Tag: Rice Owls

Former LSU safeties coach Kerry Cooks hired by Rice

Kerry Cooks was let go this past January along with much of the defensive staff at LSU.

LSU made quite a few changes to its defensive staff following a rough 2023 season.

The Tigers moved on from defensive coordinator [autotag]Matt House[/autotag], and they also let go of several assistants. One of those coaches — former safeties coach [autotag]Kerry Cooks[/autotag] — has now found a new home.

On Monday, 247Sports’ Matt Zenitz reported that Cooks will be joining Rice as a defensive assistant. Cooks followed coach [autotag]Brian Kelly[/autotag] to LSU from Notre Dame in 2022, and he has previously served as an assistant at Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Wisconsin, as well.

He coached multiple stints under Kelly with the Fighting Irish, holding the role of co-defensive coordinator during his first stint from 2010-14.

After he wasn’t hired during the initial coaching carousel this offseason, likely in part due to being let go by LSU in January, Cooks will be heading to Houston to coach under Rice coach Mike Bloomgren in 2024.

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Duke Blue Devils earn ‘A+’ academic prestige grade on EA Sports College Football 25

According to a glimpse at the EA Sports College Football 25 recruiting mechanics, Duke earned of of the six ‘A+’ academic prestige grades.

Duke University has always been proud of its academic reputation, as evidenced by its placement in the university rankings from U.S. News this year.

EA Sports didn’t ignore the Blue Devils’ prowess in the classroom, either. The studio released another glimpse at College Football 25, the highly anticipated return of the NCAA Football video game series, on Tuesday that dove into Dynasty mode, which lets players control programs as the head coach.

One segment of the video broke down the mechanics for recruiting high school prospects, with each prospect prioritizing different things in their future school. On the right side of the screen, the game’s ‘Academic Prowess’ grades can be seen. Only six schools earned an ‘A+’ on the scale, and sure enough, the Duke Blue Devils made the cutoff.

Rice took the top spot in the rankings. Stanford, Northwestern, California, and UCLA also earned the highest grade. With the Cardinal and the Golden Bears joining the conference on Monday, three of the six ‘A+’ teams now hail from the ACC.

Michigan, Notre Dame, and Vanderbilt all barely missed the cut, causing some uproar from other fanbases who pride themselves on their education. Georgia Tech, another ACC program, also finished within the top 11.

The game will be released on July 19.

Jon Scheyer and Duke add Rice graduate transfer Cameron Sheffield to 2024-25 roster

Cameron Sheffield became the second Rice player to commit to the Blue Devils in two days after the football team landed cornerback Tre’Shon Devones.

Duke basketball and head coach [autotag]Jon Scheyer[/autotag] landed the fourth transfer commitment of the 2024-25 offseason on Thursday when Rice’s Cameron Sheffield announced his decision on social media.

A longtime starter for the Owls, Sheffield played 95 games (with 55 starts) since the start of the 2020-21 season. He averaged 7.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game in the 2022-23 season, his last year on the court.

He also shot 37.3% from 3-point range that year, his best career mark, and he managed that efficiency despite averaging more than three attempts from beyond the arc per game.

Sheffield redshirted this past season after a foot injury kept him out for the year.

The former Owl joins Sion James of Tulane, Maliq Brown of Syracuse, and Mason Gillis of Purdue in the Blue Devils’ incoming transfer class.

At 6-foot-6, Sheffield also contributes to Duke’s massive height. The Blue Devils don’t have a player on the roster below 6-foot-5, and the most common starting lineups could be an average of 80 inches tall.

Sheffield, funnily enough, becomes the second Rice transfer in two days for Duke University. The Blue Devils football team added 6-foot cornerback Tre’Shon Devones on Wednesday night.

Former Rice cornerback Tre’Shon Devones commits to Duke football

Transfer cornerback Tre’Shon Devones, who spent the last four seasons with the Rice Owls, announced his commitment to the Blue Devils on Wednesday.

Cornerback Tre’Shon Devones announced his commitment to the Duke football program through social media on Wednesday night.

Devones, who spent the last four seasons with the Rice Owls, has one year of eligibility remaining.

“I am truly blessed to be able to say that I will be spending my last year at Duke University!” Devones wrote in his social media statement.

He broke out as a junior last season, compiling 45 total tackles and coming down with his first two collegiate interceptions. He also deflected 11 passes, and his 13 passes defended tied for the 24th-most among FBS defensive backs.

Across his collegiate career, Devones has 76 tackles, two interceptions, and 14 pass deflections.

The newest member of the Duke secondary stands 6 feet tall and weighs just under 190 pounds. 247Sports ranked him as a three-star transfer prospect and the 109th overall corner in the 2024 transfer cycle. He was also ranked as a consensus three-star prospect coming out of high school in the Class of 2019.

Devones will pair with star returnee Chandler Rivers in a Duke secondary that already impressed during the spring scrimmage.

Rice defensive back Tre’Shone Devones announces official visit with Blue Devils

Former Rice defensive back Tre’Shon Devones announced he’d take an official visit to Durham on Thursday.

Former Rice defensive back Tre’Shone Devones announced through social media on Wednesday that he’d locked in an official visit with the Duke football team.

According to a post on X (formerly Twitter), Devones will visit with the Blue Devils on Thursday, May 3.

The Texas native spent four seasons with the Owls, but he broke out as a redshirt junior in 2023. After he amassed 31 tackles and 3 pass deflections across his first three seasons with Rice, Devones racked up 45 tackles and deflected 11 passes last season. He also came down with his first two collegiate interceptions, one against Charlotte and one against Houston.

