Justin Rice: LB · Utah State · #3.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Justin Rice
Is steady in every phase without a signature trait. Played for three head coaches across six seasons and three programs. All-Mountain West in 2021 made it two straight seasons on the honors list. One game to point at: 14 tackles and 1 INT against Air Force — Week 3, 2021.
Play style
Solid in every phase without a signature dimension.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
115 tackles. 1 pass defended. 3 interceptions. 11.5 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
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| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Utah State | 124 | 61 | 11.5 | 1.5 | 1 | 3 | -- |
| 2020 | Arkansas State | 76 | 57 | 18.5 | 7.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2019 | Fresno State | 112 | 65 | 8.0 | 3.0 | 8 | 2 | -- |
| 2018 | Fresno State | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2017 | Fresno State | 9 | 6 | 2.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2016 | Fresno State | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1 |
| Career | 325 | 191 | 40.0 | 11.5 | 10 | 5 | 1 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2021 season · 13 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 26-23@ Washington State | 7 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 48-24vs North Dakota | 9 | 4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 49-45@ Air Force | 14 | 9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | Season-high 14 tackles |
| Wk 4 | L 3-27vs Boise State | 10 | 2 | 1.5 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 5 | L 20-34vs No. 13 BYU | 7 | 3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | W 28-24@ UNLV | 5 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | W 26-24vs Colorado State | 10 | 6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 51-31vs Hawai'i | 8 | 4 | 2.0 | 0.5 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | W 35-13@ New Mexico State | 7 | 5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 48-17@ San José State | 8 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | L 17-44vs Wyoming | 10 | 5 | 1.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 35-10@ New Mexico | 10 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | W 46-13@ No. 19 San Diego State | 10 | 6 | 1.5 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 115 | 57 | 11.5 | 1.5 | 3 | 1 |
Week 2 · 2021
W 48-24
vs North Dakota
2 interceptions · 1 tackle for loss · 9 tackles
Dominant 24-point win at home against North Dakota.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
124tackles this seasonTFL rate
9%12 TFLSack rate
1%2 sacksPD rate
1%1 pass breakups124 tackles · 11.5 for loss · 1.5 sacks · 3 interceptions.
Splits · Per-game
2021 season · 13 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 9.0 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| Road7g | 8.7 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 8.7 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+7g | 9.0 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Blake Anderson
Pass share
47.6%
503 pass / 554 run
Plays / game
81.3
13 games
Team sack rate
6.0%
537 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced, fast tempo.
Player standing · 2021
Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #21 at the position.
How it ended
Six seasons, at Fresno State, Arkansas State and Utah State, 325 tackles, a first-team All-Conference season (2020) — the college career is complete.
A stat line in 46 games over six seasons.
The role got bigger.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST · 2ND TEAM
All-Mountain West 2nd team (2021)
Weekly recognition
2 weekly honors (2021)
3 career weekly honors across 2 seasons
Coaching lineage · 2016–2021
4 coachesPlayed for 4 head coaches at 3 schools: Tim DeRuyter, Eric Kiesau, Jeff Tedford and Blake Anderson.
