Photo: Jerry Rice's son Brenden Rice honors Colorado's Keith Miller III with heartwarming gesture
Keith Miller III died at the age of 22 in April. The wide receiver spent the first two seasons of his collegiate career as a member of the Colorado Buffaloes, where he did not see the field, before joining the Texas A&M Commerce Lions via the transfer portal.
Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Brenden Rice, who is the son of College and Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, was teammates with Miller for the first two years of their college careers. During that time, the two developed a close friendship which remained even after both players transferred following the 2021 season.
The younger Rice honored his late friend with a tattoo. The "Folsom Frenzy Podcast" recently shared a photo of the tattoo on X/Twitter, captioning the post:
"Much love @BrendenRice."
Check out Brenden Rice's tattoo honoring Keith Miller III below:
Miller was reportedly found dead in his apartment, however, an official cause of death has not yet been revealed. His girlfriend did, however, as per the Daily Mail, hint in a post on Instagram that his death may have been self-inflicted, sharing that he was "mentally battling something".
While he failed to receive playing time during his two years with the Buffaloes, Miller III improved in each of his two seasons with the Lions. He recorded 17 receptions for 183 yards in his first year with the program in 2022, following it up with 274 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 22 receptions in 2023.
Brenden Rice attended Keith Miller III's funeral during 2024 NFL draft
While most draft prospects are either in the green room or hosting a watch party with family and friends, that was not the case for Brenden Rice. The seventh-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft attended Keith Miller III's funeral as a pallbearer. According to NFL Insider Ian Rapoport, he also gave the obituary speech and was ready to answer the draft call during the funeral:
"#USC WR Brenden Rice boarded a flight this morning to Dallas to be a pallbearer and give the obituary speech at his best friend Keith Miller III's funeral. Miller passed away two weeks ago today. He will be answering the call whenever it comes from the funeral."
Rice is coming off of the best season of his collegiate career with the USC Trojans, recording 45 receptions for 791 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2023. He finished his four-year career with 1,821 yards and 21 touchdowns on 111 receptions.