Tag: Rice Owls football

Commanders Larry Izzo wants guys who run and hit

New Commanders STs coach Larry Izzo has deep ties to the area.

Apparently, Commanders fans asked for Larry Izzo to be a guest interview on the “Command Center” show.

Izzo, the newly hired Commanders special teams coach, appeared recently on the “Command Center” with host Bryan Colbert Jr.

“I’m very touched by that; it’s awesome,” responded Izzo.

Izzo is a local DMV guy. He attended Broad Run High School (Loudoun County) before moving to Texas. The area has grown tremendously, and Izzo said it has changed so much in the 34 years since he left that he doesn’t recognize it.

“What shaped me as a young football player, started here in Ashburn. We had a great coaching staff. They developed me growing into that role I was in. I played in the lower Loudoun football league in eighth grade and coach Jerry Smith at Broad Run. I still talk to these guys, so it is cool to be back.”

Izzo talked of remembering growing up here when the Redskins were winning Super Bowls, and he himself played for three New England Patriots Super Bowl Championship teams (2001, 2003, 2004).

Like rookie Luke McCaffrey, Izzo played his college ball at Rice. He said he knew the only way he was going to make it onto an NFL roster was by making a mark on special teams. How good was Larry Izzo?

“Special teams is everything to me,” said Izzo.  We always tell the young guys, special teams is going to be the easiest path to the roster to carve out a role. In my career I learned, special teams, that’s how you eat.”

Izzo has played on winning and losing Super Bowl teams and coached on a winning N.Y. Giants team.

“I am looking for dudes that want to run and hit. They want to play fast and physical. That is how we are going to play. Then, guys that really want to be out there, understand their role, have a team-first mentality. Whatever they can do to help the team win, they are going to do it.”

Chris Cooley film review of Commanders’ WR Luke McCaffrey

Cooley on McCaffrey: “He’s going to be a good player.”

“He is super fast.”

That’s how former Washington Redskins tight end Chris Cooley began his film review of Commanders third-round selection (100) Luke McCaffrey.

A guest on the “Kevin Sheehan Show” podcast this week, Cooley mocked those who have already stereotyped McCaffrey as a receiver who won’t be able to work downfield. Cooley asked, “Why? Because he is a white receiver?”

Cooley continued, “He tracks the ball incredibly well, and he is able to go up and get it. He has great ball skills.” He then alluded to McCaffrey’s one-handed, all-hands catches.

The former Washington tight end and broadcaster likes McCaffrey’s measurables as well: 4.46 (40 yards), 6-foot-2, 198 pounds, 36 inches (vertical). At the NFL Combine, McCaffey’s other measurables were broad jump (121), shuttle (4.02), and 3-cone (6.70).

For quick descriptions, Cooley offered: “Fearless, tough, great run after the catch ability, good at finding open spots, a good, all-around player.”

“He can play in the slot; he can play outside. He will go over the middle and make a catch anywhere.”

“He is in and out of his breaks pretty well. He does need to do a better job setting up those breaks/setting up those routes. But as of now, he is able to create separation.”

“He attacks the ball at its highest point; he makes body adjustments.”

“He is a fearless blocker; he will get after it when he is in the run game. He is a play-every-snap kind of guy.”

“He is going to be a good (NFL) player.”

Remember, Luke only played receiver his last two years at Rice, after first playing quarterback at both Rice and Nebraska. Thus, he is still learning and developing at his “new” position.

Also, Luke’s dad, Ed McCaffrey accumulated 185 NFL games in his career, McCaffrey had 565 receptions for 7,422 yards, including 55 touchdowns. McCaffrey also averaged 13.1 yards per reception.

Luke’s older brother, Christian, followed in Ed’s footsteps, playing in the Pac-12 conference for Stanford. He has enjoyed an illustrious NFL career, already rushing for 6,185 yards and scoring 81 touchdowns in his 91 NFL games.

