Seven Owls Placed on Phil Steele’s C-USA Preseason Team
6/23/2021 4:58:00 PM | Football
2021 annual now available
Guard Shea Baker leads seven Rice players who were named to Phil Steele's preseason All-Conference USA team. Baker was named to the first team, Jordan Myers to the second, Bradley Rozner, Elijah Garcia and Trey Schuman to the third team while Jake Bailey and George Nyakwol were placed on the fourth team.
Baker earned honorable mention honors from conference coaches after starting all five games in 2020. He was named the Owls Offensive Player of the Game for his work in the trenches in the upset at Marshall. He was also named to CoSIDA's Academic All-District® team.
The versatile Myers, who is returning for a sixth season, is listed as the all-purpose player on the first team. He was named by conference coaches to their All C-USA second team in 2020 after leading the Owls with 24 receptions, 18 of them over the final three games of the season. He also handled the running back duties in the Owls' short yardage package and scored Rice's lone rushing touchdown in 2020 to provide the Owls only offensive TD in their 20-0 win at #15 Marshall.
Rozner is set to return to action after missing the abbreviated 2020 season due to a preseason injury and is a repeat selection for the third team by Athlon. He was a second team all-conference pick in 2019 by Steele after posting the best numbers by a first-year receiver at Rice since 1951. He led the team with 55 receptions for 770 yards and topped 100 yards four times.
Garcia was tied for second on the Owls in 2020 with 28 tackles while leading the squad with three quarterback hurries. His average of 5.6 tackles per game was second among conference defensive linemen and his 123 career tackles are the most of any returning C-USA interior defender.
Schuman led the Owls with 4.5 tackles for loss last season and led the defensive line with seven tackles in the Owls upset over Marshall. He joined Baker on the CoSIDA's Academic All-District® team.
Bailey averaged better than 20 yards on both punt and kickoff returns in 2020 in addition to combining with Myers to handle the bulk of the receiving chores after Austin Trammell (now with the Atlanta Falcons) was injured. He caught 14 passes over the final two games and finished second on the team with 23 receptions for 276 yards
Nyakwol missed the 2020 campaign after suffering an injury early in camp. He came into 2020 having started 25 consecutive games. He tied for the team lead in 2019 with seven passes defended and was fourth on the squad with 57 tackles.
Rice is schedule to open the 2021 season on the road on September 4 against Arkansas, the Owls first trip to Fayetteville since 1991. They open the home schedule the following weekend when they host Houston in the 40th Bayou Bucket game on September 11.
Season tickets for the 2021 campaign are currently on sale online or by calling the Rice ticket office at (713) 348-OWLS (6957) for further assistance. For any additional information on tickets, please visit our Rice Football ticket page.
Baker earned honorable mention honors from conference coaches after starting all five games in 2020. He was named the Owls Offensive Player of the Game for his work in the trenches in the upset at Marshall. He was also named to CoSIDA's Academic All-District® team.
The versatile Myers, who is returning for a sixth season, is listed as the all-purpose player on the first team. He was named by conference coaches to their All C-USA second team in 2020 after leading the Owls with 24 receptions, 18 of them over the final three games of the season. He also handled the running back duties in the Owls' short yardage package and scored Rice's lone rushing touchdown in 2020 to provide the Owls only offensive TD in their 20-0 win at #15 Marshall.
Rozner is set to return to action after missing the abbreviated 2020 season due to a preseason injury and is a repeat selection for the third team by Athlon. He was a second team all-conference pick in 2019 by Steele after posting the best numbers by a first-year receiver at Rice since 1951. He led the team with 55 receptions for 770 yards and topped 100 yards four times.
Garcia was tied for second on the Owls in 2020 with 28 tackles while leading the squad with three quarterback hurries. His average of 5.6 tackles per game was second among conference defensive linemen and his 123 career tackles are the most of any returning C-USA interior defender.
Schuman led the Owls with 4.5 tackles for loss last season and led the defensive line with seven tackles in the Owls upset over Marshall. He joined Baker on the CoSIDA's Academic All-District® team.
Bailey averaged better than 20 yards on both punt and kickoff returns in 2020 in addition to combining with Myers to handle the bulk of the receiving chores after Austin Trammell (now with the Atlanta Falcons) was injured. He caught 14 passes over the final two games and finished second on the team with 23 receptions for 276 yards
Nyakwol missed the 2020 campaign after suffering an injury early in camp. He came into 2020 having started 25 consecutive games. He tied for the team lead in 2019 with seven passes defended and was fourth on the squad with 57 tackles.
Rice is schedule to open the 2021 season on the road on September 4 against Arkansas, the Owls first trip to Fayetteville since 1991. They open the home schedule the following weekend when they host Houston in the 40th Bayou Bucket game on September 11.
Season tickets for the 2021 campaign are currently on sale online or by calling the Rice ticket office at (713) 348-OWLS (6957) for further assistance. For any additional information on tickets, please visit our Rice Football ticket page.
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