Matthew Rice ’05 A&A, a talented artist and Nittany Lion football letterman, died March 17 at age 41 following a lengthy illness. A starting defensive end on the Lions’ 2005 Big Ten championship team, Rice played with the New York Giants and Detroit Lions from 2006 to ’07. He was the founder of Mateo Blu Art and the Blu Art Foundation, producing artwork that supported charitable causes. “As big as he was, one of the best compliments I’d always hear was that he never made you feel small,” says his friend and former Penn State defensive lineman Aaron Maybin, who collaborated with Rice on artwork in Baltimore. “He always made you feel important, valued, loved, and appreciated.”