2009 Commits
Cody Bauer, DE, 6-4, 235, Pottsboro
Andre Brackens, DB, 5-9, 188, Dallas Parish Episcopal
Trey Briggs, MLB, 6-3 215, Jersey Village
Alex Francis, DB, 5-10, 170, Missouri City (Hightower)
Broderick Jackson, S, 5-11, 200, Kirbyville
Bobby Janisch, OL, 6-6, 280, Jersey Village
Nic Hammett, LB, 6-4, 230, Rockdale
Jarek Lancaster, LB, 6-0, 200, San Antonio (O'Connor)
Alex Lowry, DT, 6-2, 273, Caddo Mills
Jon Hodde, OT, 6-7, 285, Burton
Paul Porras, S, 6-2, 182, Saguaro, AZ
Charles Ross, RB, 6-2, 200, Schwertz Clemens
Cade Shaw, OL, 6-4, 280, Corpus Christi (Calallen)
Josh Skinner, DE, 6-5, 225, Silsbee
if the coaches want the inside line to a couple of other kids that we should be looking at and are sr's, they are from spring hs......kanui-rowe, brantley, dakota dill....brantley was all district last year(ran a 4.35 with some wind to his back), kanui-rowe was hurt last year(but hits about like travis ortega, but is way faster), dill is a kid that has grown about 6-7 in. in about two years(he is a very aggressive wr, also is a good baseball player).
again i'm putting it out there that we should seriously take a look at these kids. if we don't show intrest now we will be in the same boat we were in with mcneal. they will get offers from schools that is hard for us to compete with and we'll be wondering why. they have some jr's and soph's that i'm leaving out because i'm going to wait to see how they respond to 5A ball...
Nightowl - did you forward these names on to the recruiting coordinator ? I'm sure this is one of the primary ways the staff puts together their prospect list - recommendations from hs coaches.
Nightowl - did you forward these names on to the recruiting coordinator ? I'm sure this is one of the primary ways the staff puts together their prospect list - recommendations from hs coaches.
We've now offered 4 dual-threat QBs for the 2009 class, 2 of which could end up playing other positions. Kenric McNeal, Zerick Rollins of Aldine, Kolby Gray, and Jacob Karam.
Rice has extended an offer to New Braunfels, TX LB/S Ryan Grametbaur. Teammate and fellow LB to national super-recruit Tom Wort, who recently committed to OU over offers from everybody including 'SC and Miami.
Looks like a good sized frame, very good speed for a LB, plays with good leverage, reads well, good nose for the ball. Would like to see him beef up if they project him as a LB or pick up a step if they project him at FS. I suspect that the projection is as a LB, but I haven't seen him cover enough to know how projectible he is as a FS or SS.
I think he would either be a weakside LB or strong/KAT safety. He doesn't have the mobility to play FS, and may not have the size to be a strong LB. But he has good instincts, moves well for an LB, and tackles well. However, he is dwarfed in ability by Wort, who shows off his skills even in Grametbaur's highlights.
Rice has offered OL Ben Hughes from Fort Bend Austin, he seemed really excited about the offer in the Rivals article, a commit may be coming soon. Also has an offer from SMU.
Does anyone know how competitive we will be in recruiting this QB from Friendswood, Jacob Karam 6'2 202 4.60?
It's been a long time since we have been mentioned for a top tier QB in our state, but landing one or two (at any position) would be a HUGE step forward. Maybe a good start to the season bode well for 2009.
Does anyone know how competitive we will be in recruiting this QB from Friendswood, Jacob Karam 6'2 202 4.60?
It's been a long time since we have been mentioned for a top tier QB in our state, but landing one or two (at any position) would be a HUGE step forward. Maybe a good start to the season bode well for 2009.
Not really, last year Rice made the final 5 for a higher ranked QB, Andrew Luck from Houston Stratford, who ended up signing with Stanford.
Karam is a bit below that level of recruit. That being said, he has a clear top 3 that does not include Rice, but they may still have a chance to land him. I think he will end up with one of those three though, either Houston, Arizona or Mizzou.
Rice has offered several of the top intermediate level recruits in Texas for '09, but so far, none of them really favor Rice over their other offers.
You have a stud QB already with Rice. He happens to be one of, if not the top (according to Bailiff), athletes there. Name is Randy Kitchens. Get the ball in his hands in that spread offense and see what happens.
You have a stud QB already with Rice. He happens to be one of, if not the top (according to Bailiff), athletes there. Name is Randy Kitchens. Get the ball in his hands in that spread offense and see what happens.
