Rice 2012 Recruiting

Rice Owls 2012 ... Head Coach: David Bailiff

Rice Owls

2011 Record: 4-8

Sep. 3 at Texas L 34-9
Sep. 10 Purdue W 24-22
Sep. 17 OPEN DATE
Sep. 24 at Baylor L 56-31
Oct. 1 at Southern Miss L 48-24
Oct. 8 Memphis W 28-6
Oct. 15 at Marshall L 24-20
Oct. 22 Tulsa L 38-20
Oct. 29 at Houston L 73-34
Nov. 5 UTEP W 41-37
Nov. 12 at Northwestern W 28-6
Nov. 19 Tulane W 19-7
Nov. 26 at SMU L 27-24

2010 CFN Prediction: 3-9
2010 Record: 3-8

Sept. 4 Texas L 34-17
Sept. 11 at North Texas W 33-31
Sept. 18 Northwestern L 20-13
Sept. 25 Baylor L 30-13
Oct. 2 SMU L 42-31
Oct. 9 at UTEP L 44-24
Oct. 16 Houston W 34-31
Oct. 23 at UCF L 41-14
Oct. 30 OPEN DATE
Nov. 6 at Tulsa L 64-27
Nov. 13 at Tulane L 54-49
Nov. 20 East Carolina W 62-38
Nov. 27 UAB
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The Entire 2012 Recruiting Class

Top 5 Rice Recruits To Care About
Player writeups by Scout.com

1. LB Alexander Lyons
6-0, 215, Scout.com 78th ranked, three-star outside linebacker. Lyons finished his junior season with 152 tackles, three sacks, three fumbles caused, two fumbles recovered and one interception. He says he can bench 250-pounds, squat 350 and claims a 35-inch vertical jump.

2. DT Cody Henessee
6-3, 250, Scout.com 87th ranked, three-star defensive tackle.

3. WR Darrioun Pollard
5-10, 175, Scout.com 91st ranked, three-star receiver.

4. LB Luke Turner
6-1, 180, Scout.com 100th ranked, three-star linebacker.

5. C Spencer Stanley
6-4, 245, Scout.com 33rd ranked, two-star center.

The 2012 Class Was Heavy On... The Owls have worked on defense over the last few recruiting classes, but the efforts haven’t exactly paid off so ar. However, there’s a decent base of underclassmen ready to show what they can do. Now the program needs to find more firepower with several key skill players going and more playmakers a must.

Team Concerns For 2012: The offensive line is a huge problem with four starters gone and the backup center, Eric Ball, also done. The opening is there for a newcomer to start right away, and a few decent prospects are on the way in Connor Patterson and Spencer Stanley. Defensive tackle is also a major concern with little proven depth to play around with.

Looking Ahead To The 2012 Season: Rice has to get a better year out of the defense to have any hope of improving. The nation’s 111th- ranked defense loses three starters on the line and WLB Justin Allen. The secondary that was torched time and again has to replace two starters, but top corner Bryce Callahan will be the anchor. Leading tackler Cameron Nwosu is back on the strongside, but the D has to press on without top pass rusher Scott Solomon. The offense will work around QB Taylor McHargue and running backs Turner Peterson and Sam McGuffie, but four starters are gone off the line. Leading receiver Vance McDonald is back along with solid TE Luke Willson.

2011 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 85. That Class Was Heavy On ... Defensive linemen. Rice HAS to start generating more of a pass rush. The defense was 105th in the nation in sacks and was dead last in tackles for loss, and while it’s asking way too much to get a new recruiting class to make a difference in one years, the Owls have to hope that one of the several new defensive ends can provide a boost to the depth. Michael Sam is the best of the lot, while outside linebacker Nick Elder could be the playmaker the D is looking for. Offensively, receivers Driphus Jackson and Lovett Gibson should be the stars of the haul.

2010 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 101. That Class Was Heavy On ... 2009. Last year's class was the one that's going to make the difference over the next few seasons, and there weren't many spots to fill this year. However, it's about quality over quantity with this class needing DE Dylan Klare, CB Bryce Callahan, and linebackers James Radcliffe and Cameron Nwoso likely to be key Conference USA players sooner than later. But if the stars bust out, there's no a lot from this class to fall back on.

2009 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 76. That Class Was Heavy On ... defensive backs. When you give up 34 touchdown passes and finish 110th nationally in pass D, you better focus on signing more athletes for the secondary. David Bailiff did exactly that, adding eight two-star defensive backs from as far away as Minnesota and Canada. Out of that group, the Owls are hopeful that, in time, two or three will develop into starters and productive members of a needy defense.

