Rice first became interested in football while playing pickup games with his brother in their neighborhood. His father knew that his son had the physical gifts of speed, size and strength to be a great athlete, but he insisted that Simeon understand the importance of hard work. When the time came for Simeon to attend high school, his parents sent him to Mt. Carmel, an all-boys Catholic school about an hour from where the Rice family lived. The school had a history of winning state championships. The school was so successful that the University of Notre Dame was consistently making recruiting visits.