Rice football’s bowl-clinching victory against Florida Atlantic University last month was not only a testament to the team’s hard work and tenacity this season, but for three particular senior Owls, it was the culmination of six years of dedication and perseverance paying off.
Left tackle Clay Servin and running backs Ari Broussard and Juma Otoviano started their Rice football careers in 2018 and are now pursuing master’s degrees while competing on the gridiron. After overcoming injuries, fighting for scholarships, lasting through the COVID-19 pandemic and sustaining a few tough seasons, celebrating on the field after securing a second consecutive bowl berth validated their respective decisions to finish their collegiate careers as Owls.
“It’s hard to put into words how it felt on the field,” said Servin, who has started 55 games at tackle during his career at Rice. “It’s been a testament of what Coach (Mike) Bloomgren has done here for six years and the culture that we’ve built. It really was just an exclamation point on a long, long grind.”
When the now senior captain arrived on campus at South Main in Bloomgren’s first year as head coach, Servin said he had no idea the obstacles ahead of him. He just had one goal in mind: to help build the program into prominence.
“It’s been a long road,” Servin said. “When we came here in 2018, the culture was just different. Having Juma, Ari and I as sixth-years and having the experience to really tell stories that unite, like, ‘Hey, this is where we were, and this is where we’re trying to be’ — I think it really played a large role in building that culture.”
Otoviano and Servin, both from the Dallas area, were part of Bloomgren’s first recruiting class in 2018. With Otoviano in the backfield and Servin blocking for him, the two developed a relationship early on.
I’ve built a bond here that’s something I haven’t felt before. It’s really like a brotherhood here, and I didn’t want to leave my players or let them down before we accomplished the goals that we wanted to accomplish.
For Broussard, his path to carrying the football behind the Owl offensive line was much different. He walked onto the football team in 2018 and had to earn a scholarship, doing so in a year’s time.
“I didn’t really know much about the recruiting process coming out of high school,” said Broussard, who is from New Orleans. “I applied to all the schools like a regular student, then I sent my film out afterwards. After I sent my film out, Coach Bloom reached out to me and told me that there would be a spot for me on the team if I wanted it.”
Broussard started his career at Rice playing defense as a linebacker and had to earn a spot on the field through special teams. He told himself he had one year to earn a scholarship, and after a strong performance in spring practice in 2019, he did just that.
Two years later, he led the team in rushing yards with 569 and in rushing touchdowns the following year with nine.
“It was really cool because Ari came in as a very quiet, reserved person,” said Otoviano, who is Broussard’s hotel roommate on road trips. “He played on defense, so me and Clay really didn’t have much of a relationship with him aside from either me blocking him or him just running through the offensive line — he was a very aggressive linebacker.
“But his development has been amazing. He’s talking around the building more, being enthusiastic towards the younger guys and just showing them how to do things the right way.”
Bonds built through highs and lows
Overcoming adversity and developing into team leaders became a consistent theme for this trio over the years.
Otoviano broke onto the scene quickly his freshman year, breaking the program’s freshman rushing record with 224 yards and scoring a couple of touchdowns in the season finale. But he sustained injuries that sidelined him for the majority of the next two years.
After a marred 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic in addition to rehabbing and fighting to get back on the field, he would go on to become the Owls’ active leader in career rushing yards, currently sitting at 1,393.
That kind of mental fortitude and persistence is what the three sixth-year seniors preach to younger Owls looking to continue the team’s progression in the future.
“All the time we put into Rice football and just spending a lot of time in this building, I feel like our relationship has grown a lot,” Otoviano said. “Being a part of that same 2018 class, we’ve all felt like we owe it to Rice University, each other and Coach Bloom to try to make this place a better place than we found it.”
In an era of college football when transferring is easier and more common than ever, the loyalty required from one player with the talent of one of these seniors is becoming rare — much less from three on the same team. But the family atmosphere and ability to grow meaningful relationships with players and coaches at Rice made it an easy decision to stay, Broussard said.
“I’ve built a bond here that’s something I haven’t felt before,” Broussard said. “It’s really like a brotherhood here, and I didn’t want to leave my players or let them down before we accomplished the goals that we wanted to accomplish.”
While being able to compete in the First Responder Bowl is an achievement, capping the season with a bowl win and a winning record is the Owls’ ultimate goal, Servin said.
“It would mean everything,” he said. “Being able to look back at the summer and the goals that we made in the offseason, and then to be in that winning locker room after achieving those goals — I think it’ll be amazing. But we’ve got work to do. It’s not done yet. It’s just a start, but it’s the start of a legacy that I hope to be proud to say that I’m a part of and I helped build.”
“It’d be amazing to just cap it all off with a win because it’d just be a huge indicator of all the work that we’ve put in to get to this point,” Otoviano said. “Hopefully, this will lay the foundation for all of the people who are choosing Rice University in the future.”
Broussard, Otoviano and Servin all hope to pursue professional playing careers, but they also have made the most of the academic opportunities available at Rice.
Broussard received his undergraduate degree in kinesiology and is pursuing a master’s degree in bioscience and health policy. Otoviano completed his undergrad work with a psychology degree and is wrapping up a master’s in global affairs, hoping to work in crisis management or oil and gas. Servin received his undergrad degree in economics and is currently in the online MBA program at Rice, expecting to graduate in June.
What Rice gave them
After their time on campus is finished, the three student athletes agreed that what they will miss most about Rice is the unique family atmosphere the university provides.
“When you’re here, everybody wants to take care of you,” Broussard said. “And when you’re out in the real world, that’s not always the case. So just having that group of people willing to support you and have your best interests at mind is one of the things that I will miss the most — whether it be players, coaches, teachers … all of them.”
“I would say the locker room and the camaraderie of this building, just waking up every day knowing you have to be somewhere, and you’re gonna see the same guys you’ve been seeing every day,” Otoviano said. “The smiles, the laughs that we all have. I think those will never be able to be replaced moving forward in life.
“All of the alums that I’ve met, they still have that itch and want to make life as close as possible to that. So I think I’m going to just miss the building and the people in it.”
“I’ve got all these younger brothers and a few older brothers — even though I’m a sixth-year — but it’s just having those little conversations when we’re in the locker room before practice or in the training room, getting treatment or on our way to meetings,” Servin said. “Just having that relationship with my teammates, with my brothers, I don’t think I’m gonna be able to have that anywhere else.”