2022 Liberty Christian Academy (VA) 3-star OT Zach Rice already has a solid offer list consisting of top programs like Oregon, Florida, USC, Florida State, and Tennessee among others, but he says one bid stands out above the others.
“I’ve been a huge Hurricanes fan forever, they were literally the first team I had ever remembered watching on TV,” Rice said. “The first thing I ever saw from them was how close the team was and how good of a bond they had. When I saw that game with all the laterals when they were playing Duke, that was crazy, it was a different energy. Ever since that, I felt like I wanted to play for a team like that, somewhere that had that kind of team bond.”
It seems the Miami Hurricanes have love for Rice as well, as OL coach Garin Justice added Rice to his board in late March after being impressed by the Liberty Christian Academy star’s film, and the pair have started building a relationship over the past few weeks since the offer.
“I actually just FaceTime’d him yesterday - we were just talking and chatting it up, he just told me how he really liked me and that I’d fit into the Miami Hurricanes,” Rice said of Justice. “I was just telling him how I liked the school. Obviously, I didn’t have a great connection with the coaches at Miami in the past because I’ve never talked to them until recently, but I’ve told people how much I believe in the school since they were always my favorite growing up as a kid.”
Although Rice hasn’t gone on a visit to Miami’s campus where he’s been hosted by the staff, he says he has already made a stop in Coral Gables on his own a few years back.
“When I was in 8th grade, I went on a cruise that left out of Miami,” Rice began. “My family knew the Hurricanes were my favorite school, so we went on campus and they bought me a sweatshirt, then we took pictures next to the trophies and the facilities.”
With that being said, don’t expect a quick commitment from Rice to the Hurricanes.
“They’re probably one of my top schools and I really like the school, but I’m not going to go there just because they were my favorite growing up, I want to look into all my opportunities,” Rice said. “I’m just staying humble really, but I want more out of [the process] to be honest. It hasn’t been really stressful so far, I’m just grinding day-in, day-out.”
Elsewhere in this recruitment, Rice lists schools such as Florida, Virginia Tech, Penn State, and Oregon as some programs that are standing out to him aside from Miami. Although he doesn’t have an offer from Clemson just yet, he did visit the Tigers recently in early March.
“I think it went good. We watched their practice, took pictures, got a tour of the dorms,” Rice said.
The 6-5 300 pound prospect has a general idea of how his recruitment is going to go and prefers to take things slow, but Rice doesn’t rule out moving up his decision timeline if he feels he’s found the right fit.
“I’m planning on deciding on my birthday of my senior year in January 2022, but if I visit a place and it feels like home, I’d rather get it over with,” Rice said. “If I feel like a school is my home, I don’t want to waste time with other schools offering me. I’d rather get started with my college journey, because I know some places after you commit, they’ll send you the playbook, things like that. It’s a different mindset when you visit a school (uncommitted), because the coaches are like that car salesman trying to get you there. But if you’re already committed, they don’t need to sell you, they can be more honest and start coaching me up.”
Relationships at the school can be a huge pull for many recruits, and Rice says that will be the case for him as well when he sits down to make his decision.
“One factor is really how long the coaches have been there and how long they might be there in the future,” Rice said. “Because when the head coach leaves, the whole staff leaves. So I’m really trying to go to a stable college for my 4 or 5 years.”
At Liberty Christian Academy during his sophomore year, Rice helped lead the Bulldogs to a 7-4 season in 2019 playing mainly right tackle. Although he was pleased with his performance and saw some growth, Rice is still looking for more progression as a junior.
“I feel like I have real fast footwork, fast down blocks,” Rice said. “If I get my hands on you it’s over. I feel like I’m a bulldozer, but technically sound.
“During the season, I felt like my film was really good, but after the season, I watched it more, and I was like ‘I could’ve done this better, that better’. I’m always seeing something in my game. Technique-wise, everything looks good, but I feel like I let up on some plays, like I could’ve finished more people and pancaked them.”
