Syracuse football coaches have done an excellent job of late bolstering their offensive line for the 2025 season.
Amid the spring transfer portal window that closed a few days ago, the Orange staff has secured at least three transfer offensive linemen over the last two weeks, and the 'Cuse also landed a transfer offensive lineman late last year during the winter transfer portal window.
On Wednesday, in a big-time recruiting win for the Orange, word broke that North Carolina transfer offensive lineman Zach Rice, who had been visiting Syracuse football, has committed to head coach Fran Brown and his top-flight staff.
A huge congrats and welcome from 'Cuse Nation to Zach!
The 6-foot-5, 305-pound Rice, who is from Lynchburg, Va., was a redshirt sophomore with the Tar Heels during the 2024 campaign. He is expected to have two terms of collegiate eligibility left.
Syracuse football is beefing up its offensive line.
As the Orange held its annual spring game last month, some of the chatter was that the team's offensive line needs some work looking ahead to the 2025 season, when Syracuse football will face a tough, tough schedule.
The 'Cuse offensive line, unsurprisingly, is getting a makeover from a stanza ago, fueled by players exhausting their eligibility, transferring out, and pledging to Syracuse football as college transfers and high school signees.
From the transfer portal, the Orange staff has scored commitments from offensive linemen including Rice, three-star Kam Pringle from South Carolina, three-star Austin Collins from Louisville and three-star Naquil Betrand from Alabama. Betrand committed to the 'Cuse during the winter transfer portal window.
Rice is a three-star transfer prospect, according to 247Sports, On3 and Rivals.com. However, as a member of the 2022 prep class, the industry-generated 247Sports Composite placed him as five stars, No. 13 overall, No. 1 at offensive tackle and No. 1 in Virginia.
Per his bio on the North Carolina athletics department Web site, he was a standout at the Liberty Christian Academy in Lynchburg. During his high school career, he was the Gatorade player of the year and the MaxPreps player of the year in Virginia, as well as a two-time, All-state selection.
Over his final two seasons of high school, Rice didn't allow a sack. In his senior year, he generated 219 pancake blocks.
Another highly rated transfer offensive lineman, four-star TJ Ferguson, also recently visited Syracuse football. The 6-foot-4, 328-pound Ferguson is a redshirt junior at fellow Atlantic Coast Conference school Florida State.