With Options Limited, Tony Rice Goes CFL Route

Once-unstoppable college quarterbacks continue to run the option, taking the northbound highways away from the NFL and the United States.

First Major Harris, now Tony Rice. The Canadian Football League is the alternative. The difference is, Harris could sign with the Raiders, the team that picked him in the 12th round Monday, whereas Rice was not drafted.

Despite finishing fourth in the 1989 Heisman Trophy balloting, leading his team to a national title and a 31-4 record in three seasons as a Notre Dame starter, Rice was passed over. Twenty quarterbacks were chosen during two days and 12 rounds of the NFL draft. Gene Benhart of Western Illinois was. Tony Rice was not.

“I just wanted to get drafted,” he said Tuesday from South Bend, Ind. “But I didn’t.”

So Rice will probably go to the CFL, the same league that is drawing West Virginia’s Harris, another former Heisman candidate. Toronto and Saskatchewan are the most likely destinations, Rice said.

“Surprised,” he said when asked about the draft. “Then disappointed. But that’s over. (The emotion) won’t stay, and it’s gone now. I have to enjoy life.

“This will be starting back over again. High school, then college, now the CFL. I’m not going to prove anything to anybody, just to play my game.”

Rice was worked out by NFL teams on campus, played in the Hula Bowl and East-West Shrine game and attended the Indianapolis scouting combine. Some teams asked Notre Dame coaches if he could play another position, such as defensive back or wide receiver.

But Rice was not taken at any position.

The concerns of NFL personnel were obvious: Rice threw 220 passes in his Notre Dame career, and had nine touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Last season, he had two touchdowns and nine interceptions, but had his greatest success as a runner, averaging better than five yards a carry. Such numbers led to doubts among NFL scouts.

Rice, also regarded as a liability because of his relatively slight 6-foot-1 frame, is not sure what to believe went wrong. He does not seem particularly worried, either.

“Could be,” he said when asked if the perceived lack of passing prowess hurt him.

His travel plans are more definite. Canada has some nice offerings. A job, for instance.