SCOOBA – Former Murray State University standout quarterback and Tennessee native Preston Rice has been named as an assistant football coach on head coach Buddy Stephens’ East Mississippi Community College staff. Stephens made the announcement this week.
“We are thrilled to welcome Preston to our outstanding coaching staff. He comes from a family rooted in coaching and has grown up around the game,” Stephens said. “Preston brings a passion for the game and a deep understanding of quarterback play that looks to bring fresh ideas and energy to our offense.”
Rice, who spent five seasons at Murray State as the Racers’ three-year starting quarterback and two-time season team captain before spending the 2022 football season as a graduate transfer at Middle Tennessee State University, comes to the Scooba campus from South Carolina-based Limestone University. Rice spent the 2023 football season as a graduate assistant working with the Saints’ quarterbacks and wide receivers under the guidance of former Limestone head coach Mike Furrey, currently South Carolina’s passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach. Rice was then elevated to become the Saints’ quarterback coach, pass game coordinator and recruiting coordinator for the 2024 season under the guidance of Furrey’s Limestone coaching successor, Jerricho Cotchery, a former 12-year NFL veteran wide receiver and assistant wide receivers coach for the Carolina Panthers.
“I’m honored to join the EMCC football staff under the leadership of Coach Stephens, who has shaped the game at the national level and continues to build his legacy here at East Mississippi,” Rice said. “This is an incredible opportunity for me to contribute to a championship program and assist in the development of our student-athletes for the next level.”
After seeing limited action as a redshirt freshman at Murray State, Rice broke out during his sophomore campaign as a 12-game starter for the Racers in 2019. While ranking second in the Ohio Valley Conference in total offense, third in passing offense and sixth in passing efficiency, Rice completed 63.7 percent of his passes for 2,932 passing yards and 20 touchdowns thrown.
Rice’s success continued into the COVID-delayed 2020 football season that was played the following spring. While earning second-team, all-conference honors after ranking second among OVC statistical leaders in passing offense, pass efficiency and total offense during Murray State’s seven-game season, he helped lead the 5-2 Racers to an in-season No. 13 national ranking on the way to advancing to the OVC championship game with the team’s best conference finish since 2004. During Rice’s final season at Murray as a preseason All-OVC selection, the 2021 Racers went 6-5 overall to record their first back-to-back winning seasons since 2010 and 2011.
Rice received his bachelor’s degree from Murray State with a major in public relations and a minor in business administration. While at Murray State, he was a member of the university’s diversity and inclusion team along with having been selected to the OVC Commissioner’s Honor Roll. Rice has also jointly completed 21 credit hours of master’s degree work between Murray and MTSU within the leadership field of study.
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