Notre Dame vs Rice: Inside Scott Abell's Unique Offensive Attack
Notre Dame heads home to South Bend this Saturday for the “official” 2026 home opener against the Rice Owls.
Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
The Fighting Irish opened their season with a good win over Wisconsin last Sunday at Lambeau Field. Defensively, Notre Dame played well, limiting the Badgers to 13 points, including just a field goal in the second half.
The Irish had the run game smothered all night, holding Wisconsin rushers to 2.2 yards per carry, despite the Badgers' offseason emphasis on becoming more physical on offense. LB Drayk Bowen anchored the middle of the defense, leading the team with nine tackles, including one for a loss. EDGE Boubacar Traore did his job with three tackles, one sack, and two TFLs. Transfer DL Francis Brewu also added three tackles and a sack in his Irish debut, forcing his hand as a potential future starter in this unit.
Notre Dame’s secondary play was, without a doubt, highlighted by transfer CB DJ McKinney’s 55-yard pick-six. Outside of this, the Irish combined for five PBUs, two of them coming from the other transfer CB, Jayden Sanders. Wisconsin QB Colton Joseph displayed that he is a way better passer than I gave him credit for, throwing for 217 yards, including a 28-yard TD, on 19/30 pass attempts. The Badgers should be in good hands the rest of the way.
Now, the focus shifts to Rice and Head Coach Scott Abell’s funky offense. Abell’s offense is best described as the service academies’ option attack with just a bit more passing involved.
Abell’s first Division I head coaching gig was at FCS Davidson College, where he was hired in 2018. What Abell did at Davidson across seven years is pretty extraordinary; he led the Wildcats to a 47-28 overall record, including the program’s only three appearances in the FCS playoffs. The crazy part: Davidson does not offer football scholarships. He brought a program designed to not succeed at all to relevancy. Now, he tries to do the same at Rice in his second year with the Owls.
Rice and Abell kicked off his second season with the Owls in a 31-3 outing against Houston Christian University (HCU) last Saturday. Find a breakdown of Rice’s unique offense by position group below:
Quarterback
Jacurri Brown
There probably are not a lot of more perfect fits for Abell’s offense than UCF transfer and Redshirt Senior Jacurri Brown. A 6-4, 227-pound former four-star recruit out of Lowndes High School in Georgia, Brown originally committed to Miami (FL) out of high school.
Brown spent two years at Miami, appearing in nine games with three starts, spending the majority of his time backing up Tyler Van Dyke. The young QB was able to flash his dual-threat abilities in his limited time as a Hurricane, throwing for 411 yards and four touchdowns, along with four interceptions, while rushing for 278 yards and two scores on 68 carries.
Following the 2023 season, Brown entered the portal and transferred to UCF seeking increased opportunities. His two years at UCF did not go to plan, serving as a backup to KJ Jefferson in 2024 and dealing with an AC Joint Sprain that limited his 2025 campaign. Brown somewhat struggled as a passer during his 12 games played with the Knights, completing just 38/72 attempts for 495 yards and two touchdowns with five interceptions. His ground game did not regress at all, though, rushing for 543 yards and six scores on 69 carries.
Now the redshirt senior QB enters his final collegiate season at his third program. Last week, Brown rushed for 98 yards on 13 carries, while throwing just five times, completing two attempts for 11 yards. It is fair to say this offense suits his game extremely well.
I believe Brown has legitimate dual-threat upside, but limited pass production this far into his career is concerning. For what it's worth, Brown appeared to have a strong spring and fall camp, being named the starting QB in the spring, and then being selected as a captain this fall before ever taking a snap as a Rice Owl. The obvious focus for Notre Dame’s defense will be limiting his elite rushing abilities, as he is a guy who averages well over six yards per carry in his career. Additionally, Brown’s big and athletic frame allows him to handle contact and makes him a true weapon when he is on the run, which he will do a lot in Abell’s offense.
