How Brenden Rice is cementing himself as USC’s top receiving threat

Two weeks ago, Brenden Rice sat at USC’s postgame podium, dripped out in puffy-white designer jacket and custom “BR” chain, and confidently declared himself the fastest Trojan on the team.

“Aye, like, check the stats or whatever,” Rice said, laughing, with a signature man-I-just-played-great beam.

His pride in that speed burns, veiled thinly by an easygoing braggadocio. Burns since his days at Hamilton High in Arizona, when he started running track while hearing chatter he wasn’t quick enough to thrive as a receiver in the college game.

In late February of his junior year at Hamilton, he ran a 11.34 in the 100 meters. Two months later, he was running a 10.78 at the Arizona state finals.

“I love proving people wrong,” Rice laughed, flashing that beam again after Arizona-USC on Saturday.

Look, though – Rice, for all his confidence, is almost certainly not the fastest Trojan. Line about six members of USC’s receiver room up for a 100 meters, and you could reasonably cast bets on any of them to finish first. You need more than speed to succeed in this offense, where Caleb Williams loves spreading the wealth but there’s only so many looks to go around: targets must be prized. Seized. Capitalized.

Through four games, perhaps no USC receiver has done a better job of that than Rice.

After an up-and-down 2022 where he posted one of the worst overall catch-per-target percentages of USC receivers, the senior wideout’s chemistry with Williams has sizzled on deep balls and scrambles thus far in ‘23. And in a homecoming in Arizona against ASU on Saturday, Rice staked his claim as the Trojans’ go-to outside receiver heading into the meat of their Pac-12 schedule, racking up 133 yards and two touchdowns on seven catches.

“He’s taking what we’re preaching in the meeting rooms, you know … we gon’ spread the ball around, and everyone’s going to get their spot,” outside receivers coach Dennis Simmons said this past week. “So it’s on you now to maximize it and show what you can do when you get it.”

Rice, Williams smirked at the podium after USC’s wacky 42-28 win over ASU, is an interesting guy. And at first, both coming in as transfers last season, their relationship was “a little rocky” last year, as Rice put it.

Now, they hang out on Sundays, watch football, and munch on some wings. They gotten to know each other. William tried to “understand Brenden.”  And it’s translated – Rice, consistently, becoming a favorite target when Williams hops into his break-the-play-myself bag and sends all 21 others on the field into scramble mode.

Take the second game of the season against Nevada, where Williams zipped and zapped outside the pocket before flinging a touchdown strike on the run to Rice. Or Saturday, when he cycled through progressions, turned around in a full circle behind his protection and eventually found Rice for a toe-tap grab on the right side of the end zone.

It’s not coincidence. This is sheer effort, and football IQ. Behind Rice’s beaming, behind frequent self-praise, is an innate wisdom to verbally break down every step of a go-route or a key block; he is thoughtful, intentional, humble in his understanding of the game.

“Caleb’s going to find you, so you got to stay active and make sure that you are never out of a play, you’re never out of a moment,” Rice explained to media at practice Wednesday. “You need to stay present in the moment, because if you’re not present in the moment, you might lose your chance on the hit of a touchdown – I’ve had two of ‘em just because I’m scrambling, and staying active.”

“It’s like a game to him,” Rice said later, when asked about Williams’ ability to improvise. “It’s like a song. It’s like a rhythm … you’re looking at the art of what a QB can really do, and I’m like, okay, maybe let me get back on what I gotta do and make sure I’m in his peripheral vision.”

It’s a noticeable growth, a blossoming connection, from last season. And Rice’s star rose in the Tempe desert on Saturday night, proving his savvy in the same state he once had to prove his speed.

“Woooooo!” he bellowed, strutting out of the postgame interview room Saturday night. “I came home!!!”