Hatfield announces 1996 recruiting class

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Football Head Coach Ken Hatfield has revealed the 17 high school seniors who will be the first Owl recruiting class to play exclusively in the Western Athletic Conference.

"I'm extremely happy with this group," Hatfield said. "They are 17 young men who are good people. All have qualified for Rice, will stay in school and graduate, and most importantly, all want to get better."

Hatfield also singled out kicker/punter Scott Grimes from Dallas Bishop Lynch High School. "The first thing we wanted was a kicker, and we felt we got an extremely gifted athlete with great leg strength in Scott," Hatfield said.

The class also includes three quarterbacks; Clint Leschber (Thorndale), Travis Ortega (Rockdale) and Chad Richardson (McKinney/Allen). Quarterbacks were a priority on Hatfield's list due to the graduation of Josh LaRocca and the rate at which quarterbacks in Rice triple-option offense are injured.

"We need quarterbacks to be able to both run and throw the ball well, and we think we've got three tremendous athletes and players," Hatfield said.

The remainder of the class includes five offensive lineman, two defensive lineman, two linebackers and one running back.

The Owls also signed one of the top prep hurdlers in the nation in Anthony Griffin. He was a three-time state sprint and hurdle champion in Mississippi and will play running back for Rice.

Details on the players will be seen in a future issue.

This item appeared in the Sports section of the February 9, 1996 issue.

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