Preston Rice watches as the quarterback lobs a pass during his time as Limestone University’s quarterback coach and pass game coordinator. Submitted photo

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.”

In the two football seasons prior to Limestone’s school closure announcement this past spring, the Saints posted consecutive eight-win seasons with a dynamic offense that featured two-time South Atlantic Conference Offensive Player of the Year Dustin Noller. As a two-time Don Hansen NCAA Division II Honorable Mention All-American, Noller quarterbacked the Saints to conference-leading team marks in total offense and passing offense each season. During Noller’s two seasons under center with Rice’s guidance, Limestone’s high-powered offense generated an average of 442 yards of total offense and averaged nearly 300 passing yards an outing while scoring an average of 32 points per game and totaling 32 passing touchdowns each season.

While at Limestone, Rice also assisted in the development of all-conference wide receiver Jelani Baker, who became the first player in school history to be drafted by a professional football team as a seventh-round selection of the United Football League’s St. Louis Battlehawks in 2024.

Following a stellar high school career playing for his father and 35-year prep coaching veteran, Rick Rice, at Wayne County High School in Waynesboro, Tenn., the standout signal-caller spent the 2017 season as a redshirt freshman at Murray State after earning 2016 Tennessee Titans Mr. Football Division I Class 1A Back honors. As a two-time finalist for the prestigious award, Rice completed his high school career for the WCHS Wildcats throwing for over 6,000 passing yards with 93 touchdown passes and adding more than 2,000 rushing yards with 48 scoring runs for a total of 141 touchdowns.

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 (274.8 yards per game), third in passing offense (244.3 yards per game) and sixth in passing efficiency (128.6), Rice completed 63.7% of his passes on 281-of-441 accuracy through the air 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 (184.9 yards per game), pass efficiency (125.1) and total offense (215.3 yards per game) 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.

As Rice’s playing career came to a close with limited backup duty during the 2022 football season as a graduate transfer at Middle Tennessee, his coaching aspirations began to take flight by assisting the Blue Raider coaching staff with game plan meetings while also advising fellow MTSU quarterbacks during film sessions and throughout the season on game days. Rice was able to gain valuable hands-on coaching and scouting experience under the guidance of former MTSU head coach and current Florida State director of scouting (offense) Rick Stockstill, as the 2022 Blue Raiders capped an 8-5 season with a Hawaii Bowl postseason victory.

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.