ExtremeRavens Posted January 31 Posted January 31 Former Ravens running back Ray Rice has been named the junior varsity football coach at Milford Mill, the Baltimore County school announced Friday on social media. Rice, 38, was a second-round draft pick by the Ravens in 2008. He played all six of his professional seasons in Baltimore, winning Super Bowl 47 and earning three Pro Bowl selections. But he was suspended and later released after video surfaced of him punching his then-fiancée Janay Palmer in an elevator at an Atlantic City casino on Feb. 15, 2014. While Rice fought his suspension and was reinstated, he never played in the NFL again. Rice has been a coach for the Pikesville Wildcats youth football program, where his son, Jaylen, played on his teams. Many of Pikesville’s players have gone on to Milford Mill when they reach high school, helping the JV program go undefeated for several seasons. Under coach Reggie White, the varsity program has become a regional power, winning a Class 2A state title in 2022 and reaching the state semifinals each of the past two seasons. “He’s a public school-raised kid who went to a public school and that’s what he wants to do — give back to a public school,” said White, who added that Rice came to a few of the Millers’ games this past season. “It’s just about the time, effort and energy and he wants to put it into public school. It just happened that Milford was the right choice for him. JV coach [Daymon] Royster retired this year and sometimes time is on your side.” When asked if he has any concerns about Rice’s past, White said: “Not one.” Crystal Jefferson, whose son Jacob played on Rice’s Pikesville team, believes the former running back will be “great” at high school coaching. “When he talks to the kids, he talks about discipline and how having discipline in football will translate to discipline in life,” she said. “They trust him. He makes a point to have a personal relationship with every single kid. They know he has their back and they want to go out and make him proud.” Karl Merton Ferron / Baltimore SunFormer Ravens running back Ray Rice talks with defensive back Anthony Levine Sr. before a 2018 game at M&T Bank Stadium. (Karl Merton Ferron/Staff) Over the years, Rice has been involved with domestic violence awareness groups, including the Childhood Domestic Violence Association and A Call to Men. In 2019, Rice launched Pipeline 2 Prosperity, a nonprofit organization helping underprivileged kids in Baltimore and his hometown of New Rochelle, New York, providing them with toys, sports equipment, peer-to-peer mentoring and other needs. Rice was welcomed back to Baltimore by the Ravens in 2023, when he was named the “Legend of the Game” before the team’s 59-17 win against the Miami Dolphins. The former Rutgers star has also spoken to several NFL and college teams and talks to Ravens rookies at the team’s annual educational seminar. He was honored on the field at M&T Bank Stadium in 2022, along with former teammates, as part of the Ravens’ 10th anniversary celebration of their last Super Bowl title. Rice and Palmer have been married for 10 years and have two kids together, Rayven, 11, and Jaylen, 7, and recently moved back to the Baltimore area full-time, the Ravens said in a story published on the team’s website in 2023. “I truly understand why I was let go and why so many hearts changed,” Rice told the team’s website. “But hopefully people can see where I’m at now. “They say people can change, right? I am not the same person I was 10-12 years ago. That’s just not who I am. Every time I stepped on the field, I gave it my all. But I couldn’t say the same for life. Now I’m trying to be the best version of me.” Baltimore Sun reporter Glenn Graham contributed to this article. Have a news tip? Contact Timothy Dashiell at tdashiell@baltsun.com and x.com/dashielltimothy. View the full article Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.