February 2012 Archives
Rice freshman soccer
player Gabi Iribarne is back on
campus and up to speed with her classes this semester.
Iribarne, who holds
dual citizenship for both the United States and Argentina, was out of the U.S.
the first part of the spring semester while helping the Argentinean Under-20
National Soccer Team play at the South American Women's U-20 World Cup
qualifying tournament. As you may have already seen on RiceOwls.com, her
Argentinean team (or Las Albicelestes if you're an Argentine futbol fan)
came up big with a second place finish to mighty Brazil in the qualifier's gold
medal game on Feb. 5.
All of Argentina
may have celebrated their soccer success of qualifying for the U-20 World Cup,
but Iribarne had to quickly turnaround and return to classes at Rice. After
some time to get caught up in her course work and catch her breath from a
whirlwind start to the semester, Iribarne recently had enough time to have a Q
& A with the R Blog.
Q: How did you get to be on the team for this qualifying
tournament, then what was the timetable like for you last December-January when
you had to report-in, train and play in the games?
Iribarne: I had been
on the Argentinean Under-17 team before, so I had been in the national program.
My coach told me he wanted me on the team for this South American Cup, which is
the world cup qualifier for South American countries, so the day after semester
finals I went down Buenos Aires
for a week and a half to practice with the team. We practiced at the national
camp field and he told me he wanted me to be a travel member of the team that
would go to Brazil
in January in the South American Cup.
I
came back to Rice, just to start the new semester for a few days, and then left
on January 11 for Argentina
for more practice. The team then left on January 16 and stayed in Brazil until February
6th. We had seven games where we finished in second place.
Q: How did you work it out that you would be able to miss
the first part of the Rice semester?
Iribarne: I was here
three days in January to get school started. I talked to my professors. I
talked to them and they were supportive and really very helpful. I still had to
do the work of course when I was in South America,
and I had to do it on my own because no on the team could speak English well
enough who would be able to help me. It's hard to learn and do everything on
your own. The professors really helped me, but I still had to do the work or it
would have been terrible when I got back to Rice.
Q: Just how long a flight is that down to Argentina?
Iribarne: Houston to Buenos
Aires was like 10 hours. One time though I went through
Atlanta and
missed my connection. I got on another flight that went to Santiago
Chile, then made it to Argentina and
that took like 17 hours.
Q: How long have you held dual-citizenship for the U.S. and Argentina?
Iribarne: I've only
had dual citizenship pretty recently, like a year. I wasn't able to play in the
U-17 Tournament because I didn't have my dual-citizenship at the time. The
paperwork was being processed.
Q: How well do you speak Spanish?
Spanish is my first
language actually. I speak it at home with my parents.
Q: What position did you play for Argentina?
Iribarne: Center-mid
or outside-mid, depending on the game.
Q: How did the team do early in the tournament's pool play
format?
Iribarne: We lost our
opening game to Columbia,
a very tough team in our bracket. We thought it would be us or them to win the
bracket, but after we lost to them in the first game we had to win the rest of
our games to move past pool play. There was no margin for error.
We started winning and played Chile in our
last pool game and basically if they tied or beat us, they would advance. We
had to win to go on. We got a penalty kick in the last minute of the game,
which was essentially the last play of the game. It was a legitimate call, and
we were just going to see if she would call it in the box or out of the box. We
got the PK and ended up winning 3-2.
That
was exciting. If we lost we'd be going home, but the top two teams from pool
play got to stay another week - medal play.
Q: In medal play there was now just four teams left in the
tournament and there was a big game against Paraguay. Describe what happened in
that game.
Iribarne: In the
second round we had to play Paraguay. We were
losing 2-1 and I scored in the second half to tie the game. The whole tournament
was held in Brazil, and that
night Brazil
was playing after us. It was really fun because in the second half that night
that's when the stadium started to fill-up. We had some fans, but of course the
tournament was in Brazil and
everyone wanted to see Brazil.
It was exciting. They didn't care which team won the first game, but the love
soccer and started cheering when they saw a goal, which was my goal. It was
pretty cool.
