March 29, 2006

University of South Carolina wide receiver Sidney Rice has been named to the NationalChamps.net 2006 pre-season second team All-America squad.

Rice, a sophomore from Gaffney, S.C., caught 70 passes for 1,143 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2005 as a redshirt freshman for the Gamecocks. He was a consensus first-team All-SEC selection after ranking first in the league and fifth in the country with 103.9 receiver yards per game. He set the Carolina single-season records for receiving yards and touchdown catches, and caught a touchdown pass in a school-record eight-straight games. He culminated his season with a 12-catch, 191-yard receiving day against Missouri in the Independence Bowl.

Rice is the only sophomore on either the first or second team, according to NationalChamps.net. Junior Calvin Johnson from Georgia Tech joined Rice on the second team at wide receiver, while the first team wide receiver selections were senior Jeff Samardziga from Notre Dame and junior Dwayne Jarrett from Southern California.