The Colorado Buffaloes have benefited from several talented transfer athletes to begin their year, with Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter stealing the show. But on Saturday against the USC Trojans, it was the one who got away, who did the most damage.
Brenden Rice, son of Hall of Fame legend Jerry Rice, was a member of Colorado’s football team from 2020-21 before Deion Sanders arrived on campus. But after transferring to USC after his redshirt freshman year ahead of 2022, Sanders never got a chance to work with Rice.
Yet, that doesn’t mean the now senior receiver didn’t have plenty of motivation coming into the matchup, taking on his former Buffaloes team, even if most of the faces are not familiar thanks to Coach Prime’s program overhaul.
Rice, a 6-foot-3 receiver out of Chandler, Arizona, originally committed to Colorado as a three-star recruit in 2019. He had 27 receptions for 419 yards and five touchdowns across 17 games.
Then, a transfer to USC, where he’d get to catch passes from Heisman-winning QB Caleb Williams, offered a lifeline. Rice put up career bests, with 39 receptions for 611 yards and four touchdowns across 14 games at USC.
Now in his senior season, Rice is already off to an even better start. Coming into Saturday’s matchup against Colorado, Rice had impressive numbers, with 12 receptions for 257 yards and five touchdowns.
Then came Saturday’s showdown with his former team.
Rice broke out in a big way, catching five passes for 81 yards and two touchdowns against a Colorado secondary lacking their biggest playmaker, with two-way sensation Travis Hunter still unavailable due to a lacerated liver.
But that shouldn’t take away from Rice’s effort. Colorado did still have Cormani McClain, the top-ranked cornerback in the 2023 recruiting class. Not to mention, Rice still had to beat his man in one-on-one battles and, of course, haul in the pass when his number was called.
Any way you slice it, Rice’s NFL Draft stock is on the rise after Saturday, which came at the perfect time considering there were so many NFL scouts in attendance, watching closely.
Related: Over half the NFL shows up to scout Caleb Williams and Shedeur Sanders for USC-Colorado showdown