Q: Your goal forced a tie with Paraguay. Then what happened in the
next game?
Iribarne: We ended up
getting rematched with Columbia,
the team that beat us way back in the first game of the tournament. That loss
helped us get focused and this time we won to move on. We were going to play Brazil in Brazil for the gold medal.
Q: Brazil
is a country that loves soccer. How was the soccer facility where the medal-round
games were held?
Iribarne: It was in a
pretty big stadium of one of the top club teams. It was a really nice stadium
and there were a good amount of people there
Q: We hear stories about fans at international soccer games.
How were the Brazilian fans?
Iribarne: It was a
pretty big crowd, and basically everyone was cheering for Brazil. It was
still fun playing in front of a crowd, even if it's not your crowd. They
appreciate the game. They were loud, but it was in Portuguese so we couldn't
really tell what they were saying.
Q: Brazil
coasted through the entire tournament winning games by scores of 8-0, 7-0 and
6-0. How did you and Las Albicelestes do in the Gold Medal game?
Iribarne: We lost 2-0,
but played pretty well. One of their goals was a penalty kick. We held our own.
I think if we played them we'd do even better. We'd know what to expect and we
didn't play a lot of other games before the tournament itself.
Q: Explain the added reasons why it was important to play
well in the Gold Medal game?
Iribarne: We were
playing for the South American Championship, which we wanted to win, but the
top two teams from the South American tournament get to play U-20 World Cup
later this summer in Japan.
The South
American tournament winner would qualify for Japan but it was not automatic,
however, that the second place team would get to go. The other South American team
(to play in the World Cup) would be determined by goal-differential. Because Brazil was
beating teams by really high scores, there was still a chance we wouldn't get
to go to Japan if we got beat the same way. We had to play pretty well to avoid
that, which we did.
We
didn't win the South American championship, but we played well and qualified
for the World Cup. Now, by playing well, it gave us a good idea of what to
expect in Japan
and that's encouraging.
Q: There's a photo of you with an Argentinean flag after one
of the games and it appears to say "Rice" on the flag? What's the story on this
'Rice-Argentina' flag?
Iribarne: One of my
teammates had the flag. It actually says something else, but it looks like it
says "Rice." I truthfully don't know what it says because the lettering is kind
of weird, but I see what people are saying that in the photo it looks like it says
"Rice." I didn't try and get it to say Rice, but now I kind of want it to say
Rice. It was meant to be.
If I
go to Japan,
I'll make sure I bring one that does say "Rice."
Q: Were your teammates familiar with Rice and is there a
chance they could come see you play with your Owl team later this fall?
Iribarne: They knew I
was in college and that it's important to me, but I'm not sure if they knew
much about Rice University or not. I invited all the
girls on my team to come up here to Houston.
I'm the only one on the team who speaks English, so that could be a little bit
of a language barrier. I would love them to see a Rice soccer game or at least
visit?
Q: Was it tough to get back in the swing of classes at Rice
and how has the adjustment been to be back in the United States?
Iribarne: I was pretty
difficult getting back into the school routine initially. I'm caught-up and the
professors have really been helpful. One of the biggest changes has been the
weather. The seasons are reversed in South America, and where we were in Brazil was
really tropical. It's been good to come back to Rice and Houston. I got to come
back, wear sweaters for a little while and speak English.
The final regular season game for the Rice Owls women's basketball team is Thursday, (March 1) when it hosts Memphis. Tip-off is set for 7p.m. (CT) and the Owls will honor their four seniors, Candace Ashford, Brianna Hypolite, Amenemope McKinney, and D'Frantz Smart in a pre-game ceremony inside Tudor Fieldhouse.
The Conference USA Championship will be held in Memphis from March 7-10.
Conference USA Women's Basketball Championship Central
Rice Women's Basketball 2012 Senior Night Video Tribute:
 Photo Gallery
Houston - Rice Athletics and the R Association honored 18 student-athletes who were named the top academic performers in their respective sports at the 26th annual Rice Scholar-Athlete reception Wednesday evening in the R Room.
