​freshman year

Early on, Rice proved himself to be a gifted runner, often cutting back and forth on the long dirt road that ran in front of his house. But it wasn't until high school that Rice discovered football. As the story goes, Rice had skipped classes one day and ran into an assistant principal. After sprinting away from him, Rice was eventually reprimanded. But his quickness was soon brought to the attention of the school's football coach, who put him in pads and had him line up as a receiver.​

​collage football career

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Jerry Rice was born on October 13, 1962 in Starkville, Mississippi, to a brick mason. He was one of the eight children born to the couple.Since an early age, Young Rice and his siblings assisted their father during the scorching summers. Working as assistant brick layer helped him gain strong hands as a child.It is speculated that his first stint at football was a chance offering to survive punishment from his high school principal for cutting class. His excellent running speed caught the attention of the principal who gave him two options, either to join school’s football team or be punished.While at school, he became a star football player for his team and a belligerent threat for other opposition teams. very soon his speed and refined playing tactics caught the attention of the college scouts who offered him to enroll at the Mississippi Valley State University.From 1981 to 1984, he played football for the university. His aggressive playing technique and impressive numbers caught the attention of the pro-scouts as well. Though the exact details of his college career is not known, it is said that in his sophomore year, he caught 66 passes for 1,133 yards and 7 touchdowns

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