USC wide receiver Brenden Rice is no stranger to fame, as he’s the son of Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, who is regarded as the NFL’s greatest receiver of all time. But after the first day of Senior Bowl practice, in which he had a very good start to the week, Rice admitted that one of his favorite NFL receivers is none other than Bucs Pro Bowler and second-team All-Pro, Mike Evans.

In fact, Rice admitted to being a “fanboy” of Evans dating back to the Bucs receiver’s days at Texas A&M.

“I definitely try to emulate him all the time,” Rice said. “Growing up, my brother went to Texas A&M and my stepdad went to Texas A&M, so we would see Mike Evans at the game. I was just a little fanboy all the time. It’s going to be crazy going into the league, and then maybe go ahead and have the chance to learn from him.”

Rice indicated he would love to be drafted by the Bucs and have the opportunity to play alongside Evans in Tampa Bay.

“It would be crazy,” Rice said. “Baker Mayfield, Chris Godwin, Mike Evans – I would be going into a situation where I am going to be able to learn and take in information. That’s what I want.”

During the first Senior Bowl practice Rice had a dominant 1-on-1 session against Penn State cornerback Johnny Dixon, catching three passes against him, including two touchdowns. The physical Rice also drew three pass interference penalties on Dixon with strong releases from the line of scrimmage.

USC WR Brenden Rice Is Trying To Make A Name For Himself In The NFL

USC WR Brenden Rice – Photo by: USA Today

Having a famous father in the Hall of Fame can be quite beneficial for USC wide receiver Brenden Rice. There’s no doubt that Jerry Rice has imparted a ton of wisdom from his legendary 21-year NFL career into his son, who already knows that the NFL is a business.

“I’m just staying grounded,” Rice said after the first Senior Bowl practice. “You’ve got to stay grounded within all this mess. There is a lot of commotion going on and the distractions that can happen each and every day and you have to make sure you put your best foot forward because the NFL is a job. At first you were playing for fun, at the same time now you’re playing for a job. People feed their families – this is some people’s careers, so you’ve got to go ahead and take it seriously.”

As Caleb Williams’ primary target for the last two seasons at USC, Rice caught 84 passes for 1,402 yards (16.7 avg.) and 16 touchdowns after transferring from Colorado in 2022. Rice had a breakout season as a senior, catching 45 passes for 791 yards (17.6 avg.) and 12 touchdowns.

He wants to prove to scouts that he has deep speed and is not just a possession receiver.

“I’m an every down receiver and I will continue to show that,” Rice said.

Rice, who weighed in at the Senior Bowl at 6-foot-2, 212, models his game after Seattle receiver D.K. Metcalf and former Atlanta legendary wide out Julio Jones, who played in Tampa Bay during the 2022 season and in Philadelphia in 2023.

“First of all, I’m my own person,” Rice said. “You can go ahead and say D.K. because of his speed, but at the same time I feel like I can get in and out of my breaks better. I kind of want to go after Julio [Jones] a little, but I don’t have the size of Julio.”