USC wide receiver Brenden Rice, the son of Hall of Fame NFL receiver Jerry Rice, has declared for the 2024 NFL Draft in a video posted to social media. Rice caught for 791 yards and a team-leading 12 touchdowns during the 2023 regular season, both of which were career highs.
Rice, who joined USC ahead of the 2022 season after spending two seasons at Colorado, has 1,402 yards receiving and 16 touchdowns in two seasons with the Trojans as part of an offense headlined by quarterback and 2022 Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams. USC, which finished the regular season an underwhelming 7-5 in its second year under coach Lincoln Riley, still has a remaining matchup with Louisville on Dec. 27 in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego, although Rice's status for that game is not immediately clear.
For his four-year NCAA career between Colorado and USC, Rice has 1,812 yards receiving and 21 touchdowns. He had one season of NCAA eligibility remaining as his true freshman season at Colorado in 2020 did not count toward eligibility clocks due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rice will now look to follow in his father's footsteps in pursuit of a decorated NFL career. The elder Rice won three Super Bowl championships -- all with the San Francisco 49ers -- and his 22,895 yards yards and 197 receiving touchdowns both still stand as NFL records. Rice may not be the only son of a Hall of Fame receiver to be part of the 2024 NFL Draft class, either: Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., the son of former NFL star Marvin Harrison, is also contemplating his draft decision.
The 2024 NFL Draft runs from April 25-27 in Detroit.
