Background: He was the New York player of the year after he rushed for 1,192 yards and 31 touchdowns in leading New Rochelle (N.Y.) High School to the 2004 Class AA state title. He also kicked 39 extra points and two field goals. He committed to Syracuse, but after it fired coach Paul Pasqualoni, Rice signed with Rutgers. The 5-foot-9, 195-pounder immediately earned a starting job in fall camp and finished fourth in the Big East as a true freshman with 93.3 yards per game. He was named an All-American.
Stat line: He’s second nationally to Northern Illinois’ Garrett Wolfe (170.6 ypg) with 160.6, along with 12 touchdowns. Over 13 games, including a bowl game, Rice is on pace for 2,087 yards; it would make him only the 11th back to top the 2,000 mark.
What’s up: Here is your dark horse for the Heisman Trophy. If Troy Smith and Ohio State collapse against Michigan next month and Brady Quinn and Notre Dame do the same at Southern California, Rice has a chance. Three years after a Rutgers professor tried starting a movement to drop the football program, the 7-0 Scarlet Knights are already bowl-eligible. Rutgers must beat Louisville at home Nov. 9 and win at West Virginia, the Big East’s other two unbeatens, on Dec. 2. The Heisman is unlikely. Getting 2,000 yards isn’t. “Obviously, you want to set your goals high, and 2,000 yards is as high as it gets for a running back,” he told New Jersey reporters this month.
What’s next: The 16th-ranked Scarlet Knights (14th in the BCS) will host Connecticut (3-4, 0-2) on Sunday at 6 p.m. MST on ESPN.
Henderson’s take: Rutgers could not only credit Pasqualoni’s firing for getting Rice, but also the National Football Foundation. Its “Play It Smart” campaign, which lines up mentors to motivate promising prep players to prepare for the SAT, helped spur Rice into college. “‘Play It Smart’ taught me to balance the time between football and studies,” Rice told the Newark Star-Ledger. “Time management is the biggest single problem so many football players find when they get to college. But ‘Play It Smart’ gave me the background to handle it.” Smith carries a 3.1 grade-point average and is helping mentor his younger brother Markell, a New Rochelle junior whom scouts say is a better player than Ray was at that age.
