Firing Forces Flip-Flop
Kuithe brothers decommit from Rice following Bailiff firing
Josh Koch
Nov 28, 2017, 6:05 am
Originally appeared on Vype.com.
HOUSTON — The recruiting fallout from the firing of Rice coach David Bailiff has begun.
On Monday evening, Brant and Blake Kuithe of Cinco Ranch High School announced their decommitment from the program.
“I would like to thank Coach Bailiff and the entire coaching staff at Rice University for the opportunity to further my education and play football at such a prestigious University,” Brant and Blake both tweeted from their personal accounts. “After much thought and discussion with my family, I have decided to decommit from Rice University.”
Bailiff was fired following a 1-11 season. He was in his 11th year at the program posting a 57-80 record and guiding the Owls to four bowl games.
Brant and Blake both unfortunately were unable to complete their senior seasons because of injuries. Blake, a defensive end at Cinco Ranch, tore his ACL, while Brant, a running back for the Cougars, broke his fibula.
Despite the injuries the duo was still able to put up big numbers this season and in their careers.
Brant rushed for 1,041 yards and 18 touchdowns this year. He finishes his career with 2,932 yards and 42 touchdowns on the ground. Of his 22 career games, 16 were 100-plus yard performances. Brant’s career high was 237 yards against Katy Taylor earlier this season.
Blake finished his career amassing 184 tackles (107 solo), averaging 5.1 tackles per game, and 19 tackles for loss in 36 games. Blake also registered 10 sacks, 35 hurries and four pass deflections.
According to Rivals, Brant is a three-star running back with 14 offers, including ones from Iowa State, Boise State, Utah, Colorado, North Texas, SMU and Texas State.
Blake is a three-star defensive end with 13 offers virtually from the exact same schools as his brother.
The Houston Texans’ season is right around the corner, with their opener set for a week from Sunday. One of the biggest questions of training camp has been the status of running back Joe Mixon.
Mixon hasn’t taken part in practices, and with the regular season fast approaching, his Week 1 availability always seemed doubtful. On Monday, the Texans provided clarity.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter: “Texans are not activating running back Joe Mixon by Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET deadline, making him ineligible to play at least the first four games this season due to an ankle injury. Mixon will be moved to Reserve/Non-Football Injury, which automatically rules him out for at least four games.”
With Mixon sidelined, Houston will turn to Nick Chubb, Damien Pierce, Dare Ogunbowale, rookie Woody Marks, and Jawhar Jordan to carry the load.
All signs point to Chubb taking the starting role in Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams.
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