USC Football: Ex-Trojan Brenden Rice Reveals How Dad Jerry Felt About His Draft Fall

The Super Bowl champ had some thoughts.

Mar 2, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Southern California wide receiver Brenden Rice (WO25) and his father, Jerry. / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Former USC Trojans wideout Brenden Rice had been projected by the Los Angeles Chargers to be off the board of the 2024 NFL Draft by the third or fourth round. Instead, he lasted all the way to the seventh round, where L.A. eventaully grabbed him with the No. 225 pick.

Per Michael Baca of NFL.com, Rice recently explained to reporters that his dad, Super Bowl-winning San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jerry Rice, had some thoughts about Brenden's preciptious dip.

"My dad was hot," Rice chuckled. "The first words he said was, 'Time to go to work.' He said, 'I will be with you every step of the way.' He said, 'Now, I'm going to be involved within all of your workouts from now on, and we have a lot of people to prove wrong, a lot of teams that go ahead.' It's going to be one hell of a story, that's all that I'm going to say [laughter]."

While with USC last year, the 6-foot-2 pass catcher notched 45 receptions for a total of 791 yards, while making 12 touchdowns.

"I'm in the best position possible to go ahead and make my mark and make my own legacy," Rice said. "I went from [Heisman Trophy-winning Trojans quarterback] Caleb Williams to [Pro Bowl Chargers quarterback] Justin Herbert, and I'm in a room that's going to allow me to compete, day-in and day-out. Everything's upon me. If you guys don't see me coming on this Fall, that's on me. If you guys see me out there, then I put in the necessary work to put my best foot in the door and go out there and produce."

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