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Rice Football 2025 Fall Camp Notebook: Early Returns

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The first practices of Rice Football fall camp are in the books. Here are a few things that stood out the most in the early work to this point.

It’s always exciting to begin a new season and the first days of Rice football fall camp had a buzz about them, even with the sweltering Houston heat hanging in the air. The Owls continued their installs on both sides of the ball and got a look at their many new faces who have arrived in the past few weeks.

Rice Football Preseason Preview: Check out the rest of the series here.

This update runs through the early standouts and notables with some comments from Abell and early takeaways through the first two days of camp.

Getting started on the right foot

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Rice Football Recruiting: CB Jordan Mitchell commits to Owls

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The month of August began with good news for the 2026 Rice Football recruiting class. Cornerback Jordan Mitchell has committed to the Owls.

A productive summer, which saw the 2026 Rice Football recruiting class grow from a pair of spring commitments to more than a dozen future Owls, got even better this week. On the same day the team returned to the grass to open fall camp, they got good news for the future. Ridge Point High School cornerback Jordan Mitchell has committed to the Owls.

Mitchell hadn’t reported any other offers at the time Rice made its bid for his services, but that didn’t seem to impact the relationship that developed between Mitchell and the Rice staff.

“When Rice first started recruiting me, they made it clear that I was a special player and were looking forward to watching me progress,” Mitchell told The Roost, crediting the leadership of head coach Scott Abell and the earnestness of position coach Jeremy Modkins, who made him feel welcome.

Mitchell’s fit within the scheme sealed the deal. “I know Rice plays a lot of man coverage,” he said, “That’s my specialty, so I know I will be a great fit in their defense.”

Mitchell is the second defensive back committed to the Owls thus far, joining Cy Falls’ corner James Henderson, who made his pledge in mid-June. The rest of the defensive commits to this point will play in front of them, including linebacker Jayden Cupitt and a trio of linemen: Seth Clarke, JD Singletary and Quincy Tchikou.

Premium: Rice Football Recruiting Offer and Commitment Tracker

Mitchell’s athleticism is one of the first thing that jumps out when you turn on the tape. He’s sticky and hard to shake in coverage and moves well in the open field. His added versatility in the return game is a nice bonus that should serve him well at the next level.

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The Roost Podcast | Ep 207 – 2025 Rice Football Opponent Previews: Charlotte

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The 2025 Rice Football season previews march on. This week, we’re wrapping the series up with some Charlotte talk at American Conference Media Days with Hunter Bailey.

The final edition of our Rice Football opponent summer preview series concludes in Charlotte at American Conference Media Days where we sat down with Hunter Bailey of the Charlotte Observer to talk about an eventful offseason for the 49ers program. From a new head coach to a host of new players, we previewed what to expect from this team this coming season.

You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 207.

Episode Notes

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The Roost Podcast is now part of the Dave Campbell’s Republic of Football Podcast Network. You’ll still get the same content with the same hosts, but now under the DCTF banner.

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We’re thrilled to partner with Homefield Apparel, the premier proprietor of college football clothing. First-time buyers can use the code ROOST for 15% off their order. The Owls hoodie is a personal favorite as is the Luv-Ya-Owls shirt. Make sure you check out the sailor hat (pictured below) as you shop the Rice collection or pick up something else (or both)!

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Rice Football Opponent Preview: Charlotte

  • Charlotte’s hiring of Tim Albin, a normal guy who’s a good football coach
  • Setting expectations given the rigorous football schedule
  • What makes this reboot so much harder than when Will Healy took over in 2019?
  • Diagnosing an uncertain quarterback situation
  • Importing a linebacker room from Ohio
  • The Lightning Round

Where can you find us?

The Roost Podcast is part of the Dave Campbell’s Republic of Football Podcast Network. You can find this podcast and all of our partner podcasts on Apple, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts.

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2025 Rice Football Opponent Season Preview: South Florida

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Injuries and a tough schedule spoiled a breakout season for South Florida last year. What can Rice Football expect from the Bulls in 2025?

Head Coach: Alex Golesh
Record at School: 14-12 (2 Yr) | Career FBS Record 14-12 (2 Yr)
Offensive Coordinator: Joel Gordon | Defensive Coordinator: Todd Orlando

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2025 Rice Football Season Preview: Linebacker

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Next up in our 2025 Rice Football Season Preview: linebacker. Here’s our breakdown of the Owls’ plans for the group this season.

Once again, the Rice football linebacker room is fully stocked with top-of-the-line talent hindered more by the lack of available starting positions than by a lack of athletes to fill those roles. Sorting out playing time will be the challenge here, but that’s exactly the kind of problem defensive coordinator Jon Kay would prefer to have.

Rice Football Preseason Preview: Check out the rest of the series here.

This piece is part of our 2025 Rice Football Season Preview. Get access to it, as well as all other preview posts such as positional breakdowns, depth chart and schedule analysis and more when you subscribe on Patreon today. 

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** Photo credit: Maria Lysaker **

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