Nov. 26 at SMU 27 … Rice 24
(AP) DALLAS -- Rishad Wimbley ran for 115 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns to help SMU defeat Rice 27-24 on Saturday in the regular-season finale for both teams.

Jared Williams had a 52-yard touchdown run for the Mustangs (7-5, 5-3 Conference USA), who are eligible for a bowl bid. J.J. McDermott connected with Darius Johnson for a 45-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring for SMU.

The Mustangs trailed 17-14 entering the fourth quarter, but Wimbley's 1-yard run with 12:14 to play gave them the lead, though at 20-17 as the extra point was missed. After Rice was forced to punt, on SMU's third play, Wimbley ran for 39 yards to score with 9:36 left.

Nick Fanuzzi threw a pair of touchdown passes for the Owls (4-8, 3-5). Fanuzzi ran for a team-high 53 yards and threw for 159.

Nov. 19 at Rice 19 … Tulane 7

Nov. 12 at Northwestern 28 …. Rice 6
CFN Analysis: Rice was coming off a great offensive performance against UTEP, and a blowout loss to Houston, and then it couldn’t handle the Northwestern passing game and got lit up early. … The defense has been a big problem all season long, but for the offense to fail against a mediocre NU defense was a big problem. Nick Fanuzzi only threw for 92 yards and the running game couldn’t establish itself when it needed to crank out a few long drives. The 254 yards of total offense wasn’t nearly enough to keep up the pace. … A losing season is now guaranteed, but the season can close out strong with a winnable game against Tulane at home next. Beating SMU would be sweet, but the secondary that’s being destroyed will have a hard time holding up. Next week is the chance to close out on a high note if the running game can start working again. 

Nov. 5 at Rice 41 … UTEP 37

Oct. 27 at Houston 73 … Rice 34
CFN Analysis: To be kind, this wasn’t exactly the best matchup for Rice. After getting up early it looked like the Owls were going to make this interesting, and then the flood came. The Rice pass defense has been shaky all season long, and then it wasn’t even close as Case Keenum and Patrick Edwards did whatever they wanted for big play after big play. The Rice safeties had an awful night, and the offense couldn’t keep the points coming to give the D a break. The team still came up with 475 yards and held on to the ball for more than 38 minutes, but it wasn’t nearly enough. After losing six of the last seven games, now the Owls have to deal with a good UTEP. 

Oct. 22 Tulsa 38 … at Rice 20  
 
Oct. 15 at Marshall 24 … Rice 20
CFN Analysis: Rice outplayed Marshall in several ways, but the offensive line couldn’t keep the Herd out of the backfield and just 2-of-12 third down conversions turned out to be a killer. Taylor McHargue threw for 150 yards and a score, and Sam McGuffie ran for 70 yards and a touchdown, but the two fumbles were disastrous and the offensive line had a nightmare of a time. With Tulsa and Houston up next, this one will hurt. It’s a tough second half schedule, and for a run defense that’s having a hard time holding up, and with an offense that’s having a rough time manufacturing yards, this was a road win the Owls needed to have. 

Oct. 8 at Rice 28 … Memphis 6
CFN Analysis: The Rice offense made a slew of mistakes with three turnovers, but the Memphis offense was worse. Taylor McHargue had a decent day throwing for 170 yards and a score and running for 44 yards, but he threw two picks to keep the game from being a true blowout. It didn’t matter, though, as the defense came up with its best performance of the year by a ten-mile wide margin. Last in the nation in total defense, allowing 550 yards per game, the Owls allowed just 307 yards, and the Marshall offense isn’t going to explode.  

Oct. 1 at Southern Miss 48 … Rice 24
CFN Analysis: Rice couldn’t slow down the USM running game and the passing attack couldn’t pick up the slack. The offense hasn’t been a plus so far, surprisingly having way too many problems throwing the ball with Nick Fanuzzi and Taylor McHargue not efficient or effective down the field. The big problem, through, continues to be a run defense that’s giving up way too many big runs and isn’t generating enough pressure. Finally the schedule eases up a bit with Memphis up next, but Tulane is the only other breather the rest of the way. If the defense can’t start to be more aggressive into the backfield and can’t get better play out of the linebackers, the more losses like this will be the norm. 

Sept. 24 at Baylor 56 … Rice 31
CFN Analysis: Rice ran into a buzzsaw. No one’s stopping Baylor right now, but at least the Owls cranked out a little bit of offense to make it interesting. Taylor McHargue threw for 260 yards and three touchdown passes as he kept the pressure on, and five different players combined for 156 rushing yards, but Baylor’s attack is too good, too efficient, and too strong right now. With a hot Southern Miss team up next to start Conference USA play, the offensive line has to continue to play well McHargue has to build off this performance. It’ll still take something special, like a +3 in the turnover margin, to come up with the win. 