The biggest questions may be a moot point given the offensive scheme, but should be addressed. Before last week, Brown was a 57% career passer with a 5:9 TD:INT ratio. Both of these raise red flags surrounding his accuracy and decision-making as a passer. With these faults, Brown has yet to prove he can beat defenses with just his arm. Luckily, he seems to be in a good spot for that, just not this Saturday.
Others to watch: Gael Ochoa
Running Backs
Tyvonn Byars
Rice’s projected leading rusher led the Owls last week against HCU with 104 yards on the ground across 16 carries. Tyvonn Byars, a 5-10 and 217-pound Sophomore out of Lake Creek High School in Texas, is in his second season with the Owls.
Byars flashed as a true freshman last season, rushing for 193 yards and one touchdown across 34 carries in eight games played. He showed he can be explosive with three 25-plus-yard rushes (again, on just 34 carries) while averaging a productive 5.7 yards per run. He also added two catches for 53 yards as a receiving threat.
Byars possesses good size and is a tough, physical runner. Entering the year, he had not proven he can handle lead back duties; however, his strong week one performance is a great sign for Rice that he can manage the load.
Others to watch: D’Andre Hardeman Jr.
Receivers
Ben Grice
The first of three versatile “receivers” to keep an eye on is Redshirt Sophomore Ben Grice. The Atlanta native committed to Wake Forest out of Woodward Academy, where he would spend two years.
Grice played in all 12 games on special teams in 2024 with the Demon Deacons before seeing no action and redshirting in 2025.
The 5-11, 194-pound starting slot has no collegiate receiving production so far in his career, but he was able to garner 12 yards on three carries against HCU last week. Grice is capable of producing as a receiver based on his career high school stats: 116 catches for 2,083 yards and 26 touchdowns. He is also a very good athlete and was originally committed to Delaware Lacrosse before opting to play football at Wake Forest.
After shaking off any rust from not playing in 2025 in week one, Grice will be in for a tough battle this Saturday. For a versatile slot that will be asked to do a lot physically, he does appear to be on the smaller side.
Braylen Walker
This 5-10, 181-pound receiver in his fifth season at Rice did not record any stats in week one, but still poses a threat. Braylen Walker is a Redshirt Senior out of Lake Charles College Prep in Sulphur, Louisiana.
Prior to this season, Walker had appeared in 29 games, including nine starts, with the Owls. However, he was limited to just three games in 2025 due to an undisclosed injury. Through his Rice career, Walker has compiled 45 catches for 590 yards and four touchdowns.
Walker does possess some good explosive play abilities, so it will be interesting if Abell makes him more of an offensive emphasis this week. As a former two-time state finalist in Track, he also owns good speed and athleticism. Also, compared to Grice, Walker does have an edge in overall collegiate playing experience. However, his production has been limited throughout his career, dealing with injury concerns and a smaller frame, and he has never been a legitimate top target.
Davis Lane
With Rice’s offensive star, Quinton Jackson, likely out this week after suffering an injury against HCU, Davis Lane has a chance to establish himself in the offense. Lane transferred to Rice for his redshirt senior campaign this year after spending four years at Virginia (UVA). The Lynchburg, VA native originally committed to UVA as a three-star QB recruit out of Liberty Christian Academy.
Lane eventually transitioned to the RB room at UVA, but was mostly utilized as a special teams player during his 24 games played in Charlottesville. He finished his UVA career with just 10 carries for 40 yards.
Lane did not record any stats in his first game as a Rice Owl last week, but he should see an increased role now with Jackson dealing with an injury. Lane offers intriguing versatility, with experience at QB, RB, and now WR. He also has good size, but no college receptions and limited experience in general could be a detriment to this weapon.
Others to watch: Quinton Jackson (likely out Saturday; best player on the offense), Barry Jackson Jr., Jordan Clark
Tight Ends
James Falk
With Notre Dame transfer Preston Zinter’s status up in the air for this week after not playing week one, James Falk is assuming the starting tight end duties. The 6-6, 250-pound Redshirt Junior is in his fourth year at Rice after committing to the Owls out of The Haverford School in Pennsylvania.