The Rice Scholar-Athlete Award is presented to a junior, senior, or fifth-year senior who has accumulated the highest cumulative grade point average on their respective team.
R Association Scholar-Athlete Award Winners
Men's Basketball: Connor Frizzelle, Kinesiology (McMurtry College)
Women's Basketball: Jessica Goswitz, Kinesiology, Sports Medicine (Duncan College)
Baseball: Daniel Gonzales-Luna, Civil Engineering (Hanszen College)
Jeremy Rathjen, Economics (Brown College)
Men's Cross Country: Matthew Carey, Economics (McMurtry College)
Women's Cross Country: Rebecca Wade, History, Psychology, Sociology (Martel College)
Football: Travis Bradshaw, Chemical Engineering (Wiess College)
Matthew Nordstrom, Civil Engineering (Brown College)
Golf: Erik Mayer, Mathematical Economic Analysis (Wiess College)
Soccer: Lauren LaGro, Kinesiology, Sports Medicine (Duncan College)
Swimming: Louise Gliga, Chemistry (Will Rice College)
Danielle Spence, Mathematical Economic Analysis (Will Rice College)
Men's Tennis: Andy Wang, Political Science, History (McMurtry College)
Women's Tennis: Ana Guzman, Psychology (Wiess College)
Men's Track & Field: Daniel Sloat, Civil Engineering (Sid Richardson College)
Women's Track and Field: Allison Pye, Kinesiology, Policy Studies (Martel College)
Sophie Peeters, Track & Field, Hanszen College, Kinesiology, Psychology
Volleyball: Jordan Meredith, Sport Management (Will Rice College)
C-USA Indoor Track & Field Championship Live Results
The Rice Owls men's track and field squad competes this weekend at the 2012 Conference USA Indoor Championship in Birmingham, Ala., inside the Birmingham CrossPlex. UAB hosts the championship for the first time.
The two-day event is set for Saturday, Feb. 25 and Sunday, Feb. 26. Prior to this season, Houston had been the only school to host the Championships at an on-campus site.
The indoor championship will be televised by Fox Sports Network on a tape delayed.
Head coach Jim Bevan Previews the 2012 C-USA Indoor Track & Field Championship
C-USA Indoor Track & Field Championship Live Results
The Rice Owls men's track and field squad competes this weekend at the 2012 Conference USA Indoor Championship in Birmingham, Ala., inside the Birmingham CrossPlex. UAB hosts the championship for the first time.
The two-day event is set for Saturday, Feb. 25 and Sunday, Feb. 26. Prior to this season, Houston had been the only school to host the Championships at an on-campus site.
The indoor championship will be televised by Fox Sports Network on a tape delayed.
Head coach Jon Warren Previews the 2012 C-USA Indoor Track & Field Championship
Jessica Kuster registered her 12th double-double of the season to propel the Rice Owls women's basketball team to a convincing 68-40 Conference USA victory over Houston Thursday night inside Tudor Fieldhouse.
Kuster, in only 29 minutes of action, poured in 22 points and collected 16 rebounds, both of which were game-highs.
The Owls sweep the season series vs. UH and now sport a 14-13 overall record and an 8-6 mark in C-USA. Houston falls to 2-24 and 1-13 in league action. It is the first series sweep of Houston by Rice since the Owls captured both games during the 1986-87 campaign.
Post-game Highlights:
The Rice women's basketball team hosts the Houston Cougars on Thursday (Feb. 23). Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. inside Tudor Fieldhouse. The Owls will then play at UTEP on Sunday at 3:05 p.m. (CT) in El Paso, Texas.
Owl head coach Greg Williams previews the upcoming action:
 Looks like we will have to wait a little longer to start the 2012 season....
UPDATE
The tarp is off the field, we are getting ready for a 7:05 first pitch
The final touches to Reckling Park are being applied in advance to the first pitch of the 2012 baseball season at Reckling Park. First pitch set for 4:30 for Rice vs. FIU. Come celebrate former Owl Kenny Baugh's induction into the Rice Athletics Hall of Fame during pregame ceremonies and then settle in for the first game of the season.
