Rice Owls 2026 Spring Football Notebook
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The Rice Owls were one of the more recent college football teams to take the field, participating in the Jan. 2 Armed Forces Bowl vs. Texas State.
Despite the bitter 41-10 result in Fort Worth, the bowl appearance was a stellar result for Rice in year one of the Scott Abell era. The first-year head coach installed an option-style offense and produced a 5-8 record, qualifying for bowl eligibility due to a lack of eligible teams.
In year two, Rice hopes to solidify a bowl appearance on its own terms. The Owls recently wrapped up their spring football session with a showcase on Friday, Apr. 10. The first glimpse of UCF transfer quarterback Jacurri Brown was one prevailing storyline of the spring showcase. Here are other notes from the Owls’ spring session:
Year two for Abell
Abell enters year two at the helm with a grown mindset. One year ago, the mission was to lay the foundation for a new culture — and implement a new spread option offensive scheme — to change the culture at Rice. Now with those pillars in place and a horde of returning players, Abell’s focus shifts to a simpler one: improvement.
“You understand the program holistically better and what the challenges are,” Abell said. “You understand the league and what the challenges are and how you can grow. Last year was about how we implement our schemes in all phases, and they’re all brand new. This year we added new players, but our staff was back. It wasn’t about installing new schemes. It was about identifying players, having competition happen, and growing the offense and defense around that.”
It’s been a far less hectic offseason for Abell, who has settled into his first FBS head coaching job.
“I feel like a coach this spring,” Abell said. “Last spring I felt more like a manager because we were hiring, putting the pieces in place and getting the roster set. This year I felt like a coach. Very comforting for me.”
When asked what the No. 1 takeaway he had from year one at Rice, Abell didn’t hesitate. He emphasized toughness as the top characteristic he hopes to develop within the 2026 Owls and felt signs of progress were already evident in spring ball.
“We have to become mentally tougher and physically tougher,” Abell said. “I started spring practice out with that and I finished with that in our last team meeting. That’s who we’re gonna be. The DNA of us needs to be toughness, physicality, and that means mentally and physically. That’s not an easy thing to accomplish or grow in, but they believe that. I saw steps toward that this spring.”
Reloading the defensive front
The strength of the 2025 Owls resided in the defensive front. Rice produced two all-conference selections in defensive end Tony Anyanwu and inside linebacker Andrew Awe, as well as an all-conference honorable mention in outside linebacker Ty Morris. However, those three standouts — which all ranked top four in tackles last fall — are absent from the 2026 spring roster.
Despite a lack of veteran experience, Abell believes the linebackers were one of the most impressive position groups during the spring session.
“The middle layer — the linebackers where we lost a lot of production — I think they’ve had a really good spring,” Abell said. “I won’t point out anybody in particular, but as a group they’ve been a real pleasant surprise for all of us.”
The defensive line is young too, and Abell expects a heavy rotation in the trenches. Right now, one of the emerging leaders of that group is defensive end Chibby Nwajuaku. A fifth-year senior heading into 2026, Nwajuaku collected his first two collegiate starts last season, ready to build on a campaign featuring 28 tackles and two sacks.
“It’s been a fun ride this spring being the oldhead,” Nwajuaku said. “They like to make a bunch of old jokes. It’s been a lot of teaching the freshmen that came in, trying to make sure they’re good. But it’s been good stepping into a new role as a leader.”
Highlight of spring showcase
During Rice’s Friday night spring showcase, one of the final plays of the scrimmage drew the loudest reaction from the crowd and the sideline. It was the formal introduction to the fanbase of DD Oliver — Rice’s 6’3”, 294 pound tight end.
Oliver was a defensive tackle last season. As a true freshman in 2025, he accrued 17 snaps across two games. Due to thinness at the tight end position, Rice transitioned him to the offensive side of the ball, and he created the signature highlight of the spring showcase, breaking free for a 30+ yard reception. Both sidelines erupted in celebration, storming onto the field and celebrating with the now redshirt freshman donning the No. 91 jersey.
“We’re really thin at tight end right now, have some injuries,” Abell said. “But early in the spring, we kind of felt that, so DD played a little tight end. We had to get him some reps for blocking reasons — short yardage. And he just happened to be in the right call at the end of the scrimmage where he’s the tight end in the game. And he made the catch. Was I surprised? Maybe a little. But I wasn’t surprised by the enthusiasm. Both sidelines — they own him. The defense thinks DD’s theirs. The offense now thinks DD belongs to them. It was a great moment. In a spring football game, you can’t script that kind of stuff.”
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