Lord Botetourt running back Hunter Rice has ended his recruitment on Sunday night, giving a pledge to the Army Black Knights.
The 6-foot-tall, 220-pound athlete out of Daleville chose Army over Liberty, Navy, Coastal Carolina and VMI. The University of Virginia out of the ACC also offered him following his freshman season.
Rice re-grouped from a fractured ankle that caused him to miss more than a month of the season to rush for 1751 yards and 18 touchdowns as a junior on his way to 1st Team All-State honors for a Cavaliers team that went 14-1 overall, falling to Hopewell in the Class 3 State Championship game.
His stellar play was a major reason why they won their second straight Region 3D crown, ousting the previous State Champ in Heritage of Lynchburg from the State Semis. In fact, in a pair of State Playoff games last year, he rushed for 369 yards and a touchdown on 68 carries.
"He is a quiet kid and works really hard. Hunter's probably more interested in what's for dinner or lunch or breakfast more than anything. But, he likes to eat on the field, too," commented Lord Botetourt Head Football Coach Jamie Harless of Rice following a freshman debut that saw him rack up 1879 yards and 23 rushing touchdowns on 310 carries.
"When, the whistle blows for kickoff, the light switches on, man. He is an extremely intense kid on the field. He doesn't say a whole lot. His is more by action than anything.”
As a sophomore, Rice rushed for 2323 yards and 33 touchdowns in 14 games. Defensively, he was a presence also from his linebacker spot in recording 90 tackles (38 assisted), 31 stops for loss and 19 sacks. That earned him 2nd Team All-State honors on defense to go with being a 1st Team All-State running back who was chosen both the River Ridge District Player of the Year and Region 3D Player of the Year.
It's a special group from the Class of 2021 for Harless as Rice becomes the fifth prospect to give a verbal pledge to an FBS or FCS program. He joins DE Xavier Stephens (Lehigh) along with a trio of Appalachian State commits in OT Colston Powers, OL Troy Everett and DB Kyle Arnholt.
