by Decarus Wright
OHS senior running back Emmitt Rice had a great season, putting up stellar stats. Rice is a future star.
During the Cardinals 2009 football season, he had 179 carries for 820 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns. Rice led the team to an improved 3-7 record following a dismal 1-10 record in 2008. After a surprising 2-1 start, the Cardinals slowed down and were 1-6 in their last seven games.
Despite this loss, we are making room for improvement. Rice’s role in this improvement, while small, is lasting. He believes he set a standard for OHS running backs to look up to and surpass. “I feel I’ve left a great mark on the five running backs on the team. We all looked up to one another,” he says.
As a native of Columbia, Mississippi, Rice has eight siblings in his family but only three are still living at home. He attended four different schools before OHS in 2007. “Life was pretty good for me growing up,” Rice reflects. “I always look for the positive things.”
Rice got involved with football as a teen, and his first-ever game came as an OHS freshman against Pebblebrook. “It was kind of scary because we were big rivals, and we always talked crazy stuff before the game and we won,” he remembers.
Rice has grown through football during his career at OHS by overcoming shyness and meeting more people. This has made him a better person, he believes, by being a leader and having confidence that “you can get the first down when the game is on the line.” Rice has this attitude not only in how he plays the game but how he lives his life, and he applies this tenacity towards other sports as well.
Rice is also a member of the track team, and says he got into track because he is competitive and “always wanted to be the fastest on the team.” He runs an impressive 4.5, making him one of the fastest on the team. Though he participates in two sports, he does not let them interfere with his school work. Rice admits he is on the track team so he can be faster at football, but loves track because of the strength and agility it affords him. He acknowledges that he does not like to play fullback because there is a lot of blocking involved. “I just like to run the ball,” he says. “I never liked full contact. That is why I run hard.”
Looking back on his senior season of football, Rice feels that the team could have done better. Three of the Cardinals close losses came against Pebblebrook, Paulding County and Cass. Rice’s proudest moment of the season came when he jumped over two defenders who were trying to tackle him. He feels his weakest moment was the way the season ended with a 3-7 record, humbly admitting it might have been better if he had worked on his blocking.
Reflecting on his years at OHS, Rice says he is sad that it’s almost over but feels he has left a great mark on Osborne football. He hopes that when he leaves he will be remembered as a humble, loving guy. Rice thinks that his time at OHS has prepared him for the future.
Rice has a 2.5 GPA. “This all started my freshman year when I really did not take my classes too seriously. Other than that, now I am doing good and passing all my classes,” he explains. Rice’s favorite subject is math, his weakest is language arts. He tries his best to be a good student so that he can get into a good college.
Not only a football player and a track star, Rice is a member of the after-school OHS chorus group, The Sound. He says he started singing in the locker room and his teammates encouraged him to join the chorus and be in the talent show. Rice participated in the talent show and developed a new love for music.
For his future, Rice hopes to attend the University of Southern Mississippi. He says he has been scouted for college teams but hasn’t decided where to attend. Rice also hopes to play in the NFL someday, specifically for the Green Bay Packers because of their tradition and amazing defense. If he does not make the NFL, he wants to be a sports trainer and, in some way, be a part of professional football. With some luck, and if he continues to work hard, professional football could have a place in his future.
- Volume 4, Issue 1 -
