Sidney Rice life and biography

Sidney Rice is an American football player, wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings.

• Capped breakout 2009 season with Pro Bowl honors.
• Tied an NFL playoff record with 3 TD receptions vs. Dallas in Divisional Playoff game.
• Had career-high 201 yards receiving vs. Detroit (11/15/09), the 4th-most in Vikings history.
• Provided tickets to the Dallas playoff game for a Wisconsin girl and her family enduring her battle with cancer.

OFF THE FIELD
Joined in NFL Play 60 Challenge day at St. Joseph’s Home for Children in 2009...Inspired by a local Fox 9 TV report about fundraising efforts for a family in Wisconsin whose young daughter was battling cancer, he bought tickets for the family to the Dallas playoff game and arranged for them to be special guests of the team at practice the day before the game...Helped lead Vikings Victory Visits to children’s hospitals during 2010 offseason...Majored in African-American studies at USC...Turned 21 during the week of the regular-season opener his rookie year...Recruited to USC by legendary coach Lou Holtz...Played his final 2 collegiate seasons for Steve Spurrier, a former NFL QB and Redskins coach...High school teammates with NFL LB Rocky McIntosh...Aspires to a career in coaching or youth mentoring.

PRO
Had impressive breakout season in 2009, earning Pro Bowl honors and ranking 2nd in the NFC with 1,312 yards...Became only the 4th player in team history to post 1,300+ yards receiving in a season...Notched 201 receiving yards vs. Detroit (11/15/09), his career-best and the 4th-most in a game by a Viking...Set Vikings record and tied NFL record with 3 receiving TDs in a playoff game vs. Dallas (1/17/10) in Divisional Round game...Did not have a 100-yard game to his credit entering 2009, but had 5 during the season, including playoffs...Has caught a TD pass from all 5 QBs who have started during his tenure with the Vikings...Vikings are 12-4 in games, including playoffs, when Rice catches a TD pass...Had impressive debut season as a rookie in 2007, ranking tied for 1st in the NFC among rookies and 2nd in the NFL with 4 TD catches...Threw the Vikings longest pass of the 2007 season and tied for the longest TD catch of the season...His 4 TD catches in 2007 ranked as the 4th-most by a Vikings rookie...Teamed with RB Adrian Peterson to catch 2 of the 4 longest passes by NFL rookies in 2007...Helped Vikings notch 5 pass plays of 60+ yards in 2007, taking part in 2 of the plays- 1 as the passer and 1 as the receiver...Selected with the 44th overall choice, obtained after trading from #41 to #44 with Atlanta and acquiring an extra 4th-round pick in 2007...Joined fellow Vikings draftee Adrian Peterson as rookies who entered the NFL draft early...Was the 7th WR drafted and the 1st WR taken in the 2nd round...Joined the impressive total of 41 players from the SEC who were drafted in 2007, the most of any conference in college football...Teammates at USC with Vikings 2008 draft pick Jasper Brinkley.

2009
Burst onto scene League-wide, ranking 4th in the NFL with 1,312 yards...Earned Pro Bowl honors...Set career high with 201 yards receiving vs. Detroit (11/15), the 4th-most in Vikings history...His 201-yard day ranked as the 3rd-highest receiving total in the NFL in 2009...Tied NFL record with 3 receiving TDs in a playoff game in Divisional Round game vs. Dallas (1/17/10) and set team playoff record for receiving TDs and total TDs in a playoff game...Teamed with Adrian Peterson to amass 3,131 yards from scrimmage in 2009, the 2nd-most in team history behind Robert Smith and Randy Moss’ 3,311 yards in 2000...Became only the 4th WR in Vikings history to post 1,300+ yards receiving in a season, joining Cris Carter, Jake Reed and Moss...Hauled in passes of 63 and 58 yards vs. Baltimore (10/18), tied for the 2nd-most 50+ yard catches in a game behind Moss’ 3 catches of 50+ at Dallas (11/26/98)...Had 4 catches of 50+ yards during the season, including season-long 63 yarder vs. Baltimore (10/18)...Did not have a 100-yard game entering 2009, but notched 5 games over the century mark, including playoffs, during the season......Made spectacular TD catch on 4th down and goal at Chicago (12/28) with :16 remaining in the game to tie the game 30-30 and force overtime.

2008
Snared 4 TD catches in his 15 receptions during the season...Had 12 of his 15 catches on the season go for 1st downs on 3rd or 4th down...Had season-high 3 catches at Jacksonville (11/23)...Started 3 games and played in 13 during regular season...Played in 1st career playoff action in Wild Card game vs. Philadelphia (1/4/09)...Caught 2 TDs each from starting QBs Gus Frerotte and Tarvaris Jackson...Missed 3 games while battling knee injury in early season...Hauled in season-long pass, a 23-yard TD, at Green Bay (9/8) in season opener on Monday Night Football...Opened the scoring in a 28-27 win vs. Green Bay (11/9) on a 3-yard pass from Frerotte.

2007
Had impressive rookie season, ranking tied for 1st in the NFC and 2nd in the NFL among rookies with 4 TD catches...Led Vikings with 4 TD receptions and ranked 2nd on team in yards...Threw the longest pass of the Vikings season, a 79-yarder to TE Visanthe Shiancoe on a reverse pass, setting a team record as the longest pass by a non-QB in franchise history...Completed 2 passes in the Oakland game for 94 yards, hitting Troy Williamson later in the game for 15 yards...Tied for the longest TD catch by a Viking on the season with a 60-yarder at NY Giants (11/25) on the 2nd play of the game en route to a 41-17 upset win over the eventual Super Bowl XLII champs...Caught 2 of the 4 longest TD passes by the Vikings for the season...Started the season opener vs. Atlanta (9/9), only the 5th rookie WR to start the opener in team history...Had season-high 6 catches vs. Green Bay (9/30) and scored 1st career TD on a 15-yard pass from Kelly Holcomb...Caught 4th TD of the season on a 2-yard pass from Tarvaris Jackson vs. Detroit (12/2), a game where rookie draftees Adrian Peterson, Aundrae Allison and Rice all scored TDs.

COLLEGE
Was a 1st-Team All-SEC honoree as a sophomore...Recognized as a 3rd-Team All-America as a freshman and sophomore...Set school record with 23 career TD catches, breaking the mark of 19 held by Robert Brooks and Jermale Kelly...Set a USC record as the only player to break the 1,000-yard receiving mark in 2 seasons...Left with 2 of the 3 highest single-season reception marks at the school with 72 and 70, trailing Sterling Sharpe’s 74...Started 23 of his 24 career games...Broke the 100-yard receiving mark 11 times...Caught a pass in all 24 career games...Named 2006 Liberty Bowl Offensive MVP in his final college game against Houston...Played in 2005 Independence Bowl against Missouri and caught career-high 12 passes...Granted medical redshirt in 2004.

Standout at Gaffney (SC) High was tabbed as South Carolina Offensive Player of the Year as a senior by High School Sports Report...Top WR prospect in the state caught 25 prep TDs...Helped lead Gaffney to Class 4A state title on the hardwood with a 28-0 record and was named the Player of the Year in Class 4A hoops.

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