Murray State University Athletics
Players Mentioned
QB
/ Football
QB
/ Football
QB
/ Football
QB
/ Football
QB
/ Football
QB
/ Football
Photo by: Dave Winder-Murray State Athletics
Spring Spotlight: Preston Rice
3/29/2019 2:29:00 PM | Football
Casey Brockman, Mikhail Miller, KD Humphries, Shuler Bentley and Drew Anderson. The names of the quarterbacks that have played under Mitch Stewart at Murray State, either as head coach or during his time as offensive coordinator, reads more like a Hall of Fame ballot than a timeline of Racer signal callers. Since 2011, every starting Racer quarterback has earned at least one OVC postseason accolade including five All-OVC selections and two All-Newcomer honors.
This year, however, there is a new quarterback on the horizon for Murray State. For the past two years, Preston Rice has been lying in wait for the Racers, reserved for situations in which the outcome of the game had been well decided or for extreme emergencies. A quarterback in a glass case of sorts, just waiting for his time, just waiting for someone to break him out.
After what felt like an eternity of waiting for Rice, he finally got a small taste last fall when he scored Murray State's only touchdown in a 48-10 loss at Kentucky. "That was special," said Rice. "That was the day before my birthday, so it was like an early birthday gift, but it was just fun to get to play again. I know it was at the end of the game, but it is something I will remember for the rest on my life because it was my first collegiate touchdown and it was against an SEC team. It just made me feel like I belonged here and it made me feel like 'I could do this" and that 'I could be the guy.'"
That moment, however, was a longtime coming for Rice. Despite being runner-up for the 1A Mr. Football award in Tennessee his junior year and the winner his senior year, he was still missing something. Offers. Rice spent his senior year on the Class 1A runner-up Wayne County team watching teammate after teammate, peer after peer get offer after offer and still, none came for him.
"It was frustrating to be overlooked. It always felt like a slap in the face, especially because I always felt I was one of the better players, especially at the quarterback position. I was out there doing things no one else was doing and no one really noticed, just because of where I am from."
Rice played high school ball at tiny Wayne County High School in south central Tennessee, under the direction of his father, Rick, a legend in his own right. The school itself has an enrollment of just over 300, while the city in which it is located, the county seat of Waynesboro, has a population that is just a shade under 2,500.
Despite playing for a small school in a small town, Rice put up big numbers for the Wildcats. He finished his career with over 6,000 passing yards and over 2,000 rushing yards. He also scored. A lot. Rice tallied 141 total touchdowns in his career with 93 of those coming in the air and another 48 on the ground.
Despite all the statistics and accolades, December of Rice's senior year rolled around and there were still no offers. From anyone. Â Then, on December 11, while playing for his dad at an all-star game, the call he had waited so long for finally came.
"I was playing in the game and Coach Stewart called my dad and offered me. He put a lot of faith and trust in me to give me that offer and I am a loyal guy, so right when that happened, I felt that this was the place I needed to go. I didn't even come on a visit before I got offered. So the next week I came on a visit, a week later I committed and then a month later I was on campus, as an early enrollee."
When he arrived on campus in January of 2017, there was no clear successor to the recently graduated Humphries. However, that summer saw the arrival of Bentley and with that came a decision by Stewart. One that at the time, as a competitor, Rice found difficult to digest, but one he can now see the value of.
"My redshirt year was a much needed year for me, because it was the first time I had ever run the air raid offense. So it was good to just sit back and learn some things, especially the terminology, and to understand what you are supposed to do, things like taking completions. Here the philosophy is 'throw short, run long', but when I was high school it was 'throw deep'. We'd run 2-play drives and I was throwing 60-yard bombs to people, so that took some getting used to. I had to learn to take what the defense gives you, rather than trying to get it all in one play."
After his redshirt year, Rice entered last season, determined to earn the starting job despite a returning Bentley and newcomer Anderson. "I went into last fall trying to win the job every day and I fought every day. My mindset was 'I'm the starter going in and I'm going to be the starter until I'm told otherwise.' I wasn't thinking that those two were seniors and it was their spot to lose, to me, it was my spot to take."
