Brenden Rice talks relationship with father, impact on career

Brenden Rice always carried the weight of tremendous expectations on his shoulders. Like many famous sons before him, the son of Jerry Rice has the tough task of living up to his surname.

Now, Rice will play at a school in the same state where his father became the consensus greatest wide receiver to grace the NFL. After transferring from Colorado to play at USC under coach Lincoln Riley, Rice spoke about how he carries the weight of being the son of Jerry Rice.

“That last name, everywhere you go, that last name is looked at so highly,” started Rice. “But here, we’re at USC. There’s no last name on the back of this jersey. So, I’m playing for the brand in-front of me, and then I got a number on me and that’s it.”

As you can see, the idea of playing for the brand — and not being judged by your last name — was appealing to the wide receiver. Additionally, Rice stated that while he had an up-close view of his father’s greatness, he decided to study other wide receivers to gain a wider perspective.

“I studied other people,” Rice stated, when asked about the influence of his father’s career on his football journey. “Yeah, I always looked at him — everybody considers him the GOAT — but I’m me. And I study other people. I’m trying to chase him, that’s all that matters.”

Finally, Rice revealed that status of his relationship with his father, and he seemed to be excited by it.

“It’s getting better,” stated Rice. “That’s all I’m going to say. It’s good.”

Brenden Rice always had an impossible task in-front of him, as soon as his last name was sewn onto his jersey. Now, he’ll look to blend in and improve while playing for the Trojans.

More on Brenden Rice, USC Trojans

Brenden Rice comes to USC as the No. 60 receiver according to On3’s Transfer Portal Rankings. He played in 10 games this past season at Colorado, recording 21 catches for 299 yards and three touchdowns. The Trojans also added former Oklahoma receiver Mario Williams, the No. 4 receiver in the transfer portal, and return second-leading receiver Tahj Washington. That group should give new quarterback Caleb Williams plenty to work with as he takes the reigns of the offense under Riley.

An Arizona native, Rice was a four-star prospect coming out of high school and the No. 79 overall receiver in the 2020 class according to On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average. He chose to attend Colorado over offers from Michigan, Oregon, Texas A&M and many others. Although his name will draw plenty of attention, it will ultimately be up to him to carve out a role for himself on the Trojans in 2022.

Rice will get his first chance to show off his skills to USC fans during the annual spring game scheduled for April 23. After that, his next opportunity will come in the 2022 season opener on Sept. 3 against Rice.