Rice Football Recruiting Keeps Getting Better Under Mike Bloomgren

College football teams across the country welcomes most of their 2024 recruiting classes on Wednesday. As usual, many of the nation's top high school prospects

© Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

College football teams across the country welcomes most of their 2024 recruiting classes on Wednesday. As usual, many of the nation's top high school prospects signed to schools in the state of Texas. For Rice University, recruiting can be a little trickier due to the school's high academic standards. However, head coach Mike Bloomgren is making it work.

As noted by independent Rice sports outlet The Roost, the Owls signed the highest-rated class in program history for the fourth time in the last five seasons. 

The centerpiece of Rice's signing class on Wednesday was former Temple QB E.J. Warner. Warner is the son of NFL Hall of Famer Kurt Warner. In two seasons with Temple, Warner threw 41 touchdowns with 24 interceptions and over 6,100 yards. He led the AAC in passing yardage in 2023.

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"You talk to any coach in this conference, they're so blown away by how well he manages the game. For me and [offensive coordinator Marques Tuiasosopo], we sat down and watched him. What we saw is a guy that has unbelievable anticipation and unbelievable knowledge of where the ball needs to go. When you combine anticipation and timing, it gives him a chance to be an unbelievably efficient and explosive passer," Bloomgren said of Warner. 

Another point of pride for Bloomgren this cycle specifically is player retention. Nobody that played for Rice this fall has entered the portal yet. Because of that, Rice didn't need to sign a large number of players this period. Rice signed eight players on Wednesday. 

In his media availability on Wednesday, Bloomgren noted that an issue for Rice in terms of building a sustainable roster over the last few years has been simply been a lack of healthy bodies at any given time. Barring something catastrophic, Rice will enter Spring practice with roughly 100 players - almost 60 more than Rice once had in spring practice under Bloomgren.

It's not just in terms of hype that the Rice football brand is improving. Since Bloomgren took over prior to the 2018 season, the Owls have gradually improved every year. While they were 2-10 that first season under Bloomgren, they've now reached bowl games in two consecutive seasons. They still haven't won a bowl game since 2014. 

The Owls face Texas State in the First Responder Bowl on December 26 on ESPN.