However, after fall camp, Rice once again found himself on the sidelines and away from the action on Saturdays. While this was the second year in a row that Rice was on the outside looking in, he decided to use that experience to make himself better, rather than let it have a negative effect on him.
"After fall camp, I told myself 'don't get mad or upset and don't let your emotions take over and prevent you from getting better each day. From there, I just kept watching Drew and how he did things and then I took some things from Shuler, so it was a really good mixture and now I am able to take what they taught me and bring it into this year."
With Rice finally poised to earn the starting spot for the 2019 season, his experiences of being overlooked on the recruiting trail and having to sit out the past two years have only reinforced his "nothing is given, everything is earned" attitude. Because of that, it should come as a surprise to no one that his role as an upperclassman and as a veteran leader is something he takes very seriously. He understands that heading into his third year, he now has an obligation to help younger quarterbacks like Garrett Bass and Michael Hiers and the incoming freshman, just like he was helped by Anderson and Bentley.
"I like to lead by example. Let them see what I do to prepare and get ready, for even something as simple as a Friday run. Every day you have to be in there and you have to be consistent. When I got here I wasn't the guy, I had to sit two years, so when you're in a situation like that you have to fall in love with the preparation and the work that you put in each and every day. Small things like getting there early, staying there late, doing drops after practice, taking snaps from centers. Just the small things can really go a long way."
It's that kind of work ethic that has led Rice to where he is today and with spring camp kicking off this week, the redshirt sophomore knows he will play a pivotal role in preparing the Racers for the 2019 season.
"My mindset every day is to go out there and help the Murray State football team be the best that it can be and to win football games. That's all I want to do. I want our offense to be the most productive, explosive offense in the nation and it's my job to get them there."
With two years of waiting behind him and an open spot at quarterback, Rice knows that now is the time to use his experiences since arriving at Murray State and the knowledge gained from teammates and coaches to go out and earn the job this fall. If he can do that, the kid from Waynesboro with the chip on his shoulder is ready to make sure that neither he nor his teammates ever go unnoticed again.
Â
This year, however, there is a new quarterback on the horizon for Murray State. For the past two years, Preston Rice has been lying in wait for the Racers, reserved for situations in which the outcome of the game had been well decided or for extreme emergencies. A quarterback in a glass case of sorts, just waiting for his time, just waiting for someone to break him out.
After what felt like an eternity of waiting for Rice, he finally got a small taste last fall when he scored Murray State's only touchdown in a 48-10 loss at Kentucky. "That was special," said Rice. "That was the day before my birthday, so it was like an early birthday gift, but it was just fun to get to play again. I know it was at the end of the game, but it is something I will remember for the rest on my life because it was my first collegiate touchdown and it was against an SEC team. It just made me feel like I belonged here and it made me feel like 'I could do this" and that 'I could be the guy.'"
That moment, however, was a longtime coming for Rice. Despite being runner-up for the 1A Mr. Football award in Tennessee his junior year and the winner his senior year, he was still missing something. Offers. Rice spent his senior year on the Class 1A runner-up Wayne County team watching teammate after teammate, peer after peer get offer after offer and still, none came for him.
"It was frustrating to be overlooked. It always felt like a slap in the face, especially because I always felt I was one of the better players, especially at the quarterback position. I was out there doing things no one else was doing and no one really noticed, just because of where I am from."
Rice played high school ball at tiny Wayne County High School in south central Tennessee, under the direction of his father, Rick, a legend in his own right. The school itself has an enrollment of just over 300, while the city in which it is located, the county seat of Waynesboro, has a population that is just a shade under 2,500.
Despite playing for a small school in a small town, Rice put up big numbers for the Wildcats. He finished his career with over 6,000 passing yards and over 2,000 rushing yards. He also scored. A lot. Rice tallied 141 total touchdowns in his career with 93 of those coming in the air and another 48 on the ground.