“I’ve been a huge Hurricanes fan forever, they were literally the first team I had ever remembered watching on TV,” Rice said. “The first thing I ever saw from them was how close the team was and how good of a bond they had. When I saw that game with all the laterals when they were playing Duke, that was crazy, it was a different energy. Ever since that, I felt like I wanted to play for a team like that, somewhere that had that kind of team bond.”
It seems the Miami Hurricanes have love for Rice as well, as OL coach Garin Justice added Rice to his board in late March after being impressed by the Liberty Christian Academy star’s film, and the pair have started building a relationship over the past few weeks since the offer.
“I actually just FaceTime’d him yesterday - we were just talking and chatting it up, he just told me how he really liked me and that I’d fit into the Miami Hurricanes,” Rice said of Justice. “I was just telling him how I liked the school. Obviously, I didn’t have a great connection with the coaches at Miami in the past because I’ve never talked to them until recently, but I’ve told people how much I believe in the school since they were always my favorite growing up as a kid.”
Although Rice hasn’t gone on a visit to Miami’s campus where he’s been hosted by the staff, he says he has already made a stop in Coral Gables on his own a few years back.
“When I was in 8th grade, I went on a cruise that left out of Miami,” Rice began. “My family knew the Hurricanes were my favorite school, so we went on campus and they bought me a sweatshirt, then we took pictures next to the trophies and the facilities.”
With that being said, don’t expect a quick commitment from Rice to the Hurricanes.
“They’re probably one of my top schools and I really like the school, but I’m not going to go there just because they were my favorite growing up, I want to look into all my opportunities,” Rice said. “I’m just staying humble really, but I want more out of [the process] to be honest. It hasn’t been really stressful so far, I’m just grinding day-in, day-out.”
Elsewhere in this recruitment, Rice lists schools such as Florida, Virginia Tech, Penn State, and Oregon as some programs that are standing out to him aside from Miami. Although he doesn’t have an offer from Clemson just yet, he did visit the Tigers recently in early March.
“I think it went good. We watched their practice, took pictures, got a tour of the dorms,” Rice said.
The 6-5 300 pound prospect has a general idea of how his recruitment is going to go and prefers to take things slow, but Rice doesn’t rule out moving up his decision timeline if he feels he’s found the right fit.
“I’m planning on deciding on my birthday of my senior year in January 2022, but if I visit a place and it feels like home, I’d rather get it over with,” Rice said. “If I feel like a school is my home, I don’t want to waste time with other schools offering me. I’d rather get started with my college journey, because I know some places after you commit, they’ll send you the playbook, things like that. It’s a different mindset when you visit a school (uncommitted), because the coaches are like that car salesman trying to get you there. But if you’re already committed, they don’t need to sell you, they can be more honest and start coaching me up.”
Relationships at the school can be a huge pull for many recruits, and Rice says that will be the case for him as well when he sits down to make his decision.
“One factor is really how long the coaches have been there and how long they might be there in the future,” Rice said. “Because when the head coach leaves, the whole staff leaves. So I’m really trying to go to a stable college for my 4 or 5 years.”
At Liberty Christian Academy during his sophomore year, Rice helped lead the Bulldogs to a 7-4 season in 2019 playing mainly right tackle. Although he was pleased with his performance and saw some growth, Rice is still looking for more progression as a junior.
“I feel like I have real fast footwork, fast down blocks,” Rice said. “If I get my hands on you it’s over. I feel like I’m a bulldozer, but technically sound.
“During the season, I felt like my film was really good, but after the season, I watched it more, and I was like ‘I could’ve done this better, that better’. I’m always seeing something in my game. Technique-wise, everything looks good, but I feel like I let up on some plays, like I could’ve finished more people and pancaked them.”
![[]_[]nique](https://data.canesinsight.com/avatars/s/10/10141.jpg?1518149361){kind=avatar}