Why one Commanders rookie might surprise in a few years

Don’t sleep on wide receiver Luke McCaffrey, who could prove to be a steal.

It’s only minicamp, but one Commanders rookie is a real prospect.

Yes, the vast majority of the attention will go to quarterback Jayden Daniels. However, one other first-year player might gain more attention in time.

Former Rice wide receiver Luke McCaffrey is not your typical receiver coming out of college.

McCaffrey’s dad, Ed, was an NFL wide receiver from 1991-2003 with the Giants, 49ers and Broncos. His older brother Christian is one of the best dual-threat running backs in the NFL.

McCaffrey learned to pass a lot at a young age to his older brother and loved being a high school quarterback. He signed to play at Nebraska, where he would play for former Cornhuskers quarterback Scott Frost.

However, McCaffrey saw action in only 11 games as quarterback at Nebraska for two seasons, passing for three touchdowns and six interceptions. He did rush for 530 yards, averaging 6.0 per carry.

So he transferred to Rice, which he thought might be a better opportunity. Completing only 31 of his 62 attempts with two touchdowns and four interceptions led to another major change — not the transfer portal, but changing positions in the Rice offense.

He had never played receiver, yet he made the move for his final two seasons with the Owls. He amassed 71 receptions for 992 yards, averaging 14.0 per reception in his final college season.

The point is, how many NFL rookies have played their position for only two seasons?

No question, Commanders general manager Adam Peters had this as his focus in drafting McCaffrey.

Barring injury, he could really improve as he continues to gain experience at his new position. And don’t overlook the fact that his old position was quarterback. Consequently, he will understand the position from a quarterback perspective as well.

Certainly Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson are much more experienced, but McCaffrey is still learning the position. His ceiling might be higher than we are expecting for a receiver from Rice.

Washington Commanders select former Nebraska quarterback in third round of NFL draft

Rice wide receiver Luke McCaffrey was taken by the Washington Commanders with the 100th overall pick. 

Over the weekend, a former Nebraska quarterback was selected in the third round of the 2024 NFL draft. Rice wide receiver Luke McCaffrey was taken by the Washington Commanders with the 100th overall pick.

McCaffrey player for Nebraska for the 2019 and 2020 seasons before transferring to Louisville and then Rice. While with the Owls, the former quarterback switched to wide receiver.

McCaffrey had 71 receptions for 992 yards and 13 touchdowns in 13 games for Rice this past season. He was a four-star recruit out of high school who chose Nebraska over Colorado, Michigan, Ohio State, and Mississippi.

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.

Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes, and opinions.

Who are the Commanders getting in Luke McCaffrey?

What are the Commanders getting in Luke McCaffrey?

With the final draft pick of Friday night’s round three, the Washington Commanders selected Rice wide receiver Luke McCaffrey at No. 100 overall.

If you read that name and are wondering, yes, Luke is the younger brother of San Francisco 49ers star Christian McCaffrey. By the way, both are sons of former NFL wide receiver Ed McCaffrey.

Luke certainly knows what it takes to make it in the NFL. He has seen his older brother push himself to such limits that he is able to play in the NFL.

McCaffrey stands 6-foot-2 and is 23 years of age. While playing his high school football in Colorado, Luke played receiver for his first two years, while his older brother Dylan played quarterback.

A four-star recruit, Luke committed to and signed with Nebraska. Determining to depart after two seasons with the Cornhuskers, he committed to Louisville. After being at Louisville for a brief period, he departed for Houston to attend Rice.

In his last two seasons with Rice, McCaffrey caught 58 and 68 passes, averaging 12.5 and 14.2 yards per reception, including six and 12 touchdown receptions, respectively.

At the NFL Scouting Combine, McCaffrey ran a 4.46 40-yard dash and recorded a 36-inch vertical leap.

Former Husker quarterback finds success as a wide receiver

A former Nebraska quarterback has found success at a different school and a different position.