Despite all the statistics and accolades, December of Rice's senior year rolled around and there were still no offers. From anyone. Â Then, on December 11, while playing for his dad at an all-star game, the call he had waited so long for finally came.
"I was playing in the game and Coach Stewart called my dad and offered me. He put a lot of faith and trust in me to give me that offer and I am a loyal guy, so right when that happened, I felt that this was the place I needed to go. I didn't even come on a visit before I got offered. So the next week I came on a visit, a week later I committed and then a month later I was on campus, as an early enrollee."
When he arrived on campus in January of 2017, there was no clear successor to the recently graduated Humphries. However, that summer saw the arrival of Bentley and with that came a decision by Stewart. One that at the time, as a competitor, Rice found difficult to digest, but one he can now see the value of.
"My redshirt year was a much needed year for me, because it was the first time I had ever run the air raid offense. So it was good to just sit back and learn some things, especially the terminology, and to understand what you are supposed to do, things like taking completions. Here the philosophy is 'throw short, run long', but when I was high school it was 'throw deep'. We'd run 2-play drives and I was throwing 60-yard bombs to people, so that took some getting used to. I had to learn to take what the defense gives you, rather than trying to get it all in one play."
After his redshirt year, Rice entered last season, determined to earn the starting job despite a returning Bentley and newcomer Anderson. "I went into last fall trying to win the job every day and I fought every day. My mindset was 'I'm the starter going in and I'm going to be the starter until I'm told otherwise.' I wasn't thinking that those two were seniors and it was their spot to lose, to me, it was my spot to take."
However, after fall camp, Rice once again found himself on the sidelines and away from the action on Saturdays. While this was the second year in a row that Rice was on the outside looking in, he decided to use that experience to make himself better, rather than let it have a negative effect on him.
"After fall camp, I told myself 'don't get mad or upset and don't let your emotions take over and prevent you from getting better each day. From there, I just kept watching Drew and how he did things and then I took some things from Shuler, so it was a really good mixture and now I am able to take what they taught me and bring it into this year."
With Rice finally poised to earn the starting spot for the 2019 season, his experiences of being overlooked on the recruiting trail and having to sit out the past two years have only reinforced his "nothing is given, everything is earned" attitude. Because of that, it should come as a surprise to no one that his role as an upperclassman and as a veteran leader is something he takes very seriously. He understands that heading into his third year, he now has an obligation to help younger quarterbacks like Garrett Bass and Michael Hiers and the incoming freshman, just like he was helped by Anderson and Bentley.
"I like to lead by example. Let them see what I do to prepare and get ready, for even something as simple as a Friday run. Every day you have to be in there and you have to be consistent. When I got here I wasn't the guy, I had to sit two years, so when you're in a situation like that you have to fall in love with the preparation and the work that you put in each and every day. Small things like getting there early, staying there late, doing drops after practice, taking snaps from centers. Just the small things can really go a long way."
It's that kind of work ethic that has led Rice to where he is today and with spring camp kicking off this week, the redshirt sophomore knows he will play a pivotal role in preparing the Racers for the 2019 season.
"My mindset every day is to go out there and help the Murray State football team be the best that it can be and to win football games. That's all I want to do. I want our offense to be the most productive, explosive offense in the nation and it's my job to get them there."
With two years of waiting behind him and an open spot at quarterback, Rice knows that now is the time to use his experiences since arriving at Murray State and the knowledge gained from teammates and coaches to go out and earn the job this fall. If he can do that, the kid from Waynesboro with the chip on his shoulder is ready to make sure that neither he nor his teammates ever go unnoticed again.
Â
Evansville VS Murray State | Women's Basketball Game Highlights
Saturday, February 28
Head Coach Rechelle Turner | Racer Basketball | 2/26/26 Post Game Press Conference
Friday, February 27
Thomas & Pena | Racer Basketball | 2/26/26 Post Game Press Conference
Friday, February 27
Indiana State VS Murray State | Women's Basketball Game Highlights
Friday, February 27
