Michigan State football: Unsung hero emerges in Charles Brantley’s return

An unsung hero has emerged in the return of Charles Brantley to Michigan State football. Who is Lionel Rice?

The last day of the transfer portal was a whirlwind for Michigan State football fans.

Three well-known players all entering the portal on the same day felt like a lot to process. And 247Sports went on to say Michigan State and Mel Tucker were having a “mass exodus.” After Payton Thorne and Keon Coleman entered their names, it was Charles Brantley who followed soon after.

Brantley has shown some flashes in his time at Michigan State. Most notably his game-sealing interception against Michigan in 2021. The hope for this season was that Brantley would be able to bring some experience to an otherwise young secondary.

When Brantley entered his name into the transfer portal, he quickly received interest from other schools like Oklahoma and Colorado. His name didn’t last. On May 2, he tweeted out “loyalty out values everything.” Soon after, we got news that he was withdrawing his name and returning to Michigan State. The “mass exodus” turned into a minor exodus.

So what changed?

In his own words, Brantley credits Lionel Rice, one of Michigan State’s athletic trainers.

One of the reasons I’m still in place is right here @LRice77 ??? pic.twitter.com/3xvaJyzqeK

— cinco5™️?‍? (@cbrantley22) May 2, 2023

Brantley’s tweet was quote tweeted with agreement from one of Michigan State’s favorite moms, Momma Hall (Mother of freshman linebacker Jordan Hall).

So who is Rice? Per the Michigan State staff directory: Rice arrived at MSU in July 2021 after working two years as a senior assistant athletic trainer at UT-San Antonio from 2019-21. He also has experience working in the NFL as a seasonal athletic trainer with the Jacksonville Jaguars (2018-19) and the Minnesota Vikings (2016-17).

Rice was the primary football athletic trainer at Bethune-Cookman in 2017-18 while also working with the track and field program. He earned his master’s degree in athletic training while serving as a graduate assistant at California University of Pennsylvania (2015-16).

During his four years as an undergraduate at King’s College, Rice was an offensive guard on the football team and was also a student athletic trainer while getting his bachelor’s degree in athletic training.

Rice has clearly made an impact already in his time at Michigan State. To be credited in part as one of the reasons why the program is able to keep Brantley shows his value. Once a players name hits the portal and the start receiving offers and calls from other schools, it’s rare for them to return to their former programs. Getting Brantley, a CB to walk away from an opportunity to play under one of the greatest cornerbacks of all time in Deion Sanders is no small task.

Mel Tucker has caught some heat the offseason after losing key staff member such as BT Jordan and Marco Coleman. However, Rice is an example of why it’s important to find the right guys at every spot. Mel deserves credit for bringing in a guy like Rice that’s capable of making this type of impact so quickly.