A former Nebraska quarterback has found success at a different school and a different position. Wide receiver Luke McCaffrey had 68 receptions for 963 yards and 12 touchdowns in 12 games for the Rice Owls this season.

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

The Colorado native would transfer to Louisville following his inability to lock down the starting quarterback job. 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.

McCaffrey would transfer from Louisville to Rice after it became clear he would not win the starting job. He would be converted to receiver for the 2022 season. Rice finished the 2023 season with a record of 6-6 and now awaits their bowl destination.

Find a photo gallery of Luke McCaffrey’s playing career below.

Taking an early look at the season opener between Texas and Rice

Texas is carb loading with Rice before its biggest test.

We are a week away from Texas’ game with Rice. The matchup won’t excite most fans, but it’s still a season opener and it ends a long offseason without Texas football.

Rice and Texas have a history. The two former Southwest Conference foes have faced each other 96 times. Texas leads the series 74-21-1. We don’t expect the series to get competitive on Sept. 2.

While the Longhorns should win comfortably, the Owls have improved since the teams met in 2021. Last season, Rice made its first bowl game since 2013. It has played in 13 bowls all-time despite a 45-year drought from 1961 to 2006.

The current iteration of the Rice Owls includes a familiar name in starting quarterback JT Daniels. He is now on his fourth team after stints at USC, Georgia, and West Virginia.

It will be the third time Daniels will have traveled to play Texas. The veteran journeyman started for the USC Trojans against the Longhorns in 2018 before facing Texas last season in Austin. He is joined by a couple of former Power Five talents. Nebraska transfers in wide receiver Luke McCaffery and left guard Brant Banks will look to help elevate the Rice offense.

While we view the matchup as a tune-up game, there is plenty we can glean from the performance. We’ll be watching Ewers’ connection with his receivers, Devon Campbell Jr. in pass protection and several individual players on the defensive side.

Texas should be able to go vanilla and impose its will on Rice. It will presumably look to do just that as it kicks off the season.

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Texas A&M lands former Rice FB Jerry Johnson from the transfer portal

Texas A&M has landed their second transfer from Rice, as fullback Jerry Johnson will now join his brother, freshman linebacker Chantz Johnson and don Maroon and White

Texas A&M and head coach Jimbo Fisher have landed their second transfer from Rice University, as a fullback and special teams ace Jerry Johnson will join the Maroon and White for the 2023 season, joining former Owls linebacker Aidan Siano out of the portal.

Johnson is the brother of 2023 three-star linebacker Chantz Johnson who recently committed to the Aggies back in late December, and the son of current Texas A&M Sports performance coach Jerry Johnson Sr., so you can say that becoming an Aggie simply runs in the family.

In 13 appearances during the 2022 season as the starting fullback for the Owls, Johnson’s blocking in both the run game and pass protection paired with his ability on special teams, and even ranked as the teams’ best performer on special teams during the 2021 season with and 84.2 grade from PFF.

His addition to the Aggies backfield and special teams unit not only provides much-needed depth but also signals an enhanced emphasis on a power running game, joining converted fullback Earnest Crownover to the mix. Congratulations, Jerry! Gig ‘Em!

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Cameron on Twitter: @CameronOhnysty

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Rice Owls: CFN College Football Preview 2021

College Football News Preview 2021: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Rice season with what you need to know.

College Football News Preview 2021: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Rice season with what you need to know.

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Rice Owls Schedule Analysis
– Rice Owls Previews
2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015

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2020 Record: 2-3 overall, 2-3 in C-USA
Head Coach: Mike Bloomgren, 4th year, 7-23
2020 CFN Final Ranking: 106
2020 CFN Preview Ranking: 116
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 115

Rice Owls College Football Preview 2021: Offense

– The offense started to turn a bit last year. It was only a five-game season, and the team didn’t have a chance to get into any sort of a groove, but after few years under Mike Bloomgren, the team was able to control the clock like it wanted to, the passing game was efficient, and …

– There wasn’t enough scoring. The running game has to be stronger, but the receivers are once again in place to at least push the ball downfield a bit. Leading passer Mike Collins is gone, but redshirt freshman Jovani Johnson is a 6-3, 215-pound more mobile option who was solid when he got his chances.

