Ray Rice

From NCAA College Football Information & Resource

Ray Rice

Profile
College	Rutgers University
Position	RB
Jersey No.	27
Class	Junior
Career	2005 – present
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight	195 lb (89 kg)
Nationality	American
B-date	January 22, 1987
B-place	New Rochelle, NY
High School	New Rochelle High School
Career Highlights
Awards
2006 NJSWA College Running Back of the Year 2006 Maxwell Award finalist 2006 Heisman Trophy seventh place
Championships
none
Bowl Games
2006 Texas Bowl 2005 Insight Bowl

Born Raymell Rice on January 22, 1987, Ray Rice plays running back for the Rutgers University Scarlet Knights in the NCAA college football tournament. Prior to the 2007 season, Rice has played in 25 career games as a Scarlet Knight and has rushed for 2,914 yards in 530 carries. Ray is also expected to pass the 34 career rushing touchdown record of J.J. Jennings as he has compiled 25 rushing scores before the season even began. Rice is only the second Rutgers player in the last 30 years to record 1,000-yard seasons two years in a row. Last year's Heisman Trophy 7th placer has also proven that he has no problems running on opposing fields as he became the the first player in school history to record four 200 yard games while playing on the road. Rice's reputation as a premier offensive back is also recognized as he has been in either first or second team All-American in every major pre-season football publication.

1 High School
2 College
3 Highlights
4 Achievements
5 References
6 External Links

[edit]

High School

Rice played high school football for the New Rochelle High School alongside current Rutgers teammates Courtney Greene and Glen Lee. The athletic 5-foot-9 back showed his versatility as he played several positions for New Rochelle, including a spot on all three teams (offense, defense, and special teams). As a defender, Rice registered 44 tackles, four sacks and two interceptions. As a specialist, he converted 39 extra points and two field goals (long of 31 yards) and returned seven punts for 83 yards and four kickoffs for 276 yards (53.5 avg.). He was also able to catch 10 passes for 302 yards and 5 TDs. Rice was however in his very lethal element when he runs the pigskin as evident by his 1,332 run yards and 21 TDs as a junior and 1,192 rush yards with 31 TDs as a senior.

Among his recognitions in high school include an Offensive MVP Honors (after leading his team to the Class AA State Championship victory over Webster Schroeder, and a spot at the MSG All-Heisman Team. Renowned internet websites Rivals.com and Scout.com also listed Rice as the No. 19 all-purpose back in the country and the seventh-best player in New York, respectively.

Outside football, Rice is also into basketball as he played for the New Rochelle basketball team as a point guard and led his team to the state finals in 2003 and 2004.

[edit]

College

[edit]

2005

Rice's exploits in the high school ranks was carried over as he don the Scarlet Knight jersey. As Rutgers' starting tailback, Rice rushed for 1,120 yards in his freshman year to become the fifth-leading true freshman runner in the nation. That stat also placed Rice in the Rutgers record books as he owned the most rushing yards by a true freshman in school history and fifth on the school's single-season rushing list. He also became the first Scarlet running back to gain over 1,000 yards in a season since 1994. Rice was also listed on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll twice, was awarded BIG EAST Co-Offensive Player of the Week once, and was named Freshman All-American by Sporting News.

[edit]

2006

Rice helped Rutgers' improve drastically as a sophomore as the Scarlet Knights registered an 11-2 record and was ranked 12th in the nation. His 1,794 rushing yards total in 2006 eclipsed JJ Jennings's 1,353 established in 1973. He was also only the third player in Rutgers history to record back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons behind Jennings and Terrell Willis. Rice's 20 rushing touchdowns was also the second-most in RU single-season history. One rare feat Rice achieved was when he became the only running back to ran for over 100 yards (129 yards) against the West Virginia defense in the regular season in 2006. Rice help cap one of Rutgers' most successful seasons after he ran for 170 yards on 24 carries with a TD in the inaugural Texas Bowl which the Scarlet Knights won over Kansas State, 37-10.

2006 was no doubt Rice's most successful seasons as he was listed on the Second Team All-America by the Walter Camp Foundation, Associated Press, Sporting News, SportsIllustrated.com and Rivals.com. He was also named as the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week thrice and was given the New Jersey Sports Writers Association College Running Back of the Year award. To top it all off, Rice was a finalist for the Maxwell Award and finished 7th in the Heisman Trophy votings.

[edit]

2007

The aftermath of Rice's breakout year continued even before the 2007 season got underway with several prestigious recognitions including a nomination to the Heisman trophy. He was also named Preseason Playboy All-American, consensus Preseason All-American (garnering First Team honors by Athlon) and consensus Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST selections. He was ranked as the No. 3 running back in the nation by Lindy’s and Sporting News and the No. 4 running back in the country by Phil Steele.

[edit]

Highlights

Ray Rice in 2007. Football fans, including those of Rutgers, are anticipating another splendid season from the 2006 Heisman Trophy 7th placer as the Scarlet Knights aim for the Big East title.

[edit]