How Chiefs’ Rashee Rice got so good, so fast — and the 3 letters that inspire him

Rob Likens wasn’t sure his suggestion had gotten through, but he was sure hoping it had.

This was last Saturday at the start of the Chiefs-Dolphins playoff game, and while watching it on a television in his Dallas home, the SMU receivers coach suddenly perked up.

He saw the Chiefs receivers run onto his screen for the game’s first possession with a kickoff temperature of minus-4 and a wind chill of 27 below zero at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. KC’s Rashee Rice — along with many of his other receiver teammates — sprinted onto the field without sleeves on.

Likens smiled at the sight, turning toward his wife, Soni.

“Kansas City,” he told her, “is about to whip their (butt).”

His words were prophetic. The Chiefs dominated the Dolphins, 26-7, with the offense out-toughing a less physical defensive front.

And though he didn’t know it at the time, Likens was about to play a part in the Chiefs’ victory, too.

With a three-letter abbreviation — tattooed on his right bicep — serving as the motivational source.

The rapid rise of receiver Rashee Rice

Rashee Rice’s eight-catch, 130-yard effort against the Miami Dolphins in last weekend’s win did more than break a 53-year-old Chiefs rookie record.

It also added to the national intrigue surrounding the Chiefs’ 2023 second-round draft pick:

How did he get this good, this fast?

The answer, it turns out, can be traced back to his college days at SMU ... and also spun ahead to this season.

The rookie who threw up during his first training camp practice? He’s now logged more than 80% of the Chiefs’ offensive snaps over his past five games.

And the guy Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said was “drinking through a fire hydrant” while trying to learn the team’s offense in July? He’s currently playing multiple wideout positions to increase his impact.

“Now,” Nagy said of Rice on Thursday, “he can let his natural ability take over.”

Getting there for Rice hasn’t been as simple as it might seem.

That took faith in an outsider. Unnatural trust in those around him. Belief in a mantra that remains unwavering.

And also the receiver exhibiting a consistent trait that coaches and teammates say is not just unique among receivers, but NFL players in general, as well.

‘Coach me like I’m a first-round draft pick’

SMU had just hired Likens in December 2021, and his first interactions with receiver Rashee Rice had not gone well.

The two butted heads. Likens is a stickler for the details, and a yeller when they don’t get accomplished. Rice, meanwhile, wasn’t used to the new coaching style.

Things changed, however, a short time after. During a meeting in his office, Likens asked Rice a simple question ahead of his senior season: “What do you want from me?”

“I want you to coach me,” Likens remembers Rice saying, “like I’m a first-round draft pick.”

Likens nodded his head, then extended his hand to shake on it.

“He never flinched after that,” Likens said.

From that point on, when Likens got onto Rice, he didn’t say a word in response. And over the next few months, Likens realized something uncanny about Rice compared to other guys he had coached.

“He just immediately picks stuff up,” Likens said, “and the understanding of ‘why’ along with it.”

In his 30 years of coaching — which includes instructing NFL first-round receivers like Brandon Aiyuk and N’Keal Harry — Likens had come to expect certain patterns. Once you present a new concept in the meeting room, for instance, it usually takes a few sessions on the practice field before players master that skill.

Rice was different, though. He was a “one-time guy,” meaning teaching him a new release on Tuesday morning meant he displayed it later that afternoon in drills.

Likens quickly discovered that Rice was among the smartest players he’d ever coached.

“He’s got a great natural feel for football,” Likens said. “There’s guys out there playing football, and then there’s football players. And he’s a football player, almost like he was born to play football.”

Rice worked hard at it, too — while also developing a deeper interest in the game. Likens and Rice began a weekly tradition of watching film in the coach’s office to go over aspects in which the receiver could improve.

Rice was taking in information at other times as well. Likens — tasked with coaching both inside and outside receivers — said he would address each group separately during meetings to review specific teaching points.

That’s why one day, when addressing the inside guys, Likens was taken aback when Rice raised his hand.

“Coach, there’s something you forgot to tell them,” he said of his teammates.

Rice, an outside receiver, reminded Likens about a coaching point on routes he’d failed to bring up that day.

“Not only is he learning what he’s supposed to do, he’s learning what everybody else is supposed to do, and why we’re doing it,” Likens said. “Like, he gets that big-picture type thing.”

Later, over the course of Rice’s record-setting season, SMU leaned on Rice more than most.

There were times during games when he would come to the sideline and tell Likens what he saw on the field. It wasn’t what Likens was accustomed to — a receiver telling him he needed the ball — but instead Rice telling him about the defense, and that a specific passing concept should be open.

The Mustangs used that information. Likens relayed Rice’s message to coach Rhett Lashlee — the team’s play-caller — who then would follow the star receiver’s advice.

Through all this, Rice was in the midst of a standout season. He led the Football Bowl Subdivision in receiving yards per game (112.9) while also setting a school record in total receiving yards (1,355).

Likens said it wouldn’t have happened if not for Rice’s resolve. The receiver suffered a toe injury midway through the year, and he wouldn’t have blamed Rice if he shut his season down to ready himself for the NFL Draft.

Rice had different plans. “How can we make this work?” he asked his coaches. He wouldn’t give up on the season — or his teammates.

