Image courtesy of Twitter (@AStateFB)
The Mountain West Preseason Defensive Player of the Year has found a new home in the Sun Belt. Former Fresno State star linebacker Justin Rice officially transferred to Arkansas State.
As a graduate transfer, Rice is eligible to play immediately this fall while Fresno State remains sidelined due to the Mountain West fall football postponement.
Rice reportedly enters a favorable situation for a team that comes off a winning record and is in need of players at his position. The Arkansas State roster shows only eight linebackers with one senior and two juniors. They also lost their top four tacklers from last year’s team.
The Arkansas State Red Wolves come off an 8-5 campaign in 2019 and have a full 12-game 2020 schedule currently slated to start on Sept. 5. Rice’s first game would be played at Memphis, where former Fresno State Defensive Coordinator Bert Watts now serves as linebackers coach.
Rice officially entered the NCAA transfer portal on Aug. 14, looking for a place to play his last year of college eligibility this fall before the 2021 NFL Draft.
Rice wrote in a message via social media, “Unfortunately due to COVID-19, the college football landscape has been turned upside down. Because of this, and after many conversations with family and coaches, I have decided to forego my senior season at Fresno State and enter the transfer portal as a graduate transfer student. This is, and was, not an easy decision for me.
“First and foremost, I would like to thank Coach DeBoer and Coach Inge for believing in me and helping my development as a person and a football player. Lastly, I would like to thank every other coach, teammate, and Fresno State fan and supporter who has been alongside me on my journey so far.
“I am so very grateful for the opportunity given to me to play football for Fresno State, but I am also grateful to be able to chase my dreams by having the opportunity to play football this fall.”
Last season, Rice was a first-team All-Mountain West selection with a team-leading 112 tackles as a junior. That figure also ranked third in the Mountain West and 21st nationally at 9.3 tackles per game. He added seven tackles for loss and two sacks. Rice also forced four fumbles, recovered two fumbles and had two interceptions last season.
Rice was just the second Fresno State defender to earn the Preseason MW Player of the Year award in the Bulldogs’ nine seasons in the conference. Derron Smith was selected as the preseason defensive player of the year in both 2013 and 2014. The Bulldogs have had two winners of the actual award at the end of the season: safety Phillip Thomas in 2012 and linebacker Jeff Allison in 2018.
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