The Rice women's basketball team plays two games on the road this week. The Owls are at Tulane on Thursday (Feb. 16) for a 7 p.m. start. Rice then plays at SMU on Sunday (Feb. 19) at noon. The SMU contest will be televised by FSN.
Head coach Greg Williams previews the Tulane and SMU games.
Brianna Hypolite scored a team-high 19 points and freshman Nakachi Maduka registered career-highs in scoring and rebounding with 13 points and 10 boards to lead the Rice Owls to a 55-48 victory over Tulsa on Sunday afternoon inside Tudor Fieldhouse.
Below is the post-game press conference:
Here is the 2011 Rice Owls Volleyball highlight video that was created by Daniel Kole and shown Thursday evening (Feb. 9) at the end of the volleyball awards banquet.
Rice women's track and field coach Jim Bevan updates his team's status as well previews Saturday's stiff competition at the Texas A&M Invitational.
Rice men's track and field coach Jon Warren comments on his indoor track and field team and previews Saturday's action at the tough Texas A&M Invitational.
Rice head women's basketball coach Greg Williams previews Sunday's home contest vs. Tulsa (2 p.m.) as well as the stretch run as the Conference USA season winds down with six games remaining.
 Imagine you have a chance to interview for the top companies in your chosen field, but that interview will take place over several days and rather that take place behind closed doors, it's held on the same field as the Super Bowl and televised nationally.
Former Rice All-America punter Kyle Martens and former All C-USA defensive end Scott Solomon will have just that chance, having formally invited to participate in the 2012 NFL Scouting Combine, which will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana from February 22-28.
This is the third time in the last four years the Owls have been represented at the Combine. James Casey and Jarett Dillard participated in the 2009 Combine and both were taken in the fifth round of that year's draft. Cheta Ozougwu participated last year and was taken by the Houston Texans with the final pick last April.
Over 300 players have been invited to this year's gathering of the top college draft prospects. The players will undergo audition and interview with executives, coaching staffs, player personnel departments and medical personnel from all 32 NFL teams.
Their first two days are comprised of orientations, meetings with the NFL Players Association, physicals and other medical examinations and psychological testing. The final day is when the bulk of the physical testing takes place.
Combine Schedule
Martens is one of 11 kickers who will participate, while Solomon will be in a group of 59 linemen. Martens will be in the first grouping of prospects to be tested, arriving on Wednesday, February 22 and departing on Saturday. The specialized testing for kickers and punters will take place on Friday, February 24. Solomon and the other defensive line candidates will arrive on Friday, February 24 and departing on Monday. The bulk of their televised performance testing will take place on Monday, February 27.
Participants are determined annually by a Selection Committee. The Directors of both National and BLESTO scouting services, which combined represent twenty-five NFL teams, are joined by members of various NFL player personnel departments to form the committee. The participating NFL executives can rotate on a yearly basis, and remain anonymous. ALL eligible players are reviewed and voted on by the committee members. Each athlete receiving the necessary number of votes, by position, is then extended an invitation.
The Combine began 1982 in Tampa, Florida and 163 players were evaluated by teams who belonged to National Football Scouting, Inc. Two additional camps were held to allow teams who were not members of National Football Scouting. By 1985, the camps were combined into one centralized camp, which was held in Arizona. The event moved to Indianapolis in 1987
Larry Izzo, no stranger to Super Bowls as a player thanks to his timely stint as a special teams superstar with the New England Patriots, is back in the NFL's multi-media championship spectacular in a new role as a coach and on the opposite sideline of his former team.
Izzo will be looking to collect a fourth Super Bowl ring, a total that no other Owl can match, but the purpose of this entry is to take a look back at the beginnings of the NFL's championship hunt and to take the best stab at determining the first Owl to play in the league's title tilt.
Research shows that Shirley Brick was the first Owl to play in the NFL. Brick, who lettered for Rice from 1915-17 and again in 1919, played one game for the Buffalo All Americans in 1920, the very first season of the fledgling National Football League. All that needs to be said about football at that time versus now is that Brick, all 5-8 and 165 pounds of him, was listed as a tight end.
