Football
- Title:
- Tight Ends/Recruiting Coord
Former All-Pro tight end David Sloan enters his seventh season of coaching the Owls tight ends in 2017, and his fourth year of overseeing the Owls recruiting efforts.
In 2017, Sloan will rely on senior Robby Wells and a host of exciting younger talents to handle the varied demands the position.
In his six seasons at Rice, Sloan has sent two of his players on to successful careers in the NFL. In his initial campaign as tight ends coach, Sloan oversaw a loaded lineup that included a pair of draftees (Vance McDonald and Luke Willson) along with third (Taylor Cook) who earned a tryout with the Dallas Cowboys . McDonald and Willson allowed Rice to match Stanford as the only schools to have a pair of tight ends taken in the 2013 NFL Draft.
Willson helped spark Seattle to a return trip to the Super Bowl in 2015. He caught a game-winning touchdown in the final minute vs. Carolina and then a game-tying, two-point conversion from Russell Wilson during the Seahawks comeback playoff win over Green Bay. Willson became the sixth Owl to win a Super Bowl ring, starting for Seattle in Super Bowl XLVIII and catching a pair of passes for 17 yards against Denver. Willson met McDonald in the NFC title game. McDonald was taken in the second round (55th overall) by the 49ers, the highest draft selection for Rice since Bert Emanuel (a former teammate of Sloan's) in 1994.
McDonald, who saw his 2014 playing time with San Francisco limited by an injury, finished his career ranked in the Owls top ten in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns and became the first Owl since ND Kalu in 1996 to be invited to play in the Senior Bowl. Willson was a four-year starter who was drafted by the Toronto Argos of the CFL prior to his senior year and was a standout in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.
Sloan is in his seventh season overall at Rice, having come to campus as a graduate assistant and also serving in a quality control position . When Sloan joined the Owls in 2010, he reunited with Rice head coach David Bailiff, who was on the staff at the University of New Mexico in 1993 when Sloan signed with the Lobos out of junior college.
A two-time Academic All-Conference selection while playing basketball at Fresno City College from 1990-91, Sloan made the jump to football in the fall of 1992.
He caught the eye of Bailiff after catching 13 passes for 254 yards and 4 touchdowns. He signed with New Mexico and earned All-WAC Honorable Mention as a junior in 1993. He improved on that effort as a senior, earning first-Team All-WAC honors and was named one of the Lobos' team co-captains after catching 24 receptions for 320 yards and 1 touchdown during his senior campaign.
After his senior year, he played in the Blue Gray All-Star Game, Senior Bowl and participated in NFL Scouting combine in Indianapolis.
Sloan was selected in the third round of the 1995 by the Detroit Lions and became a starter midway through his rookie season and the Lions won seven straight to earn a playoff spot.
He enjoyed his best season in 1999, when he earned a spot in the Pro Bowl after catching 47 passes for 591 yards and four touchdowns as the Lions again reached the playoffs. Sloan started for the NFC in the 2000 Pro Bowl and was named as an alternate in 2001. He led the Lions with seven touchdown passes in 2001. He was signed by New Orleans in 2002 and retired after the 2003 season. He finished his NFL career with 199 receptions, for 2251 yards and 17 touchdowns including seven catches for 100 yards and two touchdowns in three playoff games.
He has two daughters: Trinity (13) and Bentley (11) while he and wife Angela welcomed a daughter, Braxton, to the family during the 2016 season.
