NATCHEZ — Khalil Brice hadn’t thought too much about a catch he made nearly a year ago until head coach Ron Rushing made it a class study recently.

The Cathedral High School wide receiver competed in a National Underclassmen (NUC) combine in Dallas last summer with two teammates, and one of Brice’s catches received some major accolades.

Rushing said NUC put on a total of 90 combines in 2011, and the organization picked the top 25 plays from all of those combines. Brice’s catch was in the top five of the plays selected.

“One day, he started showing (the film) in a class I had, and it was a little awkward for me,” Brice said. “It was shocking, because he didn’t tell me until I got there.”

Brice said the play happened during a 2-on-2 drill, and the instructors told Brice to run a post route, where a receiver runs 10 to 20 yards downfield before cutting toward the middle of the field, toward the goal posts. Brice then got behind his defender and made a spectacular one-handed catch while diving to reach for the ball.

“It’s my favorite route to run, and there was a smaller corner on me,” Brice said. “I just made a good catch.”

Brice competed in the combine with teammates Daniel Huffines and MacArthur Doss, both of whom graduate in May. Brice, currently a junior, said he plans to compete in another NUC combine April 28 in Dallas.

“This one I’ll be going to is a 5-star combine, where they’re just seeing who has the talent to possibly play in college,” Brice said.

“Hopefully I’ll get noticed by some colleges and put myself out there as an elite player. I just have to get out there and grind.”

Brice said he has no idea what position he would play in college — and he’s not quite sure which position he’ll be playing in the fall, either. Brice said Rushing pitched the idea to him about playing quarterback for the Green Wave, something Brice said would be new for him.

“I’ve never played quarterback in organized football,” Brice said. “I know it’s going to be a challenge. Literally every day I look at video of (Carolina Panthers quarterback) Cam Newton. I think I want to be like him, because he’s probably the best mobile quarterback in the league.”

Brice said teammate Thomas Garrity, who was Cathedral’s backup behind Caleb Upton last fall, could potentially line up at wide receiver if Brice gets the nod as the starter.

“He’ll probably play quarterback, too, but I’d love to have him at receiver,” Brice said. “He works really hard, and he just has a positive motor to him.”

A video of the top 25 NUC plays from 2011 can be viewed at the following Web address: bit.ly/sCvJ4z.