Background and career
Raymell Mourice Rice (born January 22, 1987) is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. He played college football for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, earning first-team All-American honors in 2007. Rice was selected by the Ravens in the second round of the 2008 NFL draft. During his career, Rice received three Pro Bowl and two second-team All-Pro selections and was a member of the team that won Super Bowl XLVII. He is second in franchise rushing yards, rushing attempts, and rushing touchdowns and third in franchise combined touchdowns. During the 2014 offseason, a video surfaced of Rice physically attacking his fiancée. After being indicted for aggravated assault, Rice was released by the Ravens and suspended indefinitely by the NFL. Although Rice successfully appealed the indefinite suspension, the incident effectively ended his professional career as he would not be signed by another team.
Rice was born to parents Janet Rice and Calvin Reed in New Rochelle, New York, on January 22, 1987. His father was killed in a drive-by shooting when Ray was a year old. Rice's cousin, Myshaun Rice-Nichols, was killed by a drunk driver when Rice was ten. Rice attended New Rochelle High School, where he played football for longtime coach Lou DiRienzo. He was the Huguenots' primary running back. The last Iona–New Rochelle Turkey Bowl football game, which had been waged every year since 1949, was played in Rice's sophomore season of 2002, when New Rochelle defeated the Gaels 53–6. Rice led his team to a state title as a junior in 2003 when NRHS defeated Webster Schroeder 32–6 at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse. In Rice's senior year of 2004, New Rochelle fell to Christian Brothers Academy, who had Greg Paulus, 41–35 in the championship game. New Rochelle High School lost only one game in each of three seasons of varsity football. Rice holds the state record for yards in a single game: he gained 462 yards on 42 carries on October 24, 2004.
Rice attended Rutgers University–New Brunswick, where he played football for coach Greg Schiano's Scarlet Knights from 2005 to 2007. In Rice's freshman year, Rutgers had its first winning season in 13 years and played in only the second bowl in the football program's then 136-year history. In 2006, the Scarlet Knights won a school record-tying 11 games and registered the school's highest-ever season-ending national poll ranking, finishing at #12 in both the Associated Press and Coaches Polls. As a true freshman, Rice finished the season as the starting tailback for Rutgers. Rice rushed for 1,120 yards and five touchdowns during his freshman campaign, including a 217-yard performance against the Connecticut Huskies and a 195-yard performance against the Cincinnati Bearcats. As a sophomore, Rice gained 1,794 rushing yards with 20 touchdowns. His rushing totals set Rutgers' single-season rushing yardage record, shattering J. J. Jennings' mark of 1,353 set in 1973. Rice's backfield partner during his freshman and sophomore seasons was fullback Brian Leonard. Leonard considered entering the NFL draft in 2006 but stayed for his senior year and took on a less prominent role in the offense, which aided Rice's rise to stardom. Rice was a finalist for the Maxwell Award and finished seventh in the Heisman Trophy voting. Rice was named Big East offensive player of the week a school-record three times in 2007. All three times, Rice rushed for over 200 yards: 201 yards against North Carolina, 202 yards against South Florida, and a career-high 225-yard game against the Pittsburgh Panthers. Rice ended his sophomore season with 170 yards on 24 carries with one touchdown during the inaugural Texas Bowl to give Rutgers its first bowl victory ever in a 37–10 win over Kansas State. He was named MVP of the game. Rice was widely considered a candidate for both the Maxwell Award and the Heisman Trophy in 2007. On October 6, 2007, against the Cincinnati Bearcats, Rice scored his 35th career rushing touchdown, which set the all-time program record. On November 9, 2007, against the Army Black Knights, Rice ran for 243 yards and scored twice in the 41–6 victory, setting a new school record previously set by Terrell Willis in 1994, and his new single-game record. On January 5, 2008, at the second annual International Bowl in Toronto, Rice ran for a new school record of 280 yards, along with four touchdowns, as Rutgers defeated Ball State 52–30. One of the touchdown runs (90 yards) was the longest of his career. Rice won the MVP award for his performance. Following the season, Rice declared his intention to enter the 2008 NFL draft.
Rice was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the second round (55th overall) of the 2008 NFL draft and signed a four-year deal with the Ravens worth $2.805 million plus a $1.1 million signing bonus. He played for coach John Harbaugh, who coincidentally was in his first year as coach of the Ravens. Rice wore number No. 39 during the preseason, then switched to No. 27 (his number at Rutgers) after the Ravens cut cornerback Ronnie Prude. Rice made his first career start in his first NFL game, which was Week 1 of the 2008 season against the Cincinnati Bengals. Rice had a team-high 22 carries for 64 yards, fumbling once. Rice also had three receptions for 19 yards in the Ravens' 17–10 win. Rice had his best game of the season in Week 9 against the Cleveland Browns, filling in for the injured Willis McGahee, where he ran for 154 yards on 21 carries. Rice finished out the season with 546 rushing yards on 107 carries and had 273 receiving yards on 33 receptions.
It was announced during training camp that Rice won the starting running back job over Willis McGahee for the 2009 NFL season and that Le'Ron McClain would be switching back to full-time fullback duties. McClain and McGahee had been the primary running backs the previous year. In the season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs, Rice rushed for 108 yards on 19 carries, which was his second career 100-yard rushing game. In Week 3, Rice rushed for his first professional touchdown against the Cleveland Browns. On October 11, he caught his first touchdown reception against the Cincinnati Bengals. On October 18, 2009, in Week 6, Rice led his team in both rushing and receiving yards against the Minnesota Vikings. He rushed for 77 yards off 10 carries, scoring two touchdowns. He also caught 10 passes for 117 yards in the 33–31 loss. In Week 14, against the Detroit Lions, Rice had career-best 166 rushing yards and 216 total yards, scoring one touchdown. In Week 16, on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Rice had a career-high 30 carries and tallied 141 rushing yards, which broke a Steelers' streak of 32 consecutive games without allowing a 100-yard rusher. He finished the season with 254 carries for 1,339 yards and 7 touchdowns, averaging 5.3 yards per carry. Rice was selected to the 2010 Pro Bowl, his first, on December 29, 2009. In the Wild Card Round against the New England Patriots on January 10, 2010, Rice scored an 83-yard touchdown run on the first offensive play for the Ravens, which was the longest play for the Ravens that season, the longest rush of his NFL career, and the second-longest rush in NFL postseason history. The run was part of a 159-yard, two-touchdown performance in the 33–14 victory. In the Divisional Round loss to the Indianapolis Colts, he had 13 carries for 67 rushing yards and a lost fumble as well as nine receptions for 60 yards.
On December 20, 2010, against the New Orleans Saints, Rice amassed a career-best 233 yards from scrimmage (153 rushing and 80 receiving) to go along with two touchdowns. The 233 yards are also the third most in Ravens franchise history. For his efforts, Rice was awarded his first AFC Offensive Player of the Week award. On January 9, 2010, in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs against the Kansas City Chiefs, Rice became the first Ravens running back to have a receiving touchdown in a playoff game. He had 99 scrimmage yards and a receiving touchdown in the 30–7 victory. In the Divisional Round loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, he had 64 scrimmage yards and a rushing touchdown. Rice finished the 2010 season with 1,220 total rushing yards, and 556 total receiving yards. He was ranked 56th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2011.
