AUBURN, Ala. – After being named the top offensive lineman in the Southeastern Conference as a junior in 1959, Ken Rice outdid himself as a senior in 1960.
Not only did he repeat as the SEC's best blocker, Rice also earned the honor as the league's best defensive lineman.
Rice, a two-time All-American and first-round draft choice by both the NFL and AFL in 1961, died Wednesday in Georgia at the age of 81.
"We just lost a good friend. He was one of the best guys you'd ever want to meet," said Dr. Lloyd Nix, who quarterbacked Auburn's 1957 national championship team before rooming with Rice for two seasons. "He could do it all. He did it at Auburn and in the pros."
After their football careers, Rice and Nix would return to their alma mater to quail hunt at Coach Pat Dye's lodge.
"You couldn't ask for a better person to know," Nix said. "He was always with you when you needed him. Good roommate, good teammate and a good friend as long we've known each other."
"On behalf of Auburn Athletics, we are saddened to hear of the passing of former two-time All-American Ken Rice," Director of Athletics Allen Greene said. "He was one of the all-time greats to wear the orange and blue and is a true Auburn legend. Our thoughts and prayers are extended to the Rice family, Ken's former teammates and friends."
Auburn honored Rice by naming an award after him. For many years, Rice returned the Plains on A-Day to present the Ken Rice Award to Auburn's best blocking lineman.Ken Rice (left) presents the Ken Rice Award to Braden Smith at the 2017 A-Day game
"Ken Rice was probably one of the best offensive linemen to ever play at Auburn," said David Housel, who served as Auburn's sports information director and athletics director.
Rice and Dye battled in the trenches when Georgia came to the Plains for the first time in 1960, the beginning of a friendship characterized by mutual respect.
"Coach Dye said, 'I played my best game here, and I had to play my best game, because I was going against the best football player I ever played against. That was Ken Rice,'" Housel recalled.
Years later, Housel shared that anecdote with Rice, an Auburn football letterman from 1958-60.
"He said, 'The toughest game I ever had to play was that 1960 Georgia game,'" Housel said. "'Pat Dye's the fastest dang player I ever saw.' Ken was always one of Coach Dye's greatest supporters."
After seven seasons of professional football, Rice founded a construction company in Big Canoe, Georgia, where he built custom homes and developed land north of Atlanta.
While a student at Auburn, Rice studied with a student tutor named Billie Ann Perrin, whom he later married. They were married for 55 years and raised two daughters, Annette (Hall) and Kathleen (Ingram). Billie Ann later taught at Georgia Tech and Georgia State before her death in 2014.
At the time of his death, Rice was Auburn's oldest living All-American. In 2010, Rice received Auburn's Walter Gilbert Award, given annually to former student-athletes who distinguish themselves through achievements after graduating from Auburn.
"If you're wanting to have a hero, he was a good one," Housel said. "He just wanted one thing: what was best for Auburn. He was a good Auburn man.
"Ken Rice, both as a player and an alumnus, is part of the foundation on which our program today was built."Ken Rice with Coach Shug Jordan
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer