WR Brendan Rice joined Sports Illustrated at Radio Row to talk about the upcoming NFL Draft and his time at USC.
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00:00 So I'm very excited right now Sports Illustrated because the person to my left is Brendan Rice,
00:06 USC's best receiver I feel like for the last two seasons. I don't care what nobody else say,
00:13 but he tall, he got speed, he catch with his hands, he run routes and he gets yak. Brendan Rice,
00:20 how you feeling big dog? I'm feeling great, how are you? I'm good man, I'm good. Okay,
00:25 so let's talk about for a second, you're at Colorado, you transferred to USC, probably
00:31 played with the best quarterback in the draft, how was that these last few years? Man, just being at
00:36 USC is a different environment, it's a dog eat dog like every single day, you see some guys fall,
00:41 you see some guys rise, right? It's all about competition and taking it day by day and putting
00:45 your best foot forward. If you can go ahead and make it out of that type of environment man,
00:48 shoot, the possibilities are endless. I mean you see the greats, the Amon Walls, the Michael Pittman,
00:54 the Jujus, it's all about timing. We can go a little earlier, we got Dwayne Jarrett,
00:59 Michael Pittman, Robert Wood, Marquis Lee, Bryce Butler. Okay, so you talk about the competition,
01:10 being at practice day to day at SC, do you feel like that's gonna prepare you or give you an
01:17 advantage of the other receivers in the draft this season? I feel most definitely, just going out
01:22 there to Mobile, Alabama and being able to go ahead against the top competition in the world
01:28 and you get to go ahead and see the rest of the draft class and I felt I'm just right on par with
01:32 them. I was able to go ahead and showcase some of the things that I can do and man, I can't wait for
01:39 this draft to come in this combine and then us to actually get on team so we can showcase who we are.
01:44 Right, right. Okay, so what NFL receiver do you model your game after? Obviously, Jerry Zapop,
01:53 we know that, so I'm sure you got a lot of him in you, I know that, but what NFL guy currently do
02:00 you model your game after? Do you want to get the tape and watch him and say, that's me, same body
02:05 style, same type of, you know what I'm saying? Who's the guy for you? I feel as though Chris
02:09 Godwin is the same body style, but I really don't like to model my game after anybody because I feel
02:14 like I got the finesse of Calvin Ridley. So like you got to go ahead and just take it, you know,
02:19 just dibba dabba here and there. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, so my dad played in the NFL 12 years,
02:24 played for the Falcons, played against your dad a lot. Obviously, he helped me get to where I am
02:29 today. What's the best advice that your pops ever gave you? Man, staying present in the moment. Yeah.
02:35 It don't make the moment too big and once you go ahead and stay present in the moment, I saw my
02:39 game rise and just like not going ahead and just overthinking some of the things. Yeah, yeah. Okay,
02:45 that's good. Staying in the moment. The moment is the draft. Who do you want to go play for next
02:51 season? Who is Brendan Rice catching tutties for in 2024? That rhyme, they didn't even mean to rhyme,
02:58 they rhyme. Honestly, I want to be put in a position that's going to go ahead and benefit
03:03 me as a person, make sure that I am fitting within a franchise because if they're not going to want a
03:08 dog to come in there and actually be vocal and be going ahead and going to ask some of these vets
03:14 to shoot, like don't bring me along. Yeah. I promise you. Yeah. Because I'm coming for a
03:18 veteran's job. Yeah, I love that. I love that. Okay, we're here for the Super Bowl. Obviously,
03:22 who do you have taking it home? Is it Patty Mahomes and the Chiefs or is it Brock Purdy and
03:27 the Niners? Now, don't give me no bias, non or answer, dog. Don't do that. But give me what you
03:33 think is going to happen this weekend. Man, I always got to go ahead and say Niners, but at the
03:37 same time, bro, you can't count Patrick Mahomes out. Then you got my boy Rasheed over there, man.
03:43 I can't tell you. I'm going to say the Niners though. Okay. Okay. Okay. So talk to me about
03:50 your partnership. You got the Breathe Rice Strips. I know Pops was known for the Breathe Rice Strips.
03:56 Talk about your partnership with them. Man, it's a big nostalgic moment, just going ahead and
04:01 watching him, who he was back early in his career and just watching him wear the Breathe Rice Strips.
04:06 It's kind of iconic, man. And now it's all upon me. It's like a legacy move right here. And I
04:11 thank Breathe Rice because we're going ahead and carrying it from generation to generation.
04:16 Man, I just can't wait to go ahead and just showcase what I can do in the league and also
04:21 be wearing Breathe Rice Strips. Last question. Who is your all-time receiver, Mount Rushmore?
04:28 So that's five? That's four. Four. Four. Okay. Okay. Think it through now. Think it through.
04:35 We got Jerry and Randy offer it. Okay. Easy. Man, a lot of people aren't going to like this.
04:45 A lot of people aren't going to like this. Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Hold on. Let me set it up.
04:47 I can't. Bro, he had a crazy five-year stretch. And if he just handled things properly, he would
04:54 have went crazy even more. Oh, AB.
04:55 Yep. Yep.
04:57 But he's Mount Rushmore for sure. I mean, like you said, 100 catches every season, like 1500.
05:04 And I saw it live. I played against him. I saw it live. Antonio Brown is a dog. He still is a dog.
05:10 I love you, brother. I hope all is well with you. Hey, Brendan Rice, good luck 2024. He's a dog.
05:16 One of the best receivers in the draft. Whoever picks him, he has got a guy. My dog.
05:21 Thanks.