In the swirl of activity, promises and touts to which many outstanding high school players become subjected as part of the college football recruiting process, student athletes considering Rice – and their family members -- may be interested in dodging the smoke and mirrors and learning the thoughts of some current and former Owl parents.  A number of player parents have asked for the chance to speak out in support of Rice head coach Ken Hatfield and his program, and their sons’ educational experiences at Rice. The following is a sampling....

Outstanding

As a parent of a freshman on the Rice football team, I could not be more pleased with the feeling my son has come home with after redshirting this fall and going through his first academic semester at Rice. His definition of the coaches, teammates, and professors can be described in one word– outstanding! A degree from Rice to go along with the football experience is a combination that truly will serve every young man who takes part in Coach Hatfield’s program.

From my son’s point of view, everything he hoped for when selecting Rice over the other football scholarship opportunities he had last year at this time, has left him knowing he made the right choice.

The players truly care about each other, and a strong brotherhood is being developed. The players and coaches are true leaders on this team and they support the freshman. There’s no separation. They're all one. That means a lot to a young man. Ken Hatfield and his staff are great people, and the guy you meet in your living room while being recruited is the same guy on the field and at practice.

The past season was disappointing to everyone, but lessons were learned. And redemption, in the form of contending for a WAC championship and bowl game, are things that definitely can be achieved by this team next year – through a lot of hard work and commitment.

Like I said to my son, Mike, last year at this time, "In football you're only one injury away from the end of a career. If that happens, where are you then? Well, you're at Rice – and that’s exactly where you want to be."

Knowledge is power, and what our family has learned about Rice and the people in it leaves us knowing that our son could not have made a better choice.

--Joe Falco, Phoenix, Arizona

One hundred per cent

Before my son, Robbie, decided on Rice, he visited Clemson, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, and several other schools in the southeast.

The recruiting experience is quite an interesting process. Basically coaches switch hats in the off-season and transform from college football coach to sales person. There are prospecting letters, followup phone calls, site visits, presentations and of course all the promises.

You can imagine not all coaches are equal in their ability to sell. Considering most of them have had no training in selling they fall back on some misconceptions of what they believe selling to be. This sometimes includes bending NCAA rules, making side deals with players and or telling kids and their parents whatever they want to hear – only to have "selective memory" after the kids commit.

I know in two separate cases young men from my son’s high school committed to schools based on the football coaches’ commitments they would be able to play baseball as well as football. One of the schools even included the baseball coach on one of the phone calls. Of course in both cases after they arrived on campus the ramifications of actually playing baseball prevented any such thing from happening.

Ken Hatfield's coaching staff stood out almost from the very first call to our house. Larry Brinson was the recruiting coach from Rice. I can tell you that he was respectful of the rules and was completely square with Rob, in so doing representing both Rice and Coach Hatfield in only the best way.

One particular situation helped me to understand what kind of program Rice runs. Coach Brinson traveled from Texas to Georgia to see my son play in one of his playoff games. The game was about two hours south of Atlanta. We sat together during the game and got to know each other a bit. He pointed out to me the good things Rob did on the field as well as the areas he could improve on. The team won and had a long bus ride back to Atlanta.

We agreed to meet at the school and go grab some breakfast with my son, who Coach Brinson had not met in person yet. By the time the buses got back to the school, the kids had changed it was 12:00 AM. I was looking forward to Coach B meeting Rob and our breakfast. Just as the kids started to emerge from the locker room Coach B informed me he could not talk to Rob because NCAA rules do not allow coaches to meet with players after midnight. Even though I tried my best to persuade the coach to meet my son, he did not waver. Even though he had come a long way to meet my son, Coach Brinson did not even consider bending the rules.

This is just one of many stories that can be told that differentiate the Rice football program.. Coach Hatfield makes it a point to come to visit every player at his home, meets his family, understands his values and gets to know them as individuals.

I will say that I have aspirations for my son to have an opportunity to play football after college.

