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2021 Football Roster

Brenden Rice
Photo by: Stanford Photo
Brenden Rice
Photo by: Tony Harman
Brenden Rice (Spring Game)
Photo by: Cliff Grassmick
Brenden Rice
Photo by: Stanford Photo
Brenden Rice
Photo by: Tony Harman
Brenden Rice
Jersey Number 2

Brenden Rice

  • Position:
    Wide Receiver
  • Height:
    6-3
  • Weight:
    205
  • Class:
    Freshman
  • Hometown:
    Chandler, Ariz.
  • High School:
    Hamilton
AT COLORADO: 2020 (Fr.)Showed a propensity for big plays out of the gate for the Buffs, averaging 26.4 yards per touch and scoring three touchdowns on nine total plays … Played in all six games including the Alamo Bowl, where he picked up his first career start … He played on offense and special teams in all six games … He caught six passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns while also returning one punt for an 81-yard touchdown and had two kickoffs for 37 yards, giving him 238 all-purpose yards on just nine touches for an average of 26.4 yards per touch, including 20.0 yards per reception … Given the team's Lee Willard Award on offense as the top freshman … Caught a pass in four of five regular season games … Had a 34-yard touchdown from Sam Noyer at Stanford … Against Utah he became the first player since Walter Stanley in 1987 to have a long receiving (61 yards) and long punt return (81 yards) touchdown in the same game, Walter Stanley had 87- and 74-yard receptions and a 70-yard punt return against Texas Tech in 1987, and Walter's son Dimitri Stanley provided key blocks on both of Rice's touchdowns … That Texas Tech game in 1987 is also the last time a player caught a touchdown and had any sort of return score in a game … CU's nominee for both Pac-12 Freshman of the Week and Special Teams Player of the Week for the Utah game … Also the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week nominee against Stanford when he had two catches for 34 yards and a touchdown … Named first-team Academic All-Colorado by the state's chapter of the National Football Foundation.  

HIGH SCHOOLA four-star prospect from Rivals, which rates him as the No. 50 wide receiver in the class and No. 8 player from Arizona … He was given three-stars by 247Sports, ESPN and PrepStar … 247Sports ranked him the No. 67 receiver in the class and No. 11 player from Arizona and a top 400 player nationally … ESPN ranked him as the No. 18 player from Arizona … PrepStar named him to its All-West Region team … He finished his career at Hamilton High School with 123 receptions for 2,139 yards and 27 touchdowns under coach Michael Zdebski … He also had three rushes for 11 yards and a touchdown … He tallied 2,150 yards of total offense and 2,618 all-purpose yards in his career … On defense, he recorded 32 tackles (14 solo), three tackles for loss, one quarterback hurry, one pass breakup and one interception … He helped lead Hamilton to a 9-3 record his senior year with 49 receptions for 851 yards and nine touchdowns along with one rush for eight yards and a touchdown … He also returned 12 kickoffs for a total of 244 yards … He had four games with 100 yards receiving and nine games with multiple receptions … He finished his senior season with 1,123 all-purpose yards … As a junior he was named All-Arizona and had 49 receptions for 729 yards and 11 touchdowns on offense and added 17 tackles and one interception on defense … He helped the Huskies go 8-4 his sophomore year when he tallied 25 receptions for 559 yards and seven touchdowns, which included five receptions of over 40 yards … In a 44-21 win over Chaparral as a senior, he had five receptions for 150 yards and two touchdowns to go along with one tackle, one quarterback hurry and one pass breakup on defense … He had nine receptions for 151 yards and three touchdowns in a 49-17 win over Perry …  As a junior, he had seven receptions for 159 yards and three touchdowns against Highland … In the same season, he had five receptions for 96 yards and two touchdowns in a 23-17 win over Arbor View … He had three receptions for 69 yards and three touchdowns in a 56-0 win over Basha his sophomore season … He also played basketball and ran track & field in high school … His top time in the 100-meters was 10.78.  

ACADEMICSHe is interested in majoring in Business at Colorado … Named first-team Academic All-Colorado by the state's chapter of the National Football Foundation in 2020. 

PERSONALHe was born on March 18, 2002 in Chandler, Ariz.  … His mom is Djakarta Edwards … His dad, Jerry Rice, is an NFL Hall-of-Famer who played 20 seasons with the 49ers, Raiders, Seahawks, and Broncos and currently holds the all-time NFL records for career receptions (1,549), receiving yards (22,895), and total touchdowns (208) … He has two older siblings … His brother Qualen Cunningham played defensive end at Texas A&M … He would like to become a business owner after his playing days are over … He enjoys reading poetry and sleeping in his free time … He has done community service with the nonprofit Feed My Starving Children.