“That’s when I knew, like, ‘OK, this guy has an easy way out,’” Likens said, “and he did not take the easy way out.”

Likens is convinced the decision cost Rice the chance to be a first-round pick. Rice’s testing wasn’t as impressive after the injury, and Likens remembers talking to pro scouts — including the Chiefs — ahead of the draft about Rice’s potential.

“If you’ll trust me,” Likens remembers saying, “you’re going to be glad that he’s on your football team.”

The Chiefs took Rice with the 55th overall pick during last April’s draft in Kansas City.

And since then, they’ve learned — for themselves — exactly what Likens was talking about.

Thriving in Andy Reid’s Chiefs offense

Nagy says he began to see things turn for Rice around the Chiefs’ Week 9 game against Miami in Frankfurt, Germany.

Up to that point, KC’s coaches were most worried about getting Rice to line up correctly and run plays the right way.

Nagy says Rice is “way past that now.” The rookie — thriving in a coach Andy Reid offense that doesn’t typically have first-year standouts at receiver — now gets to the line of scrimmage quickly and surveys how defenses are playing him.

The Chiefs’ coaching staff also started to see the mental mistakes vanish around that point. The Monday morning film sessions, in other words, showed Rice playing cleaner football.

“As a coach, when you have guys that don’t make the same mistake twice, you love that,” Nagy said. “And that’s what he’s done.”

That’s taken persistence — and also some help.

Nagy says some players deserve an assist with Rice’s development: the guys in the Chiefs’ proverbial receivers room. They’ve been able to help Rice because he’s always asking questions.

And also because Rice is willing to listen — while understanding he doesn’t know it all.

Chiefs receiver Justin Watson has seen this often. He said the team will talk about a concept in the meeting room; then, at walk-through later that day, Rice will pull him or quarterback Patrick Mahomes to the side.

“Hey, what did you mean by this route? Can you explain that to me again?”

“So he’s always willing to learn,” Watson said. “There’s definitely humility with that, and then there’s a confidence, too.”

With that knowledge, Watson has seen Rice embrace his growing role without fear. He attacks the football and is violent with his runs after the catch. He also has learned the offense without getting bogged down by details that might slow his playing speed.

“I think he has the mental attitude to go out there and get better and better every single week,” Mahomes said. “Obviously, we need him to be great right now, but I think he’ll continue to get even better after the season and into the rest of his career, because that’s the type of attitude that he has.”

Reid has been impressed by Rice’s selfless thoughts, as well. He shared that earlier in November when complimenting Rice for becoming more “Patrick-friendly.” He reiterated that message Wednesday, saying the receiver was open to feedback.

“He wants to be great, and he’s willing to work at it,” Reid said. “He’s willing to listen, which a lot of guys turn the veterans off, but he wants to absorb all of that and take it in.”

Through all that, Rice has become Mahomes’ most reliable weapon of late. He has three 100-yard receiving games in his last seven contests, averaging 93 yards per contest over that time.

The last one, though, was his best outing. Rice had a career-high 130 receiving yards against Miami in the playoffs, in the coldest conditions he’d ever played in.

Likens — a few hundred miles away from GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium — couldn’t help but be proud.

Especially because Rice had come through on his promise.

Words to live by, immortalized in ink

Rob Likens had carried the slogan with him from Central Connecticut State to Louisiana Tech, but it had never resonated like this.

Early on, he explained one of his favorite messages to his SMU receivers: “DBS.” The three letters stood for a phrase: “Don’t be soft.”

The SMU receivers thought it was funny at first, but they soon adopted the code words. Whenever a wideout made an excuse in a position meeting, or complained about something difficult, he likely knew what was coming next.

“Come on, man,” a teammate would say. “DBS.”

Likens re-emphasized the point even further before one practice.

He was joking with his guys when he talked about how they should get the letters tattooed on their bodies. That way, the reminder would stick with them every day — something that goes well beyond football.

“Anything that you want to do in this world, man. ... You’ve got to be tough in this world,” Likens said. “You’re gonna get rejected. People are going to tell you you’re not good enough. And you’re gonna have to fight that, and you’re gonna have to be mentally tough and you can’t be soft.”

A few days later, Rice stopped Likens during a meeting and raised his hand. And then he showed off his new tattoo — one he’d gotten along with a teammate.

“DBS.” On his right hand, just below the pinky.

The words had made a permanent imprint on the SMU receiver.

Likens said he knew what had to happen next.

The following week, he joined his SMU receivers at the tattoo parlor. There, on his right bicep, he had the three letters pressed into his skin.

Others joined in, too. Two more players put the tagline on their legs, while another positioned it across his chest.

That history meant that Likens knew exactly what to say ahead of Rice’s first playoff game last week.

The weather was going to be cold. Really cold. And honestly, Likens didn’t know how Rice would handle those conditions, given the fact that he had never encountered them before.

So he shot Rice a text message, meant not only to encourage, but also to inspire.

“Don’t forget why you got that tattoo,” Likens wrote, “and what it means.”

Rice’s response? A text message first.

Then, a 130-yard game after.

“Coach,” he said, “I’m going to show you what real DBS looks like.”