Owls Place 11 on Phil Steele Preseason Team
6/15/2022 12:11:00 PM | Football
All-Conference USA projection
Ikenna Enechukwu and Clay Servin lead a list of 11 Rice football players who were named to Phil Steele's preseason All-Conference USA team, which was released on Wednesday
Enechukwu and Servin were named to the first team, Shea Baker, Ari Broussard, Sean Fresch, George Nyakwol, Josh Pearcy, Gabe Taylor, and Tyson Thompson were named to the third team, and Jack Bradley and Treshawn Chamberlain were named to the fourth team.
Enechukwu was credited with career highs in tackles (48), TFL (8), and sacks (4.5) last season while starting all 12 games (nine at tackle and three at the end). He was the team leader with 20 quarterback hurries according to PFF and second with 32 total pressures and eight quarterback hits.
Servin has been a fixture at tackle for the Owls since 2019 and he owns the longest active starting streak on the team with 25 consecutive games.
Baker has made 42 career starts for the Owls (24 at center, 18 at guard) and is the Owls active leader with 2,785 snaps. He was named to the Rotary Lombardi Award watch list in 2021.
Broussard led the Owls with 569 yards rushing last season, 426 of them over the last seven games as his role expanded. He had at least one carry of 10 yards or more in eight of 12 games, highlighted by a career-best jaunt of 40 yards against Charlotte, part of a career-best 186 yards.
Fresch earned All-Freshman C-USA in 2021, and led the team with 317 yards on 14 kick returns (22.6 average) and 10 punt returns for 99 yards. His 48-yard punt return with 1:19 left in the game set up the winning touchdown against LA Tech on Senior Day.
Nyakwol returns for a sixth season after missing most of the 2021 season with an injury. He was among team leaders with two interceptions and 25 tackles last season before he was injured. Schuman compiled a career-best 40 tackles while playing in nine games, including a career-high 10 vs. Southern Miss.
Pearcy was third on the team with 7.5 TFL and four sacks as well as 17 total pressures (sacks/hits/hurries) according to PFF. He was also tied for the team lead with seven special team tackles.
Taylor led the team with 44 unassisted tackles, second with three interceptions and eight passes defended, and fifth with 56 tackles. He earned C-USA Defensive Player of the Week for his performance at UAB, totaling a career-high 10 tackles and forcing a fumble, then breaking up a last-gasp pass attempt by UAB to seal the victory.
Thompson, who signed with the Owls this spring after his freshman season at HBU, was named to the HERO Sports FCS Freshman All-America team and earned second-team All-Southland Conference honors as a kickoff returner and honorable mention as a punt returner as a freshman in 2021. He ranked second in the league in kickoff returns with a 25.9-yard average and second in the league in punt returns with a 9.9-yard average. Thompson was the only player in the conference with both a kickoff and punt return for a touchdown.
Bradley set career highs for receptions (16) and receiving yards (242) in 2021, the best receiving season for an Owls tight end since 2016.
Chamberlain has been a fixture on defense for the Owls since his freshman year in 2018, but missed most of 2021 with an injury after opening the year by matching his career-high with 11 tackles in the season-opener at Arkansas.
Season tickets for Rice Football's 2022 season are now available for new season ticket purchases. Fans are also encouraged to stay up to date with the current bi-weekly season ticket incentives program and can learn about the 2022 football season ticket benefits this season by visiting this page.
Enechukwu and Servin were named to the first team, Shea Baker, Ari Broussard, Sean Fresch, George Nyakwol, Josh Pearcy, Gabe Taylor, and Tyson Thompson were named to the third team, and Jack Bradley and Treshawn Chamberlain were named to the fourth team.
Enechukwu was credited with career highs in tackles (48), TFL (8), and sacks (4.5) last season while starting all 12 games (nine at tackle and three at the end). He was the team leader with 20 quarterback hurries according to PFF and second with 32 total pressures and eight quarterback hits.
Servin has been a fixture at tackle for the Owls since 2019 and he owns the longest active starting streak on the team with 25 consecutive games.
Baker has made 42 career starts for the Owls (24 at center, 18 at guard) and is the Owls active leader with 2,785 snaps. He was named to the Rotary Lombardi Award watch list in 2021.
Broussard led the Owls with 569 yards rushing last season, 426 of them over the last seven games as his role expanded. He had at least one carry of 10 yards or more in eight of 12 games, highlighted by a career-best jaunt of 40 yards against Charlotte, part of a career-best 186 yards.
Fresch earned All-Freshman C-USA in 2021, and led the team with 317 yards on 14 kick returns (22.6 average) and 10 punt returns for 99 yards. His 48-yard punt return with 1:19 left in the game set up the winning touchdown against LA Tech on Senior Day.
Nyakwol returns for a sixth season after missing most of the 2021 season with an injury. He was among team leaders with two interceptions and 25 tackles last season before he was injured. Schuman compiled a career-best 40 tackles while playing in nine games, including a career-high 10 vs. Southern Miss.
Pearcy was third on the team with 7.5 TFL and four sacks as well as 17 total pressures (sacks/hits/hurries) according to PFF. He was also tied for the team lead with seven special team tackles.
Taylor led the team with 44 unassisted tackles, second with three interceptions and eight passes defended, and fifth with 56 tackles. He earned C-USA Defensive Player of the Week for his performance at UAB, totaling a career-high 10 tackles and forcing a fumble, then breaking up a last-gasp pass attempt by UAB to seal the victory.
Thompson, who signed with the Owls this spring after his freshman season at HBU, was named to the HERO Sports FCS Freshman All-America team and earned second-team All-Southland Conference honors as a kickoff returner and honorable mention as a punt returner as a freshman in 2021. He ranked second in the league in kickoff returns with a 25.9-yard average and second in the league in punt returns with a 9.9-yard average. Thompson was the only player in the conference with both a kickoff and punt return for a touchdown.
Bradley set career highs for receptions (16) and receiving yards (242) in 2021, the best receiving season for an Owls tight end since 2016.
Chamberlain has been a fixture on defense for the Owls since his freshman year in 2018, but missed most of 2021 with an injury after opening the year by matching his career-high with 11 tackles in the season-opener at Arkansas.
Season tickets for Rice Football's 2022 season are now available for new season ticket purchases. Fans are also encouraged to stay up to date with the current bi-weekly season ticket incentives program and can learn about the 2022 football season ticket benefits this season by visiting this page.
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