Michigan Football: Could Wolverines make another run at Brenden Rice?

Now that Mel Tucker left Colorado, some recruits that just signed may try to get free and Michigan football could pounce on one — Brenden Rice.

Coaching changes happen all the time in college sports, but when they do, it’s the players that often get left in the lurch. And that happens to be the case for a former target of Michigan football, Brenden Rice, who committed and signed with Colorado, only to see his head coach bolt to MSU.

At one time, Rice was a Michigan football lean and the Wolverines had 100 percent of his crystal balls. But then, things changed and Rice appeared more interested in the west, with teams like Arizona State and Colorado.

The three-star product from Arizona is 6-foot-2 and the son of NFL hall-of-fame wideout Jerry Rice. He’s ranked 410th nationally according to the 247 composite rankings and is the 67th best receiver.

Also, according to 247sports ($), he is interested in getting out of his scholarship with Colorado, which could put him back in play and with the way the Wolverines are going after wide receivers in 2021, maybe they would add another from 2020.

Who knows if Rice would still be interested in Michigan football or if he will actually leave Colorado. But if he does and if Steve Lorenz of The Michigan Insider ($) is right that the Wolverines are after bigger pass catchers in 2021, then maybe it would make sense.

Lorenz reported that the staff feels good about the smaller guys it has in Giles Jackson, Mike Sainristil and A.J. Henning and wants to add some bigger bodies, which makes sense. Cornelius Johnson is 6-foot-3 out of the 2019 class, but outside of that, Roman Wilson, a 6-foot-1 receiver is the biggest in 2019.

Obviously, the Wolverines are in a pretty good position for wide receivers for the 2020 season with Nico Collins back for his senior season. Rising sophomore Erick All, a tight end, could also potentially play wide receiver. He will certainly see time in the slot and that could be an option.

With Rice, it’s all speculation but he seemed furious on Twitter about Tucker leaving and so it feels like there is a good chance to gets out Boulder and if he does, Michigan football could make sense. But it also depends on who the Buffs hire. If it’s a guy of staff, it might be a moot point.