Seaman Squyres (1933 Cincinnati Reds) and Ralph "Primo" Miller (Cleveland Rams 1937 & 38) were the next Owls to take the field in the league, but neither enjoyed great success. Squyres was on a Reds team that scored only a total of 48 points in 18 games the franchise existed (folding after 10 points and eight games in 1934). Miller was on the team that first brought the NFL to Cleveland, but found only limited success in his two years.
In the early days of the NFL, Curly Lambeau had assembled a powerhouse team in Green Bay. The Packers won the title from 1929-32 and again in 1936. In 1939, a former Rice end, Frank Steen, joined a team that featured the immortal Don Hutson. Steen was listed as a tight end, and shows credit for three games in a season that saw the Packers go on to defeat the New York Giants 27-0 to win Lambeau's sixth NFL title.
While there are no records of which three games Steen played in that season, he does appear in the official team photo and roster, thus we will anoint him as the first Rice Owl to become an NFL champion. If he was a member of the winning team, Steen pocketed the princely sum of $703.97 as a winner's share that year, which was his only year in the NFL.
The years immediately after World War II saw an infusion of Owls into the league. Some (Fred Hartman and Bill Blackburn) had been standouts in the early 1940's and moved on to the pro ranks after returning home from the war, while others (Weldon Humble, John Magee, Hamilton Nichols and Virgil Eikenberg) saw their college careers interrupted by the war, careers they were thankful to pick up after surviving the war.
Blackburn and Nichols became the first pair of Owls to play for an NFL champion, as the Chicago Cardinals defeated the Philadelphia Eagles. It marked the first NFL title appearance for both franchises, and it remains the only NFL title for the Cardinals franchise through the end of the 2011 season.
One year later Blackburn and Nichols were back on the field, facing the Eagles again and looking to repeat as NFL champions. But this time, there were two Owls on the opposing sideline as Magee was in the starting lineup and Hartman was a backup lineman.
The game was first NFL title game to be televised, but the new technology was certainly not prepared for the challenge that Mother Nature had in store. The Eagles prevailed 7-0 on a Steve Van Buren touchdown run in the last minute.
In the years since that landmark game, other Owls have been a part of NFL title celebrations, including Humble with the Cleveland Browns in 1950, Tobin Rote with the Detroit Lions in 1957, J.D. Smith with the Eagles in 1960, Frank Ryan with the Browns in 1964, Rodrigo Barnes with the Oakland Raiders in 1977, Earl Cooper in 1982 and 1985, Daryl Grant with Washington in 1983 and again in 1988, O.J. Brigance with the Baltimore Ravens in 2001 and Izzo's run of good fortune with the Patriots. Outside the NFL, Rote lead the San Diego Chargers to an AFL title in 1963, becoming the only quarterback to win championships in the rival leagues, while Orville Trask was a member of the Oilers when Houston captured the first two AFL titles (1960-61).
UTEP at Rice Televised Carriers 
The Rice women's basketball team (11-11, 5-4) hosts Conference USA-leading UTEP (19-2, 8-0) on Sunday, Feb. 5 at 11 a.m. inside Tudor Fieldhouse. The above link shows all of the television channels in the nation that will broadcast the Owls and Miners on Sunday. Ron Thulin will do the play-by-play with Debbie Antonelli providing the color commentary.
The 2012 Rice Baseball alumni game has been cancelled because of the heavy rains that hit the area this morning.
The autograph session with the 2012 Owls in Fox Gym as well as season ticket pickup will take place. We will introduce all the alumni who came in for the game at 11 a.m. so you'll still have a chance to catch up with some of your favorite Owls from the past.
Rain or shine, this Friday & Saturday (Feb. 3-4) is the weekend for Rice Baseball Alumni. Here are updated items for the weekend, including the ones that are contingent on the weather.
All non-game activities including all alumni introductions, autographs with the 2012 Owl team, and season-ticket pickup will be at Fox Gym due to weather expectations. Fox Gym is the indoor facility adjacent to the front entrance of Reckling Park (and west of Tudor Fieldhouse).
