Texas DB still with Rice

Chima Nwachukwu's name may seem like a mouthful to say, but for any quarterback trying to throw the deep ball, he's even more of a handful.

Nwachukwu of Allen, Texas, says he is 100 percent solid on the commitment he made during the season.

"Yes sir, I'm definitely committed to Rice," Nwachukwu said.

However, the 5-foot-10, 192-pound safety plans to actually make his first trip to the campus later this month.

"We're actually going to visit on the 18th of January," Nwachukwu said.

This visit is possibly so late due to the extended run that Allen made in the playoffs. How did Chima feel his season went?

"It went as expected individually," Nwachukwu said. "But the team part, we got five rounds. That was awesome. I wanted to go all the way, but that was the most we could do. We got knocked out by Southlake in the fifth round."

Unfortunately for Allen this has been a recurring trend for them. However, considering Southlake Carroll has won state the past three years, Allen can't be too down on themselves.

"I think they've knocked us out three years in a row," Nwachukwu said. "I really believe that if they weren't in the way, we'd be winning state."

As for himself, Nwachukwu not only helped his team to five rounds in the playoffs but also received first team all district honors. However, Nwachukwu is already gearing up for next year as he feels he has a great chance of playing early for the Owls.

"I'm excited about the opportunity to get down there and play over there," Nwachukwu said. "Their two starting safeties I think were seniors, so the opportunity to get down there and play right away is wide open."

The coaches also appear to be encouraging Chima into the starting role.

"They said if I get in there and hang with everybody then I definitely have the opportunity because nobody is the set starter right now," Nwachukwu said. "So I have just as much opportunity as anyone else."

While playing early is very important to Nwachukwu, it appears that it was Rice in general that won him over.

"Rice first of all is a great school just in case not everything goes as planned," Nwachukwu said. "It's a great school to graduate from. The opportunity to play is a really big thing for me. They're really young and the coaching staff is just coming in and everything. It's really a comfortable fit for me."