He takes the comparison to Russell Wilson in stride, like it's something he's heard all his life. But not because of his height, his build or his speed, several things that may pop into minds.

But his hair.

"I hear it all the time because of the hair cut," said Blake Rice, a rising redshirt freshman quarterback on the Elon football team. "Coach (Jason) Swep(son) always refers me to him."

Swepson coached running backs at North Carolina State University during the three seasons Wilson was leading the Wolfpack to a 20-18 record, including a bowl victory over No. 22 West Virginia University Dec. 28, 2010. Wilson was just drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft after using his final year of eligibility to great success at the University of Wisconsin.

When Rice was coming out of Robinson High School in Tampa Fla., he was actively recruited by the Wolfpack as a Russell Wilson-type quarterback. Wilson and Rice are very similar builds. Wilson is currently 5'11" and 204 lbs., while Rice is 5'10" and 180 lbs.

"When I was at NC State recruiting Blake, that was what I was thinking when we were recruiting him," Swepson said. "But at that level, it’s tough to keep taking chances on those types of quarterbacks, especially when you’re trying to run a pro-style system, which NC State is doing. When in the spread offense, which we’re doing here at Elon, you can take chances on those kids. Blake was one of the first scholarship offers that I gave when I got the job (at Elon) because I knew what he could do. I’d been recruiting the kid for two years in high school and I knew he was that Russell Wilson-type."

Rice redshirted and played on the scout team last year for the Phoenix,sitting behind then-junior Thomas Wilson, then-redshirt freshman Mike Quinn and transfer redshirt-freshman Tyler Smith.

This spring, with Wilson taking his final snaps in uniform for the Phoenix, Quinn, Smith and rising sophomore Adam LaFleur were in contention for the No. 2 spot. But Smith was injured before spring practice started, leaving that backup quarterback position up-for-grabs.

"We're trying to get some competition for that No. 2 spot," Swepson said following the Spring Game April 28. "Quinny had a great spring, and I like where Blake is progressing. They're going to have three more chances in the summer time for preseason camp in scrimmages, and then we'll see who No. 2 is. I think we've got a solid group."

Swepson is also excited about the depth the Phoenix will have at the quarterback position, with incoming freshman John Loughery bringing some excitement.

On signing day, Feb. 1, Swepson said of Loughery, "To watch John develop and throw is an amazing thing. I'm very close to the family and this kid is coming in with a chip on his shoulder. Everyone's switching to a spread offense with an athletic QB, so he slipped through the cracks."

Rice's speed and agility makes him a good candidate for some creative packaging, such as the Wildcat which was popular in the National Football League a few years ago and may make a comeback with Tim Tebow and the New York Jets. But Swepson would like to see some more progress from Rice before a package is created for him, specifically in his progression through receivers on the snap.

"I don’t think we’d change our offense with him out there," the head coach said. "Where he’s at now in the development of the offense, with the pass game, right now it’s one, maybe two (receivers checked) to run. He’s not getting one-two-three to run, where with Thomas, he’s going one-two-three. You’ll hope to get Blake to that because usually three’s always open in the progression. I think in years to come, if you can go one-two-three then to run, that was Russell Wilson the day he stepped on campus. If we can get Blake to do that, then we’ll be fine."

But for now, Rice will take the Wilson comparisons in stride. Following the Spring Game, in which he completed seven of 11 passes for 42 yards and ran six times for 23 yards, he said spring practice was good for him.

"I think a lot of people worked on their technique, got a lot better and doing technique and what not," he said. "And being another year in the system taught me a lot about the system."

And about the Wilson comparisons?

"It’s all good because he’s a good player," he said. "If I’m referred as a good player, that’s good with me"