Ray Rice returned to Rutgers on Friday -- for the first time in two years -- a different man than he left his alma mater. The reason for his visit? To speak to the team about mistakes made and lessons learned after -- just eight months ago -- video emerged of him punching his now-wife in an Atlantic City elevator.
Rice, who has served his NFL suspension and hopes to return to football at some point, wanted to pass along a specific message to the Scarlet Knight athletes.
"I had a chance to speak to the team, to give them some real life lessons, and hopefully, help them grow," Rice told NJ Advance Media's Steve Politi.
"I just shot them straight. I'm sure if you speak to them, they'll give you a lot better explanation of what I told them, but I gave them the message to go out there and not make the mistakes that I made. If I can help them understand, then I've made an impact. It costs no money to give them a good message like that."
Rice was invited to speak to the team by coach Kyle Food, who thought it was important that his players hear from a Rutgers star who made a seriou and terrible turn in his life.
"That message is simple," Flood said. "You can do a lot of great things in your life. You can do charitable works at home or in the cities you're working in, but if you make the wrong decision, you're going to have to be accountable for that.
"And Ray made the wrong decision, and he's held himself accountable to it, and he's paid the price for it, and I thought today was an opportunity for him to deliver a message to try to prevent one of our young people doing that in the future."
Rice said it felt "like home" to return to Piscataway, New Jersey, especially considering the Rutgers staff received him with open arms.
He is also excited for the Scarlet Knights' future on the field, telling the team he enjoyed watching them in 2014 and believes they can do great things this season.
"They have a lot of talent. I've got a good feeling about this team," he said. "When I spoke to the guys, I got a feeling that something special is brewing. They've got a special group and they've got a special coach in Coach Flood."