Prior to week one, Falk had appeared in 16 games with three starts. Last season, he recorded three catches for 30 yards across 13 games played. He did not record any stats against HCU last week.
Falk possesses great size and frame for the position. He has also flashed solid hands but does seem to still be a work-in-progress in terms of development. He appears to have better potential as a blocker, though, compared to a receiver.
Others to watch: Will Swartz, Preston Zinter (did not play week one; something to monitor)
Offensive Linemen
ST Justin Michaelis
Another unique facet of Abell’s offense is the use of split and tight linemen that dynamically switch sides depending on the play. Rice legacy Justin Michaelis is listed as the team’s starting Split Side Tackle.
Justin’s father, Derek, was a two-sport star at Rice, committing to play basketball despite being drafted to the MLB out of high school. Eventually, Derek decided to focus full-time on baseball and went on to have a solid professional career, reaching the AAA level.
Justin now keeps the Michaelis name alive at Rice as a 6-3, 321-pound Redshirt Freshman. He was also a baseball star coming up, appearing in the 2018 Little League World Series for Texas. After moving to Park City, Utah, and attending Park City High School, Michaelis decided to commit to play football for the Owls.
Michaelis appeared in five games last season, totaling 61 snaps. He was able to retain his redshirt status because the fifth contest was a bowl game. He is still kind of an unknown in terms of blocking prowess and is still developing. From the limited action, it does seem he may be better suited for the interior line.
SG Patrick Valent
At Split Guard, we find the 6-2, 330-pound Redshirt Junior in his fourth year with the program. Valent, a native of Warren, Ohio, committed to Rice out of John F Kennedy Catholic High School.
Valent entered this season with 16 games played and coming off a breakout year. In 2025, he started 10 of 13 games played and allowed no sacks across 191 pass plays.
He has good weight, but his smaller stature could be an issue this week. Regardless, he always plays with a high level of physicality. This is partly because he needs to make up for what he lacks in athleticism. Longer, faster defenders will give Valent problems all day. Overall, he can hold his own against AAC competition, but it will be a long Saturday for the junior against the third-ranked Fighting Irish.
C Nate Bledsoe
Anchoring this unit in the middle will be the 6-2, 315-pound Redshirt Junior. Bledsoe is in his fourth year at Rice after committing to the Owls out of Briarcrest Christian High School in Tennessee.
After not seeing action in 2023 and 2024, Bledsoe got his first taste of collegiate action last season when he appeared in eight games, earning four starts.
In general, Bledsoe is another guy with limited experience who has yet to prove themselves at this level. I think he could be a well-rounded center in terms of blocking; however, quickness and overall consistency have caused issues in the past. Expect Notre Dame DL Armel Mukam to feast on this matchup Saturday afternoon.
TG Cole Principe
Rice’s Tight Guard is 6-3, 310-pound Sophomore, Cole Principe. The Brea, California native committed to Rice out of Orange Lutheran High School, where he competed against Notre Dame LBs Madden Faraimo (JSerra Catholic) and Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa (St. John Bosco).
Last season, Principe became the first true freshman OL to start at Rice since 2019. He appeared in seven games, making four starts in 2025. While he is still developing technique and consistency, this experience last season was valuable. Principe does possess good size for the interior, but he can struggle against quicker DL matchups.
TT Luke Miller
The final starter to highlight on the Rice offense is Tight Tackle Luke Miller. The 6-3, 304-pound Redshirt Sophomore is in his third year with the Owls after committing to the program out of Round Rock High School in Texas.
Miller entered this season with 16 games played, starting all 13 he played in 2025. This makes him the most important piece of this unit as its sole full-time returning starter. He impressed as a pass-blocker last season, allowing just one sack across 267 pass plays. Miller also moves well for his size, making him a great fit for Abell’s offense. However, his run-blocking does need to become a more consistent threat. Like some of his counterparts, Miller’s size and frame can hold up against AAC foes, but I have a hard time envisioning him stopping Notre Dame EDGE Boubacar Traore, for example.
Others to watch: OT Luke Needham
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