Well we're fine at QB and WR, but need some improvement at Safety where Kitchens is currently stationed. So I think he will stay there, along with another converted QB, Hotard. They could be quite the pair in '09.
You have a stud QB already with Rice. He happens to be one of, if not the top (according to Bailiff), athletes there. Name is Randy Kitchens. Get the ball in his hands in that spread offense and see what happens.
Chase Clement is our QB this year. We need Kitchens (and all our top athletes) on the field somewhere. As talon mentioned, he is currently at safety, and from what I've heard he had a great spring there. I look forward to seeing him play this fall.
Sometimes people close to current players interpret our recruiting discussion as a slight to them. It is not. To me it is about keeping the pipeline full for the future. Kitchens will be a sophomore this year, a junior when any '09 signee hits campus, and possibly a senior before the signee plays.
JV Owl has three star recruit Jarek Lancaster committed to Rice. I don't put a lot of stock into star ratings, but we seem to be getting more highly recruited players than in past seasons. We need a solid season on the field.
JV Owl has three star recruit Jarek Lancaster committed to Rice. I don't put a lot of stock into star ratings, but we seem to be getting more highly recruited players than in past seasons. We need a solid season on the field.
I wouldn't say that is quite true yet, but it may well be the case when all is said and done.
From the outside, somewhat objective perspectives, the 2003 (Hatfield) and 2007 (Bailiff/TG) were our highest rated classes. The 2004 class had some hidden gems as well. I think our 2008 class could be really productive.
It's still early with this class, give it another few months and we'll really have a good idea of how strong a class it is shaping up to be.
Oh I definitely don't take it wrong if Rice looks for a QB this year or next. I just know next year as a Jr., I think it might be to Rice's advantage to give him a good shot at running QB. The things he could do at QB were just amazing. But I just want him to play and I want Rice to win. And whatever way he can help them achieve that, then go for it. If he's starting in the Sec, that's great! Hell, that's where I coached him anyway :-). Good luck to Rice this year, we'll be going to more than one game (from Robinson) and it's great to hear how many will be on TV too. Can't wait to see if he gets to play safety across from his old WR, B.J. Lewis, at North Texas.
It says above that we have offered Ryan Grametbaur of New Braunfels. While Scout shows Rice as his only choice, it also says we haven't offered him. Does anyone know why we haven't offered him or DT Terry Ray out of CC Miller who also prefers us?
Rice held its first "Night of the Iron Owl" this past March and if Alex Lowry had been able to participate he would have won the Squat Lift, and finished in the top 3 in the Bench Press and Power Clean.
He was second in the state in power lifting. He is 16 years old and has been lifting only for 3 years.
Eric Shrive, #2 OT (Scout) in the nation, committed to Penn State, benches 350-pounds and squats 450
(He was the first one whose numbers came up on Scout, nothing scientific about picking him)
Lowry's current bests are Bench Press: 450 pounds Squat Lift: 780 pounds
Eric Shrive, #2 OT (Scout) in the nation, committed to Penn State, benches 350-pounds and squats 450
(He was the first one whose numbers came up on Scout, nothing scientific about picking him)
Lowry's current bests are Bench Press: 450 pounds Squat Lift: 780 pounds
I am not a weight lifter but looks good to me.
...uhhh....bench press of 450 pounds and squat of 780 is AMAZING. I am talking Dallas Cowboys circa 1995 o-lineman strong. cant think of his name, but there was a Cowboys O-Lineman who did about this. And for an 18 year old kid, this is the stuff of legends.
And to the later comment about speed of Lowry. Who cares? When is a lineman gonna run 40 yards. No disrespect to TFW, but at the point of attack, knocking the D-lineman off the line and moving him around is more critical. That and his footwork to play the 1 or 2 gaps. I assume he is a guard, but if he has any footwork at all, he could be a first round pick at tackle.
Eric Shrive, #2 OT (Scout) in the nation, committed to Penn State, benches 350-pounds and squats 450
(He was the first one whose numbers came up on Scout, nothing scientific about picking him)
Lowry's current bests are Bench Press: 450 pounds Squat Lift: 780 pounds
I am not a weight lifter but looks good to me.
...uhhh....bench press of 450 pounds and squat of 780 is AMAZING. I am talking Dallas Cowboys circa 1995 o-lineman strong. cant think of his name, but there was a Cowboys O-Lineman who did about this. And for an 18 year old kid, this is the stuff of legends.