If he had played at a bigger school with more exposure would his chances be better? If Rice were in a bowl game every year would his chances be better? If he played for a coach that breathed fire and was ONLY about football would his chances be better?

I do not know the answers to these questions but here's what I do know. My son will leave Rice likely as the number two all-time leading rusher in the school’s history; he’ll be number two in touchdowns scored; and he’ll one of the highest yards per carry average. Provided he stays healthy his senior year he will have his chance to play on Sundays. But yet, at the end of the day that is not what college football, or the Rice program, is all about.

If the kids have the talent and desire they will get enough recognition and opportunity to play at the next level. After college, all kids have to play at the next level, whether they play football or not. Today's world is competitive and offers our children many challenges. The percentage of college players that go on to play professionally is slim regardless of the program. The percentage that go out and face the real world, though, is one hundred percent.

--Bob Beck, Atlanta, Georgia

Ken Hatfield

During the recruiting process, football prospects can have many different opportunities presented to them, and it can be hard to separate fact from fiction.

Our son, Rolf, faced that kind of situation his senior year in high school, and so we asked him to make a list of the universities he thought he might want to play football for, and list the pro's and con's of each program.

Pretty much most of what the recruiting coaches will tell you is the same thing – and a lot of it is simply untrue. They tend to focus mostly on their football programs and spend alot of time in making you feel like you are about the best football player around, and that your football career will be all you need to carry you through life.

With Rice we felt like they really cared about Rolf both as a football player and as a student. They not only presented the good things about Rice football but also the opportunities that come with a Rice degree. Rice leads in graduation rates for Division1A schools, Rice University is always at the top of the lists for America's best colleges, and Rice not only graduates its football players, but they excel in life. Let's face it, most all football factories DO NOT.

So much of what Rice football is about can be summed up in two words: Ken Hatfield. Not only is he one of the winningest Division 1A football coaches around, but he's also a man of integrity, a man of his word, and a proven champion. Under Coach Hatfield Rice plays the kind of ‘smash mouth’ football that our son loves to play.

So as you can guess, Rice had all the pro's on its list.

Little Rolf made his decision early even though he had offers on the table, and others to come. He never looked back and neither did we. We supported his decision all the way as did the rest of the Krueger clan. We are proud Rice Owl parents and look forward to Rolf's years at Rice.

Speaking from experience from a family of big time football players, if the decision were mine again (Rolf Sr.) I would without any doubt choose Rice. We encourage any prospect to look at what Rice has to offer.

Come join "Hatfield and the boys" at Rice. You won’t regret it.

--Rolf and Clair Krueger, Wallis, Texas

Quality

From a parent's standpoint, there are a lot of great things about having a son play football at Rice. Most important is the quality of education at Rice. There is no other school in the country that can put a competitive Division I football team on the field and provide such great academic opportunities.

When our son, Andrew, was being recruited, we were visited by a coach from an SEC school. Andrew studied biochemistry and had a lot of lab requirements. We questioned the SEC coach about his school's attitude about missing practices if necessary to attend labs. After a lot of hesitation, he finally said that "the guys who are out there on he playing field on Saturdays are not the guys who go to labs."

In Andrew’s senior year at Rice, he had a lab which required him to miss practices on Wednesdays. We knew the coaching staff wasn’t exactly happy about it – but they understood and supported it. We don't think any other Division I school would have allowed it.

Another great thing is the quality of the coaching staff and the players they recruit. As parents, we know that a commitment to a football scholarship means that your son will be spending most of his time around the coaching staff and team. Coach Hatfield and his staff have been great role models for the team and Andrew's teammates were the kind of young people you would choose for your son to associate with.

When Andrew was recruited, the coaching staff did not have the luxury of redshirting very many players. As a result, many of our true freshmen found themselves playing Division 1 football with very little preparation or experience. That has changed over the past few years and it should result in a great future for the Rice football program.

Add it all up and Rice University is the best place in the world for a serious student to play serious football. We are grateful and proud that our son was a part of it.

--Elizabeth and Mike Hughes, Ingram, Texas