The former five-star recruit heads to Central New York
The Syracuse Orange have picked up their second offensive line transfer in as many days. North Carolina offensive lineman Zach Rice told On3 that he is committed to Syracuse. He was a consensus five-star recruit coming out of high school in 2022 and a consensus top-two tackle in the class. Rice will have two years of eligibility remaining.
The Lynchburg, Virginia native failed to crack the starting lineup at North Carolina. He only played 44 total offensive snaps in three seasons with the Tar Heels, according to Pro Football Focus. Rice has only played a maximum of 16 offensive snaps in a season, which he did last year and in his freshman season.
BREAKING: North Carolina transfer OL Zach Rice has Committed to Syracuse, he tells @on3sports
The 6’6 320 OL was ranked as a Five-Star Recruit (No. 1 OT) in the ‘22 Class per On3 Industry
2 years of eligibility remaining https://t.co/RlUbB6EMhS pic.twitter.com/VIeUbWOYLJ
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) April 30, 2025
Of note, Rice was charged in March in 2024 with with speeding, underage drinking and driving in connection to a car crash that killed a 20-year-old UNC student. Court documents say Rice was not driving the car involved in the fatal crash, but that he was driving a car 15 yards behind at over 100 miles per hour. Rice plead not guilty to his charges.
Rice joins South Carolina offensive line transfer Kam Pringle as spring transfers to join the Orange on the offensive side of the trenches. Syracuse have lost starters Savion Washington, Jakob Bradford, J’Onre Reed and David Wohlabaugh Jr. to either graduation or the transfer portal.
The transfer portal is closed, but only to players interested in entering. Programs can still gain commitments from players who entered in the spring window before the April 25 deadline.