Matthew Aribisala holds the NT · Backup spot in Rice Owls’s defensive tackle room. Where he sits among the room’s front-line roles:

Matthew Aribisala is a nose tackle from Cedar Hill, Texas, who transferred to Rice after four seasons at Sam Houston. At the high school level, he was a unanimous All-District 7-6A selection as a senior with 19 tackles for loss and 13.5 sacks. During his 2023 campaign with the Bearkats, Aribisala appeared in all 12 games and recorded 11 total tackles with 2.0 TFLs, including a five-tackle performance against FIU. In 2025, his first year at Rice, he played in 11 games and registered eight total tackles, with a season-high three stops versus Houston.

Sam Houstonthrough 2024

Rice2025 — present