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The Rice Thresher
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by Jose Luis Cubria thresher editorial staff Just months after watching injuries decimate his stable of quarterbacks and defensive linemen, head football coach Ken Hatfield has ensured that the Owls should not have the same problem again any time soon. Thirteen student athletes have signed national letters-of-intent to attend Rice beginning this fall, Hatfield announced Wednesday. Headlining the class are four defensive linemen and six high school quarterbacks, the two positions where the Owls were hit hardest by injuries in 2000. "The one major priority we had was trying to find some big, strong defensive linemen," Hatfield said. "We had several linemen go down this year, and in the latter part of the year we had seven starters who weren't even at practice. Any time you can get some guys who can rush the passer and can run and hit you, you need to do that. "The other is we are always looking for great skill people who can rise above coaching, people who can make somebody miss one-on-one." As usual, the class is low on star value. But Hatfield said that's not a concern. "You don't know all the names," he said. "Everybody follows only the top 100 a lot of the time, so this is an exciting time for us to talk about why we recruit somebody here at Rice and where we think they can give us a chance to win." If there is one name on the list that stands out, it's Kevin Ford, a 6-foot quarterback from Madisonville. Ford was listed among the top 100 recruits in Texas by the Houston Chronicle and the Dallas Morning News and was named the most valuable player in District 23-3A. Hatfield said Ford, who will switch positions and play running back for the Owls, is a special player. "He's one of the top players in the country, period," he said. "He's a tremendous athlete and he'll make a lot of great things happen." Perhaps right behind Ford in the pecking order is Greg Henderson, a 5-foot, 11-inch quarterback from Wichita Falls. Henderson played in a system similar to Rice's triple option in high school and should make an impact for the Owls. "He's run our offense the last two years, and he's an excellent runner and has a tremendously strong arm," Hatfield said. "We think he's definitely going to be a great quarterback for us." Hatfield said three of the signee quarterbacks will switch positions while the other three will get a shot to remain at the position. Regardless of position, Rice will do its best to get the best players on the field. "That's kind of what we've done in the past," Hatfield said. "That's how we ended up with Travis Ortega who did a great job for us for four years as a defensive back. And a guy like Dan Dawson, who's already had a heck of a career here and still has another year to go. They were both high school quarterbacks. And that's kind of what we ended with here in getting some skilled people [in this class]." Very few, if any, of these players will see significant playing time this fall. With Rice returning 29 seniors, it's likely that most of the class will be redshirted. "We don't anticipate a lot of these guys playing for us, but history shows us that one or two will play," Hatfield said. "We know some of these guys may end up playing, but with a large senior group, they will play a backup role to help the seniors have their best possible year. ... We tell them all to get ready to play, but at this time we're really planning to redshirt all of them."
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