Fans should plan on going to Fox Gym first (not Reckling Park) by 10 am
Baseball Alumni should plan on registering at Reckling Park beginning at 9 am.
The alumni-vs.-alumni game could be cancelled due to weather. That determination could be a game-time decision (11 am), and will be considered a final decision.
If the weather cancels the game all activities remain in Fox Gym.
If the weather is satisfactory, fans ans alumni can move over to Reckling Park and play ball!
If the weather is satisfactory, the teams for the home run derby have been set. The Rice varsity team will consist of junior Jeremy Rathjen and freshman Skyler Ewing. The Rice alumni team for home run derby will consist of Matt Lorenz ('97), Adam Zornes ('08) and Anthony Rendon ('11).
Season-tickets will be available for pickup and ticket staff will be on-hand to take new orders. Free posters and baseball schedule cards will be available.
As part of Alumni Game weekend, Centennial historian Dr. Melissa Kean will deliver the second Rice Baseball Alumni Lecture on Feb. 3 (Fri.) at 6 pm in the Rice Stadium R Room. The topic of her speech will be "The Early History of Rice Athletics and Why It Mattered." Those interested in attending Dr. Kean's Friday lecture should RSVP here.
Online Alumni Game registration form for the Rice baseball alumni is still accessible through the Rice University Baseball Players Association (RUBPA) website: here
Participating alumni with questions should email Steven Herce.
 As a high school junior, Darik Dillard had to avoid James Farrimond, but this fall, they will be teammates at Rice. Farrimond joined the Owls last fall as a walkon, while Dillard will join the team this fall after signing his letter of intent on Wednesday. This photo was taken in San Antonio, Texas on October 8, 2010 John Albright / Special to the Express-News.
Darrion Pollard of Gilmer NLI has been successfully delivered into the proper hands and he is the 24th and final member of the 2012 Rice football recruiting class.
Presser at 2:30, free on OwlVision and we will post player videos at that time. Hope to see you tonight at the Signing Day party.
Next stop, Spring Practice!
Luke Willson on a decidedly different atmosphere on signing day in Canada...
"I got up early and signed my Letter of Intent at home so my Dad could get it faxed to Rice. When I got to school, it was more like 'so, how was your morning? Guess what I did today?' It wasn't a big deal at school. We did a little press event after school that my summer league coach had arranged, but that was about it."
One look at Darik Dillard's extracurricular activities and you wonder when he slept. In addition to taking teams to the regional quarterfinals in both football and basketball and running track, he placed first in an art show and a state architecture competition while also serving as the treasurer for both the National Honor Society and his senior class.....and I think there are some other things we might have missed...
Offensive line recruit Brandon Dawkins brings a well-rounded athletic resume to Rice, including swimming the 50 meter freestyle for the state champs and playing water polo. He also has served as a clerk for a pair of Dallas County Criminal Court judges.
Owls' offensive line coach Ronnie Vinklarek on the day he thought he scored a major recruiting coup
"I was at UH working for John Jenkins and I was recruiting ND Kalu. We were coming down the stretch to to signing day and I get a call from ND. He tells me that he's coming to Houston. I hung up quick and went to tell the other coaches about it. I was fired up that we had him. The next day, his high school coach called me and said in my excitement, I didn't hear the whole conversation. ND was coming to Houston, no doubt, but he was coming here to play for Rice. It's a lot funnier to tell now than it was at the time."
Tabari McGaskey of Dallas Lincoln and Cody Henesee are in the folder and officially Rice Owls.
Justin Carter, a safety from Hoover, Alabama and Darik Dillard, a running back from San Antonio are the latest to send in their NLI's.
Carter played in a defensive backfield at Spain Park HS that included three others who will sign NLIs today.
Dillard is no stranger to the sidelines of Rice Stadium, having spent time each year at Owls' practices before the start of school, watching his older brother Jarett.
Owls' cornerback coach Larry Edmondson recalls the danger of using props to make a point.