And to the later comment about speed of Lowry. Who cares? When is a lineman gonna run 40 yards. No disrespect to TFW, but at the point of attack, knocking the D-lineman off the line and moving him around is more critical. That and his footwork to play the 1 or 2 gaps. I assume he is a guard, but if he has any footwork at all, he could be a first round pick at tackle.
WOW!
What I was trying to get at is mobility. I've never played organized football so I don't know any measure of a lineman's mobility. I do know that a big strong guy can be beat with speed. It would obviously be better to be both amazingly strong AND quick than to just be amazingly strong.
In the interior O-Line mobility is not as critical as it is on the ends, although I suspect it is still a factor. I don't know if Lowry plays tackle or guard or center, so I don't know how important it is.
I'm thrilled to potentially be getting a stone-wall type of guy for the O-Line! My only question is about his speed/agility. The reason I ask is that if I were coordinating a defense and had to go against a big, strong, powerful guy then I would try my best to combat that with speed therefore not allowing him to use his strength as much. If Lowry is also quick and agile in addition to being strong and smart, then opposing defenses are going to be in even more trouble than they are now!
What I was trying to get at is mobility... In the interior O-Line mobility is not as critical as it is on the ends, although I suspect it is still a factor.
At OT you also want long arms, which generally correlates to height. At OG most systems require players that can pull. IMO agility and explosiveness are important at almost every position. The shuttle and vertical jump are good measures of those. I don't want to give away too much of Mooney's information, but Lowry's shuttle time is very good for a lineman.
BTW I didn't play either, so I don't claim to be an expert.
Eric Shrive, #2 OT (Scout) in the nation, committed to Penn State, benches 350-pounds and squats 450
(He was the first one whose numbers came up on Scout, nothing scientific about picking him)
Lowry's current bests are Bench Press: 450 pounds Squat Lift: 780 pounds
I am not a weight lifter but looks good to me.
...uhhh....bench press of 450 pounds and squat of 780 is AMAZING. I am talking Dallas Cowboys circa 1995 o-lineman strong. cant think of his name, but there was a Cowboys O-Lineman who did about this. And for an 18 year old kid, this is the stuff of legends.
And to the later comment about speed of Lowry. Who cares? When is a lineman gonna run 40 yards. No disrespect to TFW, but at the point of attack, knocking the D-lineman off the line and moving him around is more critical. That and his footwork to play the 1 or 2 gaps. I assume he is a guard, but if he has any footwork at all, he could be a first round pick at tackle.
WOW!
Hitman, you're probably thing of OT Larry Allen. He was a monster in his prime. Good news today on Janisch. Lowery is a great addition as well. The one thing that makes me happy is the ffort going into the summer camps. Hat's mentality on these set us back a few years. The coaching staff deserve props for working their collective fannies off.
Eric Shrive, #2 OT (Scout) in the nation, committed to Penn State, benches 350-pounds and squats 450
(He was the first one whose numbers came up on Scout, nothing scientific about picking him)
Lowry's current bests are Bench Press: 450 pounds Squat Lift: 780 pounds
I am not a weight lifter but looks good to me.
Shrive's 350/450 are pretty typical of high school linemen these days. Lowry's 450/780 should be in the D1A starter range.
To give it a bit more perspective, when I was playing, 450 was a good bench, most of the starters were at or over 475, with a few on the team over 500. 780 was a very good squat, with 2 on the team over 900 and 1 over 1000.
The sort of power we are discussing for Lowry means he won't get pushed around on the OL. The question is how well me moves his feet and understands what it takes to get leverage. Another huge issue is whether he has been in a run oriented or pass oriented offense since it can be a huge adjustment going from the wishbone's everything moving forward all the time to pro style's sit back and take a blow to neutralize it and then move your feet to keep position.
Given all of the above, he has the power to start now; I don't know whether he has the footwork or technique to translate into lots of playing time just yet. But I'd rather have a lineman that needs to work on technique than one that has great technique and needs to get the muscle built up - technique just comes faster!
these are some great commits we got here...the guys we are getting will definately be able to help...my concern is that i'm not seeing the speed we need right now. IMHO, we lacked major speed last year, i'm not seeing that being addressed. we got some much needed speed this year, but i still would like to see some more speed being picked up.
on the recruiting front, mcneal just got another offer...from BC and miami's head coach is supposed to come take a look at him because the recruiting coach was so impressed with him in person, boise st is also lobbying for him. another kid we are over looking is daron brantley. he's a 4.3 kid, his only problem is he's small..5'8"-5'9"...i've got to work on him playing jump balls a little better, but kid is lights out from 20 to 20...we are making really good head way on the recruits for '09..
we got some much needed speed this year, but i still would like to see some more speed being picked up.
on the recruiting front, mcneal just got another offer...from BC and miami's head coach is supposed to come take a look at him because the recruiting coach was so impressed with him in person, boise st is also lobbying for him...
