HOUSTON - Rice head football coach David Bailiff announced the signing of 16 high school seniors from the state of Texas to national letters of intent to play football for the Owls beginning with the 2010 season.
Bailiff also announced that record-setting former quarterback Chase Clement and former Detroit Lions All Pro tight end David Sloan have been added to the staff.
“This was a great recruiting year for us.” Bailiff said. “We signed 16 young men, all from the state of Texas. Seven were local. It is very important to us that we recruit the Houston area as hard as we can,” he stated.
“These seven (local products) are great fits here. The high school coaches in the state of Texas are phenomenal and the coaches around Houston do a great job getting these young men ready to go,” Bailiff noted. “Twelve of them are academic all-district, eight of them are academic all-state, and nine are in the National Honor Society. Not only are they great players but they are academic fits at this university. They are total package young men and that’s what makes us so excited. Their mission is not only to play football, their mission is to graduate and win championships. It is wonderful when you get that type of young man here,” Bailiff stated.
In addition to the seven players from the Houston area, the class features a pair of players from both San Antonio and Austin. Three played on state championship teams, including a pair, Andy Erickson and Trevor Gillette, who were part of three 4A Division I state titles at Austin Lake Travis and completed their careers with a 46-0 record.
Regarding the retooled lineup of his coaching staff, Bailiff said “We are really excited about these additions and then we are going to get back to our fun and gun ways. As I told (new offensive coordinator) David Beaty, my expectation is I want my right arm to get tired from signaling for one. By the fourth quarter I want to have to use my left arm. He told me that he could achieve those expectations so it’s exciting to have those guys on the staff and to get David back in Rice Owls blue.”
Here are the signees (the ones in bold are from the Houston area):
Gabe Baker, db, 6-2, 200, MacArthur HS, San Antonio
Bryce Callahan, db, 5-10, 170, Cypress Woods HS, Cypress, Texas
Nico Carlson, dl, 6-3, 270, Taylor HS, Katy, Texas
Drew Carroll, ol, 6-4, 280, Abilene (Texas) HS
Jeremy Eddington, rb, 6-2, 215, Chisum HS, Paris, Texas
Andy Erickson, wr, 5-10, 175, Lake Travis HS, Austin, Texas
Trevor Gillette, te, 6-3, 215, Lake Travis HS, Austin, Texas
Ian Gray, ol, 6-8, 325, Pearland (Texas) HS
Mario Hull, wr, 6-1, 190, Rice HS, Altair, Texas
Fred Jackson, db, 5-11, 188, Eisenhower HS, Houston
Dylan Klare, de, 6-3, 250, Refugio (Texas) HS
Cameron Nwosu, lb, 5-10, 223, Klein Forest HS, Houston
Zach Patt, ath, 6-2, 212, Honey Grove (Texas) HS
James Radcliffe, lb, 6-1, 212, Cinco Ranch HS, Katy, Texas
Jordan Taylor, ath, 6-5, 200, Denison (Texas) HS
Justin Warren, ol, 6-4, 250, Roosevelt HS, San Antonio