Leading receiver yardage-wise Austin Trammell is done, but leading pass catcher Jordan Meyers is back at tight end along with likely starter Jack Bradley, and sophomore Jake Bailey is a decent slot target. The big deal, though, is the return of star Bradley Rozner after he opted out last year.

– The biggest key to the offense that revolves around pounding away and controlling the clock – all five starting offensive linemen are expected to be back. There’s good size, solid depth, and enough time logged in to be a whole lot better after struggling at keeping defenses out of the backfield.

The top rushers are all back. Khalan Grifin, Juma Otoviano and Ari Broussard should combine to average at least four yards per carry, and again, JoVoni Johnson can run. However, the Owls only ran for one touchdown, and it came from a wide receiver.

– What You Need To Know: Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Rice Owls Schedule Analysis

NEXT: Rice Owls College Football Preview 2021: Defense

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College Football News Preview 2020: Rice Owls

College Football News Preview 2020: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Rice Owls season with what you need to know.

College Football News Preview 2020: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Rice Owls season with what you need to know.

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Schedule Analysis
– Rice Previews 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015

2019 Record: 3-9 overall, 3-5 in C-USA
Head Coach: Mike Bloomgren, 3rd year, 5-20
2019 CFN Final Opinion Ranking: 115
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 115
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 122

No one knows what’s going to happen to the 2020 college football season, and we certainly want to be mindful of all that’s happening, especially in the Houston area as this is being published.

We’ll take a general look at where each team stands – doing it without spring ball to go by – while crossing our fingers that we’ll all have some well-deserved fun this fall. Hoping you and yours are safe and healthy.

5. College Football News Preview 2020: Rice Owls Offense 3 Things To Know

– The Rice offense has had a few issues. The attack finished 125th in the nation averaging just 294 yards per game, and scoring appears to be optional, averaging fewer than 18 points per outing. However, there were signs of life.

The O that is trying to pound the ball and get the ground game going failed to hit the 28-point mark in any of its first nine games. It came up with 31 against Middle Tennessee and 30 against UTEP – both wins – and now there’s at least a little positive momentum.

But the low-scoring – as crazy as this seems – is partly by design.

Run the ball, shorten the game, control the tempo. But a bit more pop would be nice.

CFN in 60 Video: LSU Preview
LSU vs. Rice, Sept. 19
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– The leading runners are gone, but Aston Walter and Charlie Booker only combined for just over 1,000 yards. Walter is the big loss, with the top leading returning rusher – sophomore Juva Otoviano – only running for 114 yards in three games. 215-pound Ari Broussard brings a little more thump.

There aren’t a slew of experienced running backs to work behind, and just two starters are back up front. It’s not a big group, but it can move, and it will try getting physical for the ground game. That’s been a fight to generate a consistent push, but C Shea Baker is a good one to work around. Losing OT Uzome Osuji to Boise State doesn’t help.

– The Owls are never going to bomb away, but at least the passing game has to be efficient. That’s been an issue over the last few years, but the receivers are in place to do more with the top five targets expected back.

6-5, 195-pound Brad Rozner and 5-10 senior Austin Trammell combined for 115 catches – they’re as strong a 1-2 punch as the program has had in a while. Add 6-4 transfer Christian McStravick from Boston College to the mix, and the receiving corps should be one of the team’s biggest strengths.

Someone has to get them all the ball.

Top passer Tom Stewart is done, but sophomore Wiley Green is back after throwing for 787 yards and four scores. In comes Michael Collins from TCU to add more downfield pop. The 6-5, 225-pounder is a pro-style passer who should settle the position.

NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Rice Owls Defense 3 Things To Know

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