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Rice Football: Jersey numbers revealed for incoming freshman class

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The incoming Rice football freshman is one step closer to taking the field for the first time. The new Owls have been assigned jersey numbers.

The past few months have been unique for everyone. The incoming Rice football freshman class has been no exception. In a more traditional offseason, each player would have received a virtual copy of the playbook and instructions to study up before they got to campus for summer workouts. Their understanding would have been primarily driven by their own study and willingness to get ahead of the curve.

The virtual learning environment brought about in response to the COVID-19 pandemic allowed for those freshmen to mee with their teammates. In many ways, they’ve had more exposure to the program and the scheme than any class has had before them. Rather than begin their learning cover in earnest over the summer, the incoming class had a significant head start.

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With voluntary workouts set to begin soon, Rice football players and staff will begin to arrive on campus. That will include the 27 true freshmen that Rice will add to the team for the 2020 season. Here are the jersey numbers for those newcomers:

6. Griffin, Khalan (RB)
13. Narcisse, Lamont (CB)
14. Kamper, Nate (TE)
16. Doddridge, Jonah (S)
23. Tawa, Casey (WR)
25. Dunbar, Jordan (CB)
25. Mason, Andrew (WR)
26. Taylor, Gabe (S)
27. Awe, Andrew (LB)
28. Campbell, Kobie (RB)
29. Fresch, Sean (CB)
34. Ellis, Terreance (LB)
40. Reeves, Jalen (DE)
41. Wyatt, Plae (S)
42. Hibbard, Brian (FB)
44. Hargon, Geron (LB)
52. Nutter, Braedon (OL)
53. Leone, Mike (OL)
61. Witt, Harry (OL)
69. Lovell, Payton (OL)
72. Phillippi, Trey (OL)
81. Chappelle, Caleb (WR)
83. Wallace, Ryan (WR)
89. Haack, Michael (WR)
95. James, Caleb (DT)
98. Heitmann, Van (DE)
99. Latos, Cole (DE)

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Rice Football Recruiting: 2020 National Signing Day Live Blog

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The 2020 Rice Football Recruiting class will add to their already impressive class on National Signing Day. Stay here for live updates as they happen.

We’ll have all the latest news and notes from National Signing Day updated throughout the day. The 2020 Rice Football Recruiting class had 17 players signed prior to today and should up that total significantly.

Stay tuned for news on the four commits as well as any potential new additions making announcements on Wednesday. There will be some fireworks you don’t want to miss.

Closing thoughts on the 2020 Rice Football recruiting class

Rice Football Recruiting: 2020 National Signing Day Recap

10:30 p.m.

The class is (mostly) done and I’ve got a lot of notes to work through on the full class. Here’s some quick thoughts from coach Bloomgren.

I’ve also updated the class breakdowns. Read more about the defensive signees here:

Rice Football Recruiting: Breaking down the 2020 signees – Defense

And more on the offensive signees here:

Rice Football Recruiting: Breaking down the 2020 signees – Offense and Special Teams

11:45 a.m.

That’s a wrap… sort of

Rice should address the class as a whole later this afternoon. At this point, I don’t have any concerns about any previously announced players getting in. Gotta make the graphic at some point. Overall, this is a very good haul. I’ll have more notes on the class as a whole later on.

10:40 a.m.

Looks like we should update the all-time recruiting ranks. In the past two classes, Bloomgren’s staff has signed four of the top 13 players in program history

  1. DB Gabe Taylor (2020, .8599)
  2. RB Shane Turner (2008, .8590)
  3. CB Jeremy Eddington (2010, .8590)
  4. CB Fred Jackson (2010, .8556)
  5. DT Zach Abercrumbia (2015, .8534)
  6. Saf Gabe Baker (2010, .8528)
  7. ATH Jake Bailey (2019, .8516)
  8. K Chris Boswell (2009, .8510)
  9. CB Lamont Narcisse (2020, .8499)
  10. RB Samuel Stewart (2014, .8484)
  11. Saf Jaylon Finner (2011, .8466)
  12. LB DJ Green (2013, .8459)
  13. CB Sean Fresch (2020, .8449)

10:11 a.m.

The Stanford pipeline continues to flow. Transfer kicker Collin Riccitelli is in.

Rice Football Recruiting: Stanford kicker Collin Riccitelli transfers to Owls

9:20 a.m.

JUCO linebacker Jaren Banks, who committed earlier this week, has turned in his paperwork. He’s officially an Owl.

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

9:16 a.m.

Had to wait until the West coast woke up for our next wave of signees. The new name here is Calabasas corner Lamont Narcisse. He signs with Rice after a hard fight from Washington State. He is also a Top-10 rated player in the Owls’ 247 Sports history.

Rice Football Recruiting 2020: Corner Lamont Narcisse commits to Owls

6:40 a.m.

While we wait for the next one in, here’s a snapshot of the top commits the Owls have signed with their class and 247 Sports rating. Three of the top 12 will be on campus this upcoming season.

  1. DB Gabe Taylor (2020, .8599)
  2. RB Shane Turner (2008, .8590)
  3. CB Jeremy Eddington (2010, .8590)
  4. CB Fred Jackson (2010, .8556)
  5. DT Zach Abercrumbia (2015, .8534)
  6. Saf Gabe Baker (2010, .8528)
  7. ATH Jake Bailey (2019, .8516)
  8. K Chris Boswell (2009, .8510)
  9. RB Samuel Stewart (2014, .8484)
  10. Saf Jaylon Finner (2011, .8466)
  11. LB DJ Green (2013, .8459)
  12. CB Sean Fresch (2020, .8449)

6:19 a.m.

Rice football just signed the highest-rated player in program history. Welcome aboard Gabe Taylor!

Rice Football Recruiting 2020: DB Gabe Taylor commits to Owls

Wednesday — 5:59 a.m.

Players are allowed to sign at 7:00 a.m. local time, which means the East Coast is up first in just a few minutes. Stay tuned, Rice is going to start out strong.

Tuesday night

Most of the 2020 Rice Football recruiting class has been nailed down prior to the start of the Early Signing Period. The most recent list is available here where you can read profiles on the most notable players. Of those committed players — which range from transfers to walk ons — here’s the list of those who did not sign in December. We’ll be keeping an eye on these names Wednesday morning.

  • LB Andrew Awe – Mansfield, TX
  • LB Jaren Banks – New Mexico Military Institute (JUCO)
  • WR Caleb Chappelle – The Woodlands, TX
  • DB Jonah Doddridge – Southlake, TX
  • LB Terreance Ellis – Pearland, TX
  • WR Michael Haack – El Paso, TX
  • FB Brian Hibbard – Baton Rouge, LA
  • OL Payton Lovell – Trophy Club, TX
  • K Collin Riccitelli – Stanford
  • OL Charlie Stone – Austin, TX
  • WR Casey Tawa – West Linn, OR

Make sure to stay tuned on Twitter and follow our live blog here during the day for updates. Get the latest list of the 2020 Rice Football Recruiting commits by clicking the tracker below.

Rice Football, Rice Football Recruiting

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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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