Sean Rice had never played linebacker before.

An edge rusher over his first two high school seasons, Rice moved to the second level of the St. Laurence defense in the summer before his junior year. To prepare for the change, Rice logged hours upon hours of time studying film, grinding through all sorts of game tape with his coaches and learning ways in which he could adapt to his new role.

“We’re blessed to have our practices recorded, so over the summer, I was going back home every day and watching film,” Rice said. “I was having meetings with our linebackers coach and watching film after practice so I could pick up tips and tricks on what I needed to do better. I was watching other high school, college and NFL guys and I was watching videos on what I could add to my game to get better.”

It was a year of change for Rice, who was also asked to play tight end for the first time in his varsity career. Prior to kicking off the 2025 season, St. Laurence welcomed in a new head coach, Pat Swanson. Joining Swanson was a new defensive coordinator and almost an entirely new staff of assistants. Only one position coach remained.

Rather than be deterred by change, Rice and his teammates thrived. The Vikings went 8-5 and advanced to the Class 6A semifinals, falling to national powerhouse East St. Louis. Rice, meanwhile, turned in a monster junior season, racking up a team-high 123 tackles with 10 tackles for loss, five interceptions and a pair of forced fumbles.

“We had a handful of leaders step up and that really helped,” Rice said. “We had a lot of guys in new positions who stepped up. We had guys changing positions on defense every week. For myself, it was a really great year. I could tell that I was getting better week to week. I was playing with more instincts and I got used to playing off the ball.”

It was hard to miss Rice, who hauled in a team-leading 21 tackles in St. Laurence’s semifinal loss to the Flyers. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound junior from Aurora added 143 receiving yards and two touchdowns, as well as a rushing touchdown, for the St. Laurence offense in 2025. He was one of five Vikings to earn All-CCL/ESCC honors this past fall.

“I think we found a home for him,” Swanson said. “I thought he was a senior when I first got here... We watched him develop over the first five games of the year and he made plays that guys who’ve played the position for a long time weren’t making. His natural ability to play with feel and play with speed and tenacity will only benefit him.”

Rice, who was also named to Friday Night Drive’s All-CCL/ESCC First Team, has landed on recruiting radars since his junior season ended. An unknown prospect before the season started, Rice is now a three-star recruit by 247Sports and owns a dozen Division I offers. Among them are Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas State and Wisconsin.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Rice said. “Ever since I started playing high school football, my goal has been to get Division I offers. During the winter and going into the spring, it’s been a lot of getting to know coaches since it was my first year after changing positions. There’s been a lot of getting to know coaches, getting to know their programs and what their values are and learning how they see me fitting in.”

Rice will be preparing for an even greater role as the Vikings begin to build for the 2026 season. While Rice will take on a larger leadership role defensively, he’ll remain at the linebacker position. Offensively, however, Rice is a wild card who could be moved around in different scenarios. An admirer of NFL wide receiver Julio Jones growing up, Rice began his high school career as a wide receiver before transitioning to tight end.

“We’re going to be leaning on him a lot,” Swanson said. “He’s going to step into that Cory Les role a bit... We’ve already talked about moving him around, putting him in the slot, at outside receiver or having stuff where he’s lined up in the backfield. He’s also the starter at the tight end position, so he’ll do whatever gives us the best chance to win. He could be playing 140 snaps a game, so we have to take care of him.”

St. Laurence had several student-athletes finalize pledges to play collegiate sports during the National Signing Day period last month. Enrique Diaz (UW-Oshkosh). Brian Killen (Lake Forest), Max Siwiski (Carthage) and Matthew Williams (UW-Whitewater), an All-CCL/ESCC player in 2025, will continue their football careers at the next level.

Signing to play other sports were Isaac Garcia (Illinois Wesleyan, track and field) and All-CCL/ESCC running back Cory Les (Louisville, baseball). A member of the FND All-CCL/ESCC Team, Les posted 1,404 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns during his senior season. Defensive back Mickey Lotus will play baseball at Lewis University.

Since the February signing period, offensive lineman Jahlen Williams has committed to Carthage. Cornerback Mikhail Riley will play football at College of DuPage and wide receiver/defensive back Danny Hyland, an All-CCL/ESCC player in 2025, will play at either Lake Forest College or Illinois Wesleyan next year.