Central Catholic’s Justin Rice commits to play football at Fresno State

When former Central Catholic High School star Jared Rice signed to play football with Fresno State earlier this year, you had to figure that gave the Bulldogs a leg up on the competition in the race to land his brother, Justin Rice.

Justin, the reigning Player of the Year in the Stanislaus District, made his choice known Saturday when he verbally committed to play at Fresno State. Rice made the announcement via Twitter.

San Jose State and UNLV were two other teams Rice considered heavily, but ultimately, for him, Fresno felt like home.

“It felt very ‘homey’ to me because I’d be with Jared,” said Rice, who rushed for 2,146 yards and 30 touchdowns while leading Central Catholic to a third consecutive CIF Division IV state championship. “I was looking for what UNLV and San Jose State had that was better than Fresno. But then I asked myself, ‘Why am I looking for ways to beat out Fresno when it’s the best fit for me?’”

The Bulldogs were looking at Rice to play running back or even on defense, as an outside linebacker/safety hybrid. But when Fresno State landed two other running back recruits, Rice knew he needed to come to a decision if he wanted to play running back in front of the Red Wave.

“They’ve left it up to me as to what I want to play at the next level,” Rice said. “I want to play running back at the next level.”

Rice said he’s glad to have the decision behind him.

“I talked to my family about it,” Rice said. “I wanted to make a decision so it’s not bugging me through the season. The timing was perfect and it all fell together.”

Jared Rice is thrilled to have his brother joining the program.

“Yes, I’m very excited,” Jared Rice said. “I love it down here. It’s great, and he’ll definitely fit in for sure.”

There’s still a possibility Jared Rice may redshirt the 2015 season, but at this point the 6-foot-5, 211-pound tight end is expecting to be on the roster when the Bulldogs open the season with a Thursday game against Abilene Christian on Sept. 3.

“I spent a whole week in Fresno with Jared over the summer,” Justin Rice said. “I hung out with him, watched him work out. He loves it down there, and he told me it’s great. It’s obviously the place to be.”

This story was originally published August 25, 2015 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Central Catholic’s Justin Rice commits to play football at Fresno State."