Colorado Wide Receiver Brenden Rice Enters Transfer Portal

The Ducks had strong interest in Rice during his recruitment process back in 2019.

Colorado wide receiver Brenden Rice has entered the transfer portal, he announced on social media Saturday.

Rice, the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, spent the past two seasons in Boulder and was one of the few bright spots on the Buffaloes' offense in 2021 that ranked last in the Pac-12 in yards per game.

He shined against the Ducks on offense and on special teams on Oct. 30, catching five passes for 102 yards and a touchdown, as well as returning six kicks for 162 yards. 

The 6-foot-3, 205-pound second-year freshman was electric with the football in his hands and gave Colorado fans hope for the future. Last year, he averaged 26.4 yards per touch and scored three touchdowns on just nine touches.

In 2021, Rice was more involved in the offense, catching 21 passes for 299 yards and three touchdowns. He also had six rush attempts for 54 yards and 17 kick returns for 469 yards. Overall in his two years at Colorado, Rice averaged 20.0 yards per touch on 53 touches.

The Ducks were in on Rice's recruitment until the end coming out of high school, making his top 11 schools list before he committed to Colorado. Other schools involved included Michigan, Arizona, Texas A&M, Arizona State, UCLA and USC.

Rice was a three-star prospect out of Hamilton High School in Chandler, Ariz., a state and city that the Ducks have honed in on in recent years. Hamilton has produced several Duck signees in the past, including Tyler Shough, Reggie Daniels, and Tyler Johnstone. The Ducks have also landed a number of players from the Chandler area, including Johnny Johnson III and Dion Jordan.

Rice would bring some electricity to the Ducks' wide receiver room if they had interest in him, as he has track speed and smooth route-running abilities. Dan Lanning and his staff offered UTEP transfer wide receiver Jacob Cowing shortly after he entered the transfer portal, so it's clear that the Ducks are shopping for veteran receivers through the portal.

Oregon will have a young group at the receiver position with Johnny Johnson III and Jaylon Redd graduating, Devon Williams entering the NFL draft, and Mycah Pittman transferring. Adding a veteran, albeit at only 19 years old, would be vital to the Ducks' young group, and Oregon could be the place that will utilize him to his full potential.

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