Every head coach arrives at a new gig with the goal of raising the ceiling. Rice head coach Mike Bloomgren arrived on South Main ahead of the 2018 season and realized the roof was the least of his concerns – his Owls needed to raise the floor. The program won one game in 2017, the last season of David Bailiff’s tenure. Bloomgren remembers having 47 scholarship players available in his first spring practice as Rice’s head coach. This past spring, 107 Owls participated in drills.
“We all want to recruit the stars and the can’t-miss prospects, but we had players on this team that had never even played high school football and that can’t work at the FBS level,” Bloomgren said. “We needed talented depth. We needed a walk-on program like the one we had at Stanford. I knew the bottom half of the roster needed to be overhauled for us to have a chance.”
That strategy requires patience. Bloomgren is the longest-tenured head coach at the FBS level in Texas entering his seventh season. Take away the pandemic-shortened season of 2020 and his Owls have increased their win total by one game in every successive season, starting at two wins in 2018 and reaching six wins in the regular season last year. Rice reached back-to-back bowl games for the first time since 2013-14 over the last two seasons, but a winning record remains elusive.
Bloomgren believes continuity on the roster and staff, additional resources due to the 2023 move to the American, and alignment between athletics and the higher ups at Rice has his Owls on the doorstep of a true breakthrough season.
“The combination of joining a conference that is outstanding and forces you to have a true commitment (to football), and having a president and an AD and board of trustees that is in complete alignment about being good at everything (gives me optimism),” Bloomgren said. “That (commitment) is not except athletics but includes athletics because we want to be a world class university in everything.”
The Owls are the most intact roster in Texas because of 15 starters and nine of their 10 on-field coaches from 2023 returning for 2024. In an age of shifting sands because of the portal and coaching changes, the Rice faithful won’t struggle to recognize the names and faces within historic Rice Stadium in the Aug. 31 opener against Sam Houston.
The television deal as Conference USA members resulted in a roughly $400,000 payout for the individual schools. Bloomgren says in the American, that figure is $10 million. That’s allowed his staff to grow, especially behind the scenes on the recruiting front, and to provide better support to the roster.
Bloomgren is focused on the future. He likes his roster. He trusts his coaching staff. He feels comfortable with the support from the university and the conference. Bright days and favorable winds are ahead for the Owls, according to Bloom. But that doesn’t mean he occasionally isn’t reminded of how far his parliament of Owls has come since after the 2018 season.
“We’re so much more talented,” Bloomgren said. “Sometimes, we go back to find old film of a particular concept that we ran back in 2018 or 2019 and we shake our heads. The guys who were here at that time did the best they could, but it is a good reminder of the progress we’ve made.”
Long-tenured players such as defender Josh Pearcy also see the growth. The New Jersey native arrived at Rice in 2019 and is now a multiple-year captain entering his final collegiate season. The Owls won five games over his first two seasons on campus. They matched that win total in 2022 and surpassed it in 2023. Pearcy doesn’t believe the transformation is rocket science, though, there are probably classes on that subject at Rice.
“To sum it all up in one word: expectations,” Pearcy said. “They’re higher than ever before. The expectations of the players. The staff. The fans. Those rise every year and that’s why you’ve seen our win total improve each season. We believe we’ll do the same thing again this year.”
OFFENSE
MVP - RB Dean Connors led the Owls in rushing and was second on the team in receptions last season.
Duplicating last season’s offensive success requires the Owls to replace quarterback JT Daniels and wide receiver Luke McCaffrey. Rice added Temple transfer E.J. Warner to a quarterback room that includes returner AJ Padgett, who has started for the Owls at least once in each of the past two seasons. Warner is the expected starter after throwing for over 3,000 yards in each of the last two seasons.
“E.J.’s time in our building probably exceeds anybody on our staff,” head coach Mike Bloomgren said. “I’m not sure E.J. has hobbies outside of football. He was tremendous in the spring.”
The wide receiver room requires multiple receivers to replace the 71 catches, 992 yards, and 13 touchdowns lost by McCaffrey’s departure to the NFL. The Owls turn to Landon Ransom-Goelz and Rawson MacNeill to lead the outside receivers. The two combined for 52 catches and five touchdowns last season. Kobie Campbell is a talented and shifty slot receiver who caught 11 passes and a score in 2023. Tight end Boden Groen, who was third on the squad with 39 receptions, also returns.
Production in the passing game also comes from the running back room. Dean Connors became one of the most electric and versatile weapons in the American Athletic Conference last year. He added 43 receptions to a team-high 771 rushing yards and seven scores on the ground. Keep your eyes on sophomore Quinton Jackson.
Four of Rice’s starting offensive linemen return. The right side is the strength up front with Ethan Onianwa at tackle and Lavel Dumont at guard. Braden Nutter (center) and Brant Banks (left guard) return. The only job up for grabs is left tackle. Redshirt sophomore Miguel Cedeno finished spring as the projected starter.
