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Rice University Athletics
Owls Place Eight on Phil Steele’s Preseason All-CUSA Team
6/12/2019 11:42:00 AM | Football
HOUSTON — Redshirt freshman Clay Servin and graduate transfer Adam Nunez lead a group of eight players who have been named to Phil Steele's preseason All-Conference USA team. The duo is joined by kick returner Austin Trammell, wide receiver Aaron Cephus, defensive lineman Anthony Ekpe, linebacker Blaze Alldredge, defensive back George Nyakwol and long snapper Campbell Riddle.
Servin and Nunez were named to Phil Steele's second team. Servin saw action in four games last year, making three starts at left tackle. Graduate transfer punter Adam Nunez joins the team after spending the last three years at TCU. Last year, he punted 41 times, averaging 39.5 yards per punt, good for eighth in the Big 12. He placed 19 punts inside the 20-yard line and had four go at least 50 yards.
Trammell was named to the third team as a kick returner. Trammell averaged 27.4 on 14 kick returns and ranked seventh in C-USA with 383 kickoff return yards. He also led the Owls with 62 receptions and 632 receiving yards, while catching three touchdowns.
Cephus, Ekpe, Alldredge, Nyakwol and Riddle all received fourth team honors.
Cephus led the Owls with five touchdown receptions. He was second with 565 yards and third with a career-high 40 receptions despite missing the final two games with an injury. Cephus topped 1,000 career receiving yards with a 79-yard effort at North Texas, becoming the fastest Owl to reach 1,000 career receiving yards since James Casey (2007-08).
Ekpe recorded 35 tackles on the year. He led the team with six sacks and 6.5 TFL. Sacked North Texas' Mason Fine three times, the first Owl to have three sacks in a game since Brian Womac at UTSA in 2017. Matched his career high in tackles twice, versus Houston and at Wake Forest.
Alldredge took over as a starter in the last half of the year and finished second on the team with 65 tackles, 31 of them in the last three games. He led the team with a pair of double-digit tackle games, 10 at Louisiana Tech and then a career-best 13 vs. Old Dominion. Alldredge made his starting debut at Southern Miss and responded with nine tackles and the Owls' first interception of the year, which he returned for 19 yards.
Nyakwol led the team with 67 tackles. Recorded his first career double-figure tackle game against UTEP with 11. He made his first career start versus Prairie View A&M and was credited with a pair of tackles and a pass breakup. Nyakwol also grabbed his first career interception against Wake Forest, finishing with two on the year.
Riddle was a walk-on who took over long snapping duties at the start of the year, playing all 13 games. He recovered a muffed against Houston to set the Owls up at the Cougar eight-yard line, setting the stage for a touchdown.
Rice begins Mike Bloomgren's second season on August 30 when the Owls travel to West Point, N.Y. to face Army West Point.
Season ticket packages for the Owls seven-game home slate, as well as for the Texas game, are currently on sale through the Rice Athletics Ticket Office by calling 713-348-OWLS or emailing tickets@rice.edu. For more information on 2019 season tickets, please visit RiceOwls.com/FBTIX.
Servin and Nunez were named to Phil Steele's second team. Servin saw action in four games last year, making three starts at left tackle. Graduate transfer punter Adam Nunez joins the team after spending the last three years at TCU. Last year, he punted 41 times, averaging 39.5 yards per punt, good for eighth in the Big 12. He placed 19 punts inside the 20-yard line and had four go at least 50 yards.
Trammell was named to the third team as a kick returner. Trammell averaged 27.4 on 14 kick returns and ranked seventh in C-USA with 383 kickoff return yards. He also led the Owls with 62 receptions and 632 receiving yards, while catching three touchdowns.
Cephus, Ekpe, Alldredge, Nyakwol and Riddle all received fourth team honors.
Cephus led the Owls with five touchdown receptions. He was second with 565 yards and third with a career-high 40 receptions despite missing the final two games with an injury. Cephus topped 1,000 career receiving yards with a 79-yard effort at North Texas, becoming the fastest Owl to reach 1,000 career receiving yards since James Casey (2007-08).
Ekpe recorded 35 tackles on the year. He led the team with six sacks and 6.5 TFL. Sacked North Texas' Mason Fine three times, the first Owl to have three sacks in a game since Brian Womac at UTSA in 2017. Matched his career high in tackles twice, versus Houston and at Wake Forest.
Alldredge took over as a starter in the last half of the year and finished second on the team with 65 tackles, 31 of them in the last three games. He led the team with a pair of double-digit tackle games, 10 at Louisiana Tech and then a career-best 13 vs. Old Dominion. Alldredge made his starting debut at Southern Miss and responded with nine tackles and the Owls' first interception of the year, which he returned for 19 yards.
Nyakwol led the team with 67 tackles. Recorded his first career double-figure tackle game against UTEP with 11. He made his first career start versus Prairie View A&M and was credited with a pair of tackles and a pass breakup. Nyakwol also grabbed his first career interception against Wake Forest, finishing with two on the year.
Riddle was a walk-on who took over long snapping duties at the start of the year, playing all 13 games. He recovered a muffed against Houston to set the Owls up at the Cougar eight-yard line, setting the stage for a touchdown.
Rice begins Mike Bloomgren's second season on August 30 when the Owls travel to West Point, N.Y. to face Army West Point.
Season ticket packages for the Owls seven-game home slate, as well as for the Texas game, are currently on sale through the Rice Athletics Ticket Office by calling 713-348-OWLS or emailing tickets@rice.edu. For more information on 2019 season tickets, please visit RiceOwls.com/FBTIX.
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