The Senior Bowl has kicked off today, and there are already some massive standouts from the first practices at Hancock Whitney Stadium. At the wide receiver position, it was former USC Trojan Brenden Rice, the son of NFL Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, who had some of the most impressive moments, including this snag for a touchdown over Penn State's Johnny Dixon (who is projected to be a day two pick in the NFL Draft).
Before things wrap up here in Mobile, Alabama, let's break down exactly who Brendan Rice is and what we could expect from him at the NFL level.
Brendan Rice
Position: Wide Receiver
School: USC
Year: Senior
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 210 lbs
40 Yard Dash Time: 4.38 seconds
Season Stats: 45 receptions, 791 Receiving Yards (17.5 yards per catch), 12 Touchdowns
Career Overview
Rice started his career with Colordao in 2020 and it's safe to say that his time in Boulder did not pay off for him or the Buffaloes. In two seasons, Rice only caught 27 passes for 419 yards and five touchdowns. After his sophomore season, Rice transferred to USC, and it started to click for him with Caleb Williams at quarterback. After a solid junior year as the fourth receiver behind Jordan Addison, Tahj Washington, and Mario Williams, Rice broke out as the No. 2 receiver with 791 yards and 12 touchdowns. While Rice put up some impressive performances, including the season finale against UCLA in which Rice put up eight catches, 147 yards, and a touchdown, his production was wildly inconsistent. Rice had six games in which he put up 75+ yards, including two performances of 147 yards and 133 yards. However, in his other six games, he failed to reach 45 yards with a four stretch from Oct. 14 against Notre Dame to Washington on Nov. 5 (he had 18, 34, 33, and 44 in those games). Even on the first day of practices, there were a few passes he should have been able to come down with and Rice acknowledged that when speaking to the media after practice.
"I had some spectacular catches when the ball was in the air I attacked it but on the other hand, I left a couple of balls out there that I should have had," Rice said.
Player Comparison: Chris Godwin
While comparing parts of himself to D.K. Metcalf and Mike Evans (while hoping he would be Julio Jones), I think that a more accurate player would be Evans' teammate in Tampa Bay with Chris Godwin. The two aren't just similar in size and speed (Godwin had a 4.42 40-yard dash) but in play style. The two each use their size and speed to get open and use it to get a lot of yards after the catch. They aren't necessarily the speed burner-type receivers on vertical routes, they have enough quickness to get open and make defenders pay.
Final Word
The former Second Team All-PAC 12 member is currently projected to be a third-round pick in the NFL draft, but with more consistently stellar performances, I wouldn't be surprised if the son of the greatest receiver ever started to move up the board.