POSITION GROUP GRADES
QB: B
RB: B
WR/TE: C+
OL: B-
BREAKOUT CANDIDATES
WR Tyson Thompson – A former standout at Houston Baptist, Thompson lost momentum in 2023 when a preseason injury forced him to miss the entire season. He played in nine games back in 2022, mostly on special teams.
WR Braylen Walker – The redshirt sophomore caught 12 passes and a pair of touchdowns last season, adding 30 yards on three rushing attempts. He caught four passes in the win over Houston.
TE Elijah Mojarro – Rice isn’t shy about using tight ends and Mojarro showed flashes as a pass catcher last year. He and Groen make for a formidable duo for the Owls.
OL Brad Baur – The redshirt sophomore from California graded well in three games last season and will push for starting snaps and provide depth at tackle.
KEEP AN EYE ON
Luke McCaffrey transitioned from quarterback to wide receiver at Rice and that resulted in all-conference performances and an NFL future. Redshirt freshman Chase Jenkins is attempting to follow the same path. With the transfer of E.J. Warner, Jenkins decided his best route towards playing time was at wide receiver. The Alief Taylor product isn’t giving up quarterback completely, but the Owls won’t turn away his athleticism in the short-term, however. The 6-0, 187-pound Jenkins is a wildcard at wide receiver and an option as a run-first quarterback heading into 2024.
PROJECTED STARTERS
QB: 13 E.J. Warner Jr.
RB: 0 Dean Connors Sr.
WR: 17 Landon Ransom-Goelz Soph.
WR: 80 Rawson MacNeill Soph.
WR: 2 Kobie Campbell Sr.
TE: 14 Boden Groen Sr.
LT: 75 Miguel Cedeno Soph.
LG: 77 Brant Banks Sr.
C: 52 Braedon Nutter Sr.
RG: 73 Lavel Dumont Sr.
RT: 78 Ethan Onianwa Jr.
DEFENSE
MVP - Safety Gabriel Taylor is a multiple-year starter and potential all-conference performer.
The Rice defense quietly improved in 2023, allowing 28.1 points per game compared to an average of 35.2 over 2021 and 2022. Defensive coordinator Brian Smith returns nine starters with corner Tre’shon Devones and defensive tackle De’Braylon Carroll exiting via the Transfer Portal. The Owls were 74th against the run and 43rd against the pass nationally last season.
Safeties Gabriel Taylor and Plae Wyatt headline a talented secondary. Wyatt, who plays a hybrid linebacker/safety position called “Viper” in the Rice defense, led the unit in tackles last season with 81. Taylor tied for the team lead in interceptions with two, was third on the team with 59 tackles and second on the team with nine pass breakups. Cornerbacks Sean Fresch, who is also the team’s punt returner, and Lamont Narcisse are experienced.
Outside linebacker Josh Pearcy and defensive end Coleman Coco, who led the team with four sacks, lead a pass rush that ranked 92nd in the FBS last season with 23 sacks. Pearcy played more off-ball linebacker in the spring. The big bodies of Izeya Floyd and Blake Boenisch clog running lanes and allow free roam for the linebackers and safeties.
The inside linebacker duo of Chris Conti and Myron Morrison return in 2024. The duo combined for 132 tackles, including five for loss. Conti led the team in tackles through eight games before suffering a season-ending injury in practice. Morrison heads into 2024 with 18 consecutive starts under his belt.
“We feel great about our starting unit on defense and believe this can be our best group on that side of the ball,” head coach Mike Bloomgren said. “It’s a complete unit with a lot of experience together. If we develop some depth and some of that next group of guys step up, we have a chance to be really good.”
POSITION GROUP GRADES
DL: C+
LB: C+
DB: B
ST: B+
BREAKOUT CANDIDATES
S Tyson Flowers – A third-year defensive back from Fort Worth made an impression with eight tackles and three pass breakups in a start against SMU. The safety position is crowded, but he’ll push for snaps.
LB DJ Arkansas – Injuries in Arkansas’ first two seasons at Rice stunted the Denton Ryan product’s development. He registered 34 tackles in a healthier 2023 and could break out in 2024.
DL Demone Green – Five of Green’s 12 tackles were for loss and that type of disruption earns more playing time. Snaps are hard to find in a veteran-laden defensive line room, however.
DB Marcus Williams – The junior made two starts in six games before a season-ending injury cost him the back half of the 2023 campaign. He had nine stops against East Carolina and six against Texas.
KEEP AN EYE ON
Depth is a concern for every team in college football, but the Transfer Portal makes that worry especially pertinent for G5 programs. Finding quality depth might be especially difficult at an institution such as Rice. And no defensive position is harder to find and develop depth than the defensive line. Rice needs to be better up front. The unit was an average run defense and in the bottom third of the country in sacks. The loss of De’Braylon Carroll to Texas Tech is a big hole to fill. Floyd and Boenisch are quality starters, but who is next up?