Sept. 10 at Rice 24 ... Purdue 22
CFN Analysis: The 34-9 loss to Texas might not have looked good on the scoreboard, but Rice battled with the far more talented Longhorns. That should’ve been a clue that the Owls were strong enough to potentially come up with a win over a team like Purdue. The Boilermakers are hardly world-beaters, but it was still a win over a Big Ten team. Taylor McHargue was sharp, completing 19-of-29 passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns, and he ran well to get out of pressure, but of course, the game was all about coming up with the clutch blocked field goal that might turn out to be the moment when the season takes off. This was a big win, but coming up with a win over Baylor would really mean something. The offense has to start showing it can keep up when behind, but if the defensive front can keep getting into the backfield like it has over the first two games, there’s a chance.  

Sept. 3 at Texas 34 … Rice 9
CFN Analysis: Rice didn’t exactly show off any firepower, but the running game was surprisingly effective against the Texas defense, running for 130 yards, and the line didn’t give up a sack. Going forward, with Purdue up next, Taylor McHargue has to start pushing the ball down the field after completing just 14-of-29 passes for 79 yards while doing nothing on third downs. Punter Kyle Martens had a terrific game averaging 48.6 yards per kick and putting two inside the 20, and he’s going to have to be a weapon all season long to help bail the offense out of jams. No, Texas wasn’t great, and it wasn’t back to being Texas again, but this week Rice had something to do with that.
 
The 2011 Recruiting Class Is Heavy On … Defensive linemen. Rice HAS to start generating more of a pass rush. The defense was 105th in the nation in sacks and was dead last in tackles for loss, and while it’s asking way too much to get a new recruiting class to make a difference in one years, the Owls have to hope that one of the several new defensive ends can provide a boost to the depth. Michael Sam is the best of the lot, while outside linebacker Nick Elder could be the playmaker the D is looking for. Offensively, receivers Driphus Jackson and Lovett Gibson should be the stars of the haul.

Five Rice Recruits You Should Care About
Player writeups by Scout.com

1. LB Nick Elder
6-1, 208, Scout.com’s 76th ranked outside linebacker

2. WR Driphus Jackson
6-0, 182, Scout.com’s 101st ranked receiver

3. WR Lovett Gibson
6-1, 175, Scout.com’s 149th ranked receiver

4. DE Michael Sam
6-2, 230, Scout.com’s 94th ranked defensive end

5. CB Jaylon Finner
5-10, 185, Scout.com’s 87th ranked cornerback

2011 Entire Recruiting Class

Justin Booth DE 6-6 250 Fr. Dayton, Texas/Dayton
Christian Covington DT 6-3 285 Fr. Surrey, BC, Canada/Vancouver College Prep
Nick Elder LB 6-0 210 Fr. San Antonio, Texas/Central Catholic
Jaylon Finner DB 5-10 185 Fr. Missouri City, Texas/Elkins
Lovett Gibson WR 6-2 185 Fr. Cedar Hill, Texas/Cedar Hill
Malcom Hill WR 5-11 180 Fr. Plano, Texas/Frisco Liberty
Edwin Hooper DE 6-4 215 Fr. Nash, Texas/Texarkana Texas
Driphus Jackson QB 6-0 195 Fr. Cedar Hill, Texas/Cedar Hill
Miles Lee DE 6-4 230 Fr. East Bernard, Texas/East Bernard
Grant Peterson TE 6-5 225 Fr. Austin, Texas/Westwood
John Poehlmann OL 6-5 260 Fr. Brenham, Texas/Brenham
Andrew Reue OL 6-5 280 Fr. Austin, Texas/St. Michaels Academy
Michael Sam, Jr. DE 6-2 250 Fr. Houston, Texas/Strake Jesuit
J.J. Walker WR 6-0 175 Fr. Linden, Texas/Linden-Kildare
Julius White ATH 5-10 185 Fr. Sugarland, Texas/Kempner
Austin Williams LB 6-1 220 Fr. Austin, Texas/Lake Travis
Caleb Williams OL 6-3 270 Fr. Rosenberg, Texas/Terry
Ross Winship DT 6-4 270 Fr. The Woodlands, Texas/Klein
Matt Wofford OL 6-7 320 Fr. Cedar Park, Texas/Cedar Parkd