Texas Bowl

Chase Clement, Jarett Dillard and James Casey, who combined to shred the Rice offensive record book while leading the Owls to a 9-3 season and a berth in the Texas Bowl, have been named to the Conference USA All Conference football team in a vote by the league’s coaches.

The Owls also placed two players on the second team: offensive guard David Berken and linebacker Brian Raines, while three defenders (defensive end Scott Solomon, defensive tackle Chance Talbert and safety Andrew Sendejo) were listed as honorable mention.

Rice was one of five teams to place three players on the squad. This is Dillard’s third consecutive season as a first-team selection, while it is the first honor for both Clement and Casey. This is the first time in their four seasons of play in Conference USA that the Owls have placed more than one member on the coaches’ team.

Clement set the C-USA record for career TD passes (96) and total touchdowns (120). He now holds six C-USA records and leads all C-USA signal callers with 52 total touchdowns this season. He holds all the Owls records in passing and total offense and heads into bowl action as the only quarterback in the nation to have amassed over 500 yards rushing (a career-high 621) while throwing for over 3,500 yards.

Dillard is the NCAA record holder for career TD catches (59) and the conference record holder for career receiving yardage (4,052). He is second on the league ledger with 284 career receptions and 59 TDs, one shy of the C-USA record.

Casey is second in the NCAA FBS with a C-USA-record 104 catches this season. His 1,217 receiving yards this season rank third in Rice history and his 12 touchdown receptions rank fourth. He has also rushed for 231 for six additional touchdowns and also thrown a pair of scores.

Story by Chuck Pool Jr., Assistant AD/Sports Information, Rice University