With 2011 National Signing Day now in the rear view mirror, let’s take a brief look into the future of Rice football and what may be in store for one special athlete who was surprisingly under the radar for virtually every FBS team in the country.
Christian Covington, you might be thinking who is Christian Covington? My prediction is if you don’t know who he is now, by the time he leaves Rice you’ll know all about this kid.
Covington is a member of the Rice Owls 2011 Signing Class and son of CFL Hall of Famer Grover Covington, who is also the league’s all-time sacks leader.
Christian Covington stands in at 6-foot-4 and 270 pounds. He hails from Vancouver College in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Which if you’re wondering is approximately 2,500 miles away from Rice University.
Rice was the only FBS school to offer Covington a scholarship, the only other team who offered was Eastern Washington of the FCS’s Big Sky Conference.
According to Covington, Rice became interested in him during his senior year of high school. He describes the recruiting process as a whole, somewhat nerve racking.
“The recruiting process for some recruits is either a waiting game, or telephone tag with others. Although it is an amazing thing to be recruited, it is somewhat nerve wracking because the decision you make is going to be one of the biggest decisions of your life.” Covington said.
Covington has been playing football since he was in the eighth grade and says his dad is his mentor and inspiration. “He has always been my coach. Whether it is on the field or at home.” Covington added.
Living in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada one could expect to get interest from schools in that area and Covington did receive a lot of interest from Pac-10 schools, such as Arizona State, Washington and Cal but received no offers from any of those schools.
Moving 2,500 miles away from home to Houston, Texas can be a bit scary for anyone much less a 17-year-old kid who is moving away to college. So naturally it was a tough decision for Christian to make but the fact that Rice is a good academic school made the world of difference.
Covington says he enjoys reading and spending time with family. He aspires to be in the NFL one day but also wants to be a practicing doctor.
His favorite NFL player is Ray Lewis. “He brings a whole new level to defense and to the NFL.” Covington said.
Covington says the player he feels he most closely resembles is his dad Grover Covington. That’s not in bad company considering Grover Covington is still the all-time sacks leader for the CFL and a member of their Hall of Fame. So that news should bode well for Rice.
So the fact that he was only offered two scholarships is a bit of a mystery to me. It wasn’t due to a lack of production, that’s for certain. As a senior Covington had 83 tackles, 15 sacks, six fumble recoveries and three forced fumbles and was rated the No.1 defensive line prospect in all of Canada.
Aside from his size, when you really see what Covington is all about is on the field. He plays with such a fluid technique and moves of a pro. Clearly the mentoring of his father has helped his growth and development along the defensive line.
Bottom line is this kid is young and possesses the size, quickness and technique of a player well beyond his years. He’ll most likely benefit from a red-shirt season to get accustomed to the defense but once he gets on the field I think he’ll develop into a terror on the defensive line for Rice.
If you don’t know who he is now, you will by the time he leaves campus.
College football fans, make sure you follow Jefferson D. Powell as your College Football Examiner he will bring you all the latest college football news and information from in and around the Houston area, including in-depth coverage of Rice Owls football. You can follow him by clicking subscribe at the top of this page, follow him on facebook and also on twitter. You can do all three to insure you stay completely informed on all the latest college football happenings right here in Houston.
Comments