Highlights & Evaluation: Louisville S Commit Micah Rice

Louisville Report breaks down 2025 Louisville football safety commit Micah Rice.

Cincinnati (Oh.) Archbishop Moeller safety and Louisville target Micah Rice / University of Louisville Athletics

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Another one of the Louisville football program's recent visitors is opting to become a Cardinal, as Micah Rice has given his verbal pledge to UofL.

Here is Louisville Report's full evaluation:

Prospect: Micah Rice
Position: Safety
Measurables: 6-foot-2, 185 pounds
School: Cincinnati (Oh.) Archbishop Moeller
Top Offers: Arizona, Kentucky, Michigan State, Minnesota, Stanford
247Sports Composite Rating (Nat'l Rank): 0.8704 (757th)

Micah Rice's Junior Year Highlights: HERE (Hudl)

Frame: Rice certainly has the frame that you would want from a defensive back, especially at safety. He's got the height, has an incredible wingspan, and has a well-toned build - especially in his core. That being said, he'll likely still need to add about 10-15 pounds.

 Athleticism: Rice's physical intangibles translate well to the field. He's got good open field speed (assisted greatly by his long stride), and he sports a phenomenal vertical that he's not afraid to utilize. Short area footwork is solid, though it sometimes looks a bit clunky.

Instincts: As the last bastion of defense, Rice plays his role extremely well. Not only does he have great overall chase down speed against the run and after the throw, Rice takes great pursuit angles, which allows him to get to the ballcarrier is a hurry. This is especially the case against the run, and he does a great job of playing downhill without over pursuing. In pass coverage, Rice does a good job of tracking the ball while it's in the air, and he has great timing on pass breakups. On top of all that, Rice plays incredibly physical and is a hard hitting tackler. He also does well at shedding blocks - whether that be downfield or close to the line of scrimmage - to make tackles.

Polish: Rice is very much a safety, but he's got some position versatility to him. He plays a lot of single-high safety, but also played some more traditional cover two, and sometimes on the boundary in cover three. He also saw a lot of time in the box and close to the line, whether that was in the slot or more so outside the numbers. His pass coverage before the throw could use a little bit of improvement, mainly because he needs to work on flipping his hips a little quicker. While he does a solid job of wrapping up as a tackler, especially around the legs, he can be a little inconsistent with his tackling fundamentals so he can lay the lumber a little harder.

Bottom Line: Overall, Rice is someone who has year one sleeper potential written all over him. Sure, he'll need to add some weight and shore up some fundamental aspects of his game, but his athletic intangibles and skill set make him tailor-made for the STAR position in Louisville's defense.

(Photo of Micah Rice via University of Louisville Athletics)

You can follow Louisville Report for future coverage by liking us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram:

Facebook - @LouisvilleReport
Twitter - @UofLReport
Instagram - @louisville_report

You can also follow Deputy Editor Matthew McGavic at @Matt_McGavic on Twitter