PROJECTED STARTERS
DE: 44 Coco Coleman Sr.
DT: 50 Izeya Floyd Sr.
NT: 75 Blake Boenisch Sr.
RUSH: 5 Josh Pearcy Sr.
LB: 11 Chris Conti Sr.
LB: 33 Myron Morrison Sr.
VIPER: 41 Plae Wyatt Jr.
CB: 1 Sean Fresch Sr.
CB: 13 Lamont Narcisse Sr.
FS: 26 Gabriel Taylor Sr.
SS: 22 Jonathan Jean Jr.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT
Rice linebacker Josh Pearcy was spending a little of his limited free time doing something every college student in America does daily – checking his DMs. The one that caught his eye was from a recruiter with the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Some of the company’s biggest stars – Stone Cold Steve Austin (North Texas), Roman Reigns (Georgia Tech), and the Rock (Miami) played college football.
With the NIL world allowing for marketing partnerships, the WWE decided that latching onto college stars with the right body and verbal skills to follow in those footsteps made sense. Pearcy (6-2, 245), who already holds one degree from Rice, was an obvious fit.
True to his Rice education, Pearcy was skeptical of the DM. So, he did his own research.
“I thought it was a scam,” he laughed. “Once I realized it was real, I started with the process. There was a lot of waiting, but I made it through and was chosen.”
Pearcy admits he never thought of becoming a professional wrestler. That’s not to say he wasn’t a fan. The New Jersey native grew up rooting for the Rock and John Cena. He’s a fan of Marvel Movies so Dave Bautista was also an idol. His favorite as a kid was Jeff Hardy. For the unacquainted, wrestlers are split into two categories: Babyface or Heel. A babyface is the good guy. Most of the wrestlers on Pearcy’s favorite list spent more time as babyfaces.
“Naturally, me as a person, I’d be a babyface because I’m a good person,” Pearcy said. “But being a bad guy would be a lot of fun.”
Playing defense is playing the role of heel. The job as a defender is to spoil the party. Pearcy is good at that. He’s the Owls’ best pass rusher and a multiple-year captain that arrived on South Main in 2019 and made his first start in 2020 against North Texas. He’s made a lasting impact on the field, and on quarterbacks in Conference USA and the AAC, but he hopes the one he makes off the field at Rice matters more when he’s done.
“My goal is to shine a positive light on the people around me and leave this place better than I found it,” he said.
CEILING/FLOOR
Ceiling – 8-4
The addition of E.J. Warner at quarterback gives the Owls high hopes to improve on a six-win 2023 season. A jump to eight wins is possible because of an improved overall roster and a manageable AAC schedule. Rice boasts its best offensive line and most talented defense of the Mike Bloomgren era.
Floor – 4-8
Depth is a concern for every program, especially at the G5 level. The Owls are one or two injuries at key spots from battling to win four games rather than eight. That’s how small the margins are in an evenly-matched AAC.
SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN
The schedule rarely allows Rice a true hope at a 2-0 start. That’s not true in 2024, however, thanks to home games against Sam Houston and Texas Southern to start the season. Week 3 is against a Houston team breaking in a new coach a year after losing the Bayou Bucket to the Owls last season. Conference play starts with a trip to Army and concludes with a home game against South Florida. The other AAC home games are against UTSA, Charlotte, and Navy. The road slate includes trips to Tulane and Memphis.
2023 SCHEDULE
DATE OPPONENT RESULT
Sept. 2 at Texas L, 37-10
Sept. 9 Houston W, 43-41 (2OT)
Sept. 16 Texas Southern W, 59-7
Sept. 23 at South Florida L, 42-29
Sept. 30 East Carolina W, 24-17
Oct. 7 UConn L, 38-31
Oct. 19 at Tulsa W, 42-10
Oct. 28 Tulane L, 30-28
Nov. 4 SMU L, 36-31
Nov. 11 at UTSA L, 34-14
Nov. 18 at Charlotte W, 28-7
Nov. 25 Florida Atlantic W, 24-21
Dec. 26 Texas State (First Responder Bowl) L, 45-21
Record: 6-7 (4-4)
2024 PREDICTIONS
DATE OPPONENT RESULT
Aug. 31 Sam Houston W
Sept. 7 Texas Southern W
Sept. 14 at Houston L
Sept. 21 at Army L
Sept. 28 Charlotte W
Oct. 12 UTSA L
Oct. 19 at Tulane L
Oct. 26 at UConn W
Nov. 2 Navy W
Nov. 8 at Memphis L
Nov. 23 at UAB W
Nov. 30 South Florida L
Record: 6-6 (4-4)
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