"I was at Southern Miss and our head coach, Curley Hallman and I were making an in-home visit. Coach Hallman was making a point about the values he expected in his recruits and he extended his hands to the recruit and his parents and said 'Now, I have three rings on my hands. I have my wedding ring, my class ring, and a national championship ring. Which one do you think is the most important?' The point he was trying to make was the class ring was the most important because it represented the commitment to receiving his degree. But the recruit answered that he liked the national championship ring. Coach Hallman kept trying to make his point, but each time he asked, the recruit kept saying how much he liked the championship ring. He asked coach if he could hold it and as he pulled it off his finger, coach dropped it and it fell in the ventilation vent on the floor. We spent the next hour of the visit trying to get that ring out of the vent. We wound up signing the player, but it sure wasn't on the strength of that home visit."
Owls' cornerback coach Chris Thurmond on the perils of recruiting twins.
"Years ago, I was recruiting a set of twins and on signing day, we got the signature of one of them right away, but his brother started to waiver. So we had to wait, and wait, and wait. In the end he signed as well and both of them turned out to be great players. But I guess the one brother was enjoying the who recruiting experience he wanted to extend it as long as he could."
Latest faxes to cross the desk: David Wilganowski, Alex Lyons and Andre Anderson
Owls' receivers coach Billy Lynch was at Indiana and in a pitched battle for the signature of Orhian Johnson from St. Petersburg, Florida in 2008.
"Johnson was a high school quarterback, and we were recruiting him as such. Ohio State was looking at him primarily as a safety, but held open the idea of quarterback if they didn't sign another one. Well, the "other one" was Terrell Pryor, and as you remember, he strung out his decision for another week. When it came time on signing day, Orhian had take the gamble as to where Pryor would go. Well, Pryor did go to Ohio State, but Orhian has been their starting safety, so it worked out pretty well for him."
In 2011, recruits in parts of Texas had to worry about an arctic blast that knocked out power and wrecking havoc on Signing Day plans. 2011 Owls' signee Grant Peterson remembers it well:
"I remember walking up real early and just being so anxious to sign, but when I got to school it was pitch black since the power was out. I couldn't even fax over the signed papers. The power would come on and off but I didn't have time to fax the papers. Eventually was able to get the fax send, but the power was still on and off the rest of the day. I remember when the news stations came to record the whole thing they were filming us in complete darkness. I couldn't see anything but a bright light. We were sitting at the table in front of the whole school in complete darkness."
Put check marks behind the names of Connor Cella, Reid Mitchell and Tyler Stehling on your 2012 Recruit Checklist.... NLI's are in
Brandon Dawkins uncle, Bert Adams, originally signed with the Owls in 1982, but signed with the California Angels after they selected him in the 27th round of the 1982 June Draft. Three years later, he returned to Rice and lettered for two years as a linebacker.
Faxes in: Zac Espinosa, Garrett Furhman, Connor Patterson, Spencer Stanley, Michael Warren, Cameron Decell and Brandon Dawkins
Cornerback J.T. Blasingame from Atlanta, Georgia is the first 2012 signee to hit the fax.
Signing Day 2012 is here.
The fax machine's day in the spotlight is at hand as the Owls next generation of football student-athletes will be sending in their National Letters of Intent in today, confirming their acceptance of a scholarship to compete for Rice.
The R Blog will be live at the Football Office on Wednesday morning with updates as the NLI's roll in as well as with some memories of signing days past.
David Bailiff will formally announce the class at a 2:30 press conference and fans can tune in for free on OwlVision .
Later today, Rice football fans will have a chance to join Coach Bailiff and members of his coaching staff at reception to celebrate Signing Day 2012 at 5:30 in the R Room. Bailiff and staff will show highlights of each member of the class. The party will run from 5:30-7:00 p.m. and will be held at the R Room at Rice Stadium to allow Owls fans to also attend the Rice men's basketball game against UTEP.
Tickets for the event are $10 person, which includes BBQ, beer and other refreshments. Tickets can be purchased at the door, or fans can purchase in advance by calling the Rice Athletics Ticket Office at (713) 522-OWLS.
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