At 6 feet tall and 187 pounds, Devones offers prototypical size and physicality at the cornerback position. He’d pair wonderfully with returning Duke star Chandler Rivers in a secondary that already looked excellent during the spring scrimmage.

Devones also received offers from Tulane, Houston, Charlotte, Ohio, and Western Kentucky, according to his social media, and he’s visited Notre Dame, UTEP, and Colorado State. He’ll have one year of eligibility left.

Former Husker quarterback says he was never asked to switch positions

The former Husker said the popular rumor about his career in Lincoln, isn’t true.

A former Nebraska quarterback is setting the record straight about his time with the Cornhuskers. Luke McCaffrey played for Nebraska for the 2019 and 2020 seasons before transferring to Louisville and then Rice.

While with the Owls, the former quarterback made the switch to wide receiver. McCaffrey had 71 receptions for 992 yards and 13 touchdowns in 13 games for Rice this past season.

While appearing on 93.7 The Ticket with host and former Husker Adam Carriker, McCaffrey discussed the switch from quarterback to wide receiver and why the switch never happened at Nebraska. McCaffrey said the answer is easy: He was never asked.

“Every once in a while, somebody will talk about how ‘he (McCaffrey) wouldn’t switch at Nebraska’ and little things like that. But it’s funny because there was never any talk about me switching (positions) at Nebraska. I never got asked to.”

McCaffrey was a four-star recruit out of high school who chose Nebraska over Colorado, Michigan, Ohio State, and Mississippi. He played for Nebraska for the 2019 and 2020 seasons.

During his time as a Husker, he would throw for 608 yards with three touchdowns and six interceptions. McCaffrey would also run for 530 yards and four touchdowns.

The latest mock draft from NFL.com has McCaffrey selected in the third round by the San Francisco 49ers. His brother, Christian, is currently the Niners‘ starting running back.

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Kim Mulkey frustrated with LSU’s performance against Rice in NCAA Tournament opener

The Tigers came away with a 70-60 victory and now will face Middle Tennessee State in Round 2.

Two days ago, LSU women’s basketball played their first-round NCAA Tournament game against the Rice Owls. The Tigers came away with a 70-60 victory and now the Tigers will face Middle Tennessee State in Round 2.

Although it was a win for LSU, head coach Kim Mulkey was not even happy with the win. She holds her team to a higher standard and she knows if LSU wants to repeat as national champions, they will have to step their game up in a big way. The level of play LSU had against Rice won’t get the job done against South Carolina. Here is what Mulkey had to say.

“That’s not the same team that LSU put on the floor in the championship of the SEC tournament,” Mulkey said, per On3. “We don’t have much time but that was a bad performance today, and I thought it was a lot of selfish play today. It starts with me getting them ready.”

The tip-off for the Round 2 game against MTSU will be at 2 p.m. CT.

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PHOTOS: LSU moves past Rice in NCAA Tournament opener

It was a little close for comfort but the Tigers advanced to the second round to face Middle Tennessee.

It was a bit too close for comfort at times, but the LSU women’s basketball team beat Rice 70-60 in its NCAA Tournament opener on Friday afternoon. With that win, the Tigers advance to face No. 11-seeded Middle Tennessee, which upset Louisville in its opener, on Sunday.

The Tigers led by just three at halftime, but they ultimately managed to pull away in the second half. [autotag]Angel Reese[/autotag] had a 10-point, 19-rebound double-double while [autotag]Aneesah Morrow[/autotag] led the team in scoring with 15 points.

As the Tigers prepare for another matchup with a double-digit seed on Sunday, here are the photos from Friday’s win.

LSU women’s basketball survives against Rice in NCAA Tournament opener

The Tigers will move on to face Middle Tennessee in the second round.

It was much more anxiety-inducing than the 28.5-point spread would have indicated, but the LSU women’s basketball team survived and advanced as the No. 3 seed in its NCAA Tournament opener against Rice on Friday afternoon.

It wasn’t exactly smooth sailing for coach Kim Mulkey’s team, which led just 30-27 at the half. LSU pulled away to an 11-point lead at the end of the third, though, and while the Owls made a couple of runs in the fourth, they couldn’t close the gap.

[autotag]Angel Reese[/autotag] finished with a double-double with 10 points and 19 rebounds, while [autotag]Aneesah Morrow[/autotag] (15 points), [autotag]Flau’Jae Johnson[/autotag] (14) and [autotag]Mikaylah Williams[/autotag] (14) also scored in double figures.

After Louisville was upset by Middle Tennessee in its opener, the Tigers will now face the No. 11-seeded Blue Raiders in the second round on Sunday.

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Date, time set for LSU women’s basketball’s NCAA Tournament opener against Rice

The Tigers will host the Owls to begin the NCAA Tournament on Friday at 3 p.m. CT.

The 2024 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament bracket is now set, and LSU knows its path back to the Final Four as it seeks to defend its national title.

While some expected the Tigers to earn a No. 2 seed, a lack of impressive wins ultimately dropped them down to the No. 3 seed line, where they will open their run at home in Baton Rouge against Rice, which is seeded at No. 14.

Now, we know the day and time for that game.

It will be on Friday at 3 p.m. CT and will air on ESPN. If the Tigers win that game, their Round 2 matchup against either Louisville or Middle Tennessee will be on Sunday at a time TBD.

Rice is just 19-14 on the year and earned a 10 seed in the American Athletic Conference Tournament before going on an impressive run that culminated in a 20-point win over East Carolina to claim the league’s auto bid.

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