All the recruiting sites have reported that McNeal has committed to A&M.
Agree that we need to continue adding speed, but it's still June. I'd like to know more about Alex Francis.
Francis has got 4.45 speed. And we are adding players that are fast for their size, we just don't happen to be gaining commits from skill position players at the moment, we are adding mostly lineman and LBs.
Our two DE commits both run 4.6s, which is good for their size, and our LB commits run low 4.5s, which is good for an LB. Our O-linemen are huge, but still have good mobility based on their shuttles and near 5.0 forties.
I think we addressed a good deal of the speed issue with the '08 class, but we are going after some more speed demons for this class too.
I have a question. When I check Scout.com, I see that Rice has several recruits with three stars who don't appear to be interested in any school other than Rice. But they have not committed to Rice. Does this mean Rice isn't ready to commit a scholarship to them?
I have a question. When I check Scout.com, I see that Rice has several recruits with three stars who don't appear to be interested in any school other than Rice. But they have not committed to Rice. Does this mean Rice isn't ready to commit a scholarship to them?
If they aren't listed as having a Rice offer than yes that is what it means. Just because a player is arbitrarily rated with 3-stars and has interest in Rice doesn't mean Rice is or should be interested back.
Another note about something that I am pleased with on the recruiting front- we are getting a pipeline into the two best districts in the city--the Cy-Fair district and the Katy district (forgive me nightowl it it is true, top to bottom). Two players from Cy Falls last year, two from Jersey Village this year, a couple from Katy the last two years and one from Cinco Ranch. This too will pay dividends as those districts will continue to produce more than their share of good prospects.
Another note about something that I am pleased with on the recruiting front- we are getting a pipeline into the two best districts in the city--the Cy-Fair district and the Katy district (forgive me nightowl it it is true, top to bottom). Two players from Cy Falls last year, two from Jersey Village this year, a couple from Katy the last two years and one from Cinco Ranch. This too will pay dividends as those districts will continue to produce more than their share of good prospects.
two best districts based on what? academics or athletics..three of our four playoff teams we had this year went at least two rounds deep, and westfield has gotten further more consistantly than any team in the cy-fair district. outside of katy who else in their district is consistantly strong? the klein-spring district has westfield, klein oak, klein and klein forest that are strong nearly every year...according to the houston chronicle(which isn't a great source, but when it comes to high schools they actually do well)24-5A is argueably one of the strongest districts in the houston area...this can easily be debated, but i dont' think katy and cy-fair are the strongest in the houston area. katy is always good, but their district isn't very strong top to bottom....i base the strength of a district by throwing out the top and the bottom and judging the middle teams. cy-fair and katy's middle teams aren't as strong as various surrounding districts...jmo
Another note about something that I am pleased with on the recruiting front- we are getting a pipeline into the two best districts in the city--the Cy-Fair district and the Katy district (forgive me nightowl it it is true, top to bottom). Two players from Cy Falls last year, two from Jersey Village this year, a couple from Katy the last two years and one from Cinco Ranch. This too will pay dividends as those districts will continue to produce more than their share of good prospects.
two best districts based on what? academics or athletics..three of our four playoff teams we had this year went at least two rounds deep, and westfield has gotten further more consistantly than any team in the cy-fair district. outside of katy who else in their district is consistantly strong? the klein-spring district has westfield, klein oak, klein and klein forest that are strong nearly every year...according to the houston chronicle(which isn't a great source, but when it comes to high schools they actually do well)24-5A is argueably one of the strongest districts in the houston area...this can easily be debated, but i dont' think katy and cy-fair are the strongest in the houston area. katy is always good, but their district isn't very strong top to bottom....i base the strength of a district by throwing out the top and the bottom and judging the middle teams. cy-fair and katy's middle teams aren't as strong as various surrounding districts...jmo
Admittedly, just my opinion. Look me up at the SMU game and we can debate it.
Edit- I just looked up the districts, and I stand corrected. The two best top to bottom districts by far are Cy-Fair and Klein-Spring. I guess I was just thinking Katy HS. I promise not to be wrong again for quite some time...
