It’s a new era of Rice Owls football. While that can be said about all teams undergoing a coaching change, not many programs are undergoing a schematic offensive shift as drastic as Rice.
Head coach Scott Abell arrived from Davidson and installed the ‘Rice gun choice’ offense — a variant of a shotgun spread option that combines Nebraska’s option scheme under Tom Osborne and Oregon’s high-tempo spread offense under Chip Kelly.
That being said, it’s been a unique offseason for Rice’s incumbent quarterbacks
who initially committed to a pro-style scheme and now must adapt to Abell’s option attack. While there are a handful of seasoned backups, Rice lacked an incumbent starter. The instant E.J. Warner departed to Fresno State in the portal due to the offensive scheme change, a quarterback battle commenced at Rice.
After an offseason-long competition, Chase Jenkins was named the Week 1 starter, and he will take the first snaps of the Abell era. Jenkins won the battle over Drew Devillier, Lucas Scheerhorn, and AJ Padgett — three quarterbacks with in-game FBS experience.
Devillier is a true sophomore who earned one start at UConn last October, Scheerhorn is a Kennesaw State transfer with the most option experience in his past, and Padgett started six games in 2022 and 2023 including both of the Owls’ bowl appearances. Devillier and Scheerhorn are still handling quarterback reps in fall camp, while the 6’3”, 241 pound Padgett is testing out tight end — one of Rice’s most inexperienced position groups.
Meanwhile, Jenkins is slated to make his first career start, but he isn’t completely devoid of experience. Jenkins suited up in five games as a true freshman in 2022. The local Katy, TX native appeared in certain packages as a more mobile alternative to starter JT Daniels. He attained 82 rushing yards and a touchdown on 14 carries that season, playing a major role in Rice’s 24-17 victory over East Carolina. When Daniels suffered a concussion in against eventual American champion SMU, Jenkins checked in and completed 10-of-16 passes for 85 yards and one interception in his most extensive action to date.
Buried beneath Warner and Devillier in the quarterback depth chart, Jenkins briefly transitioned to wide receiver for the 2024 campaign. He logged one rushing attempt for two yards in the Owls’ 62-point victory over FCS Texas Southern but maintained a redshirt with only two appearances. Jenkins now holds redshirt sophomore status as he looks to captain Abell’s new-look option offense — a scheme which produced an FCS-best 315.5 rushing yards per game at Davidson last year.
Jenkins’ first start will transpire Saturday, Aug. 30 as Rice travels one state over for a non-conference matchup at Louisiana.
