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Country boy grooming physique for Pirates
Mobile Palmetto State
tackle Rice thrives on protecting 'my quarterback'
By
Sammy Batten
©2013 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
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Growing up in rural
South Carolina, Messiah Rice loved just about any activity that
could be done outdoors.
"I was very active,'' Rice
said. "I'd climb trees, throw rocks, anything just to be outside. I
played all sports, too, but football was the thing I preferred. I was an
aggressive type, and I was real big and tall at a young age. I started
playing Pee Wee football and I just fell in love with it.
"It was something I was
really good at. People always told me I would be successful in that
sport.''
Those predictions have
come true for Rice, now a 6-foot-7, 270-pound lineman at
Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School in Orangeburg, SC.
Entering his third season
as a varsity starter at left offensive tackle, Rice has attracted
scholarship offers from Football Championship Subdivision power
Appalachian State plus Charlotte and Liberty. But East Carolina, which
was the first school to extend a scholarship offer back in March, gained
the verbal commitment from Rice on August 28.
ECU offensive line coach
Brandon Jones handled the recruitment of Rice and made quite an
impression.
"Coming into my
eleventh-grade year I was just an unknown lineman,'' Rice said. "But
Coach Jones, he came in with my first offer. He welcomed me with open
arms and said he was willing to teach me. They told me I was the No. 1
(offensive line) recruit on their board.
"I started to do some
research on the school and found out they have great academics and that
their football program has sent a lot of (offensive) linemen to the
league (NFL). Plus, I love the coaching staff. All those things made my
decision easy.''
Rice, who is also the
starting center on Orangeburg-Wilkinson's basketball team, has
experienced some significant physical growth over the past year that's
enhanced his ability on the football field. He's always been tall — he
was already 6-2 as a 12-year-old — but with that height came a slender
frame.
Rice was also playing
basketball, which didn't help him retain weight. He is the starting
center on the Orangeburg-Wilkinson's basketball team.
But since his junior
season, Rice has added more than 20 pounds to his frame.
"It was stressful,'' Rice
said of adding the weight. "I took protein and everything. I think it's
going to really help my production in football.''
Rice has already enjoyed a
productive high school career, according to Orangeburg-Wilkinson coach
Tommy Brown. He helped the Bruins achieve a 6-5 record last season and
earn a spot in the state 3-A playoffs.
Capable of running 4.91
seconds in the 40-yard dash, Rice can bench press 290 pounds, squats 385
and carries a 3.6 grade point average.
"Athletically, he has
great feet and is a really good pass blocker,'' Brown said. "We run a
spread offense and multiple sets, so it's basically what they (ECU) do.
Potentially, he can be a pretty good offensive tackle at the next
level.''
Protecting the
quarterback, Rice says, is his strength.
"I don't like to see my
quarterback get hit,'' Rice said. "I'm a mobile guy and have good
footwork, so my strength is pass blocking. I still need to work on my
run blocking, but I'm pretty good all around.''
Rice is the third
offensive lineman committed to ECU's recruiting class, joining
Kyle Erickson from Fayetteville's Jack Britt High
School and Erik Lenzen from Fort Lauderdale, FL.
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09/10/2013 05:06 AM |
