serving as the team’s primary center in 2025. The 6-foot-2, 305-pound Briarcliff Manor, NY native will has one year of eligibility remaining and intends to spend it at Rice where he’ll join another offensive line transfer from the Ivies, former Yale center Leo Bluhm.

The tandem of Becker and Blum are the latest in a stead pipeline of Ivy League to Rice transfers. Last season it was offensive lineman Sean Sullivan (Yale) and defensive lineman Ejike Adele (Dartmouth). Before them was defensive lineman Charlie Looes (Dartmouth) and before him, defensive lineman Coleman Coco (Colgate), among others.

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There’s only one ball which means either Becker or Blum (or both) will have to shift from center to somewhere lese on the line at South Main. There’s enough evidence on the film from Becker than he could be adept sliding over to guard, but that’s something that won’t get sorted out until both get on campus. For now, it’s another much-needed veteran addition in the offensive trenches.

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Rice Football Recruiting: TE Preston Zinter commits to Owls

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A talented athlete is flipping sides of the ball when he joins the 2026 Rice Football Recruiting class. Newfound tight end Preston Zinter has committed to the Owls from Notre Dame.

Finding the most talented players possible remains the marching orders for the 2026 Rice Football Recruiting class, even if that means going beyond conventional wisdom. That kind of outside-the-box thinking landed the Owls a potential game changer. Former Notre Dame edge Preston Zinter has committed to the Owls to play tight end.

Zinter was a two-way player at the high school level who was listed as an athlete by most recruiting services despite being much stockier than the traditional mold that fits that designation. He opted to play defense at Notre Dame, appearing in 26 games as a reserve defensive lineman and special teams maven. He blocked a punt in a victory over Florida State in 2024.

The addition of Zinter gives the Owls a nice collection of additions on offense in this current transfer cycle. Since the portal opened, Rice has landed commitments from wide slot receivers Ben Grice (Wake Forest) and Max Mosey (Holy Cross) and offensive lineman Leo Bluhm (Yale) as well as quarterbacks Jacurri Brown (UCF) and Gael Ochoa (UNLV).

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Zinter’s immediate experience doesn’t come on offense, at least not at the collegiate level, but Rice took one look at his high school tape and fell in love with the mismatch he presented on that side of the ball. He’s being recruited exclusively for that skillset and will play offense on South Main. And, if the film is any indication, will be a productive piece for the Owls to rely upon in short order.

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