College: In his 53 games with the Fresno State Bulldogs, Rivers made 41 starts and left as the record holder in career touchdowns scored (52), rushing touchdowns (40), receiving touchdowns by a running back (12), receiving yards by a running back (1,417) and receptions by a running back (150). He also ranked second in career rushing attempts (672), third in program history with 3,417 career rushing yards, and fourth with 5,208 career all-purpose yards. He finished his senior season with 788 rushing yards on 162 attempts and 34 receptions for 364 yards. He totaled seven touchdowns, five rushing and two receiving, and 1,187 allpurpose yards. He was a preseason All-Mountain West selection, named to the Paul Hornung Award watch list, Maxwell Award watch list, Doak Walker Award watch list , and was a First-Team preseason selection by Athlon Sports and Phil Steele. Rivers received an invite to the 2022 NFLPA All-Star game and to the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine. He helped Fresno State to two wins over ranked opponents, both on the road. It was the first time Fresno State defeated two Top 25 opponents in a season for the first time since 2004, and the first time both wins came on the road in the 100-year history of the program. During the 2020 season, Rivers was named First-Team All-Mountain West and was the only Mountain West player to score four touchdowns in a game. He was a Phil Steele All-Mountain West First-Team selection and was named to three national preseason watch lists: Maxwell Award (presented annually to the most outstanding player in college football), Doak Walker Award (celebrates the nation's top running back) and Hornung Award (celebrates the nation's most versatile player). He was named Second-Team All-Mountain West after his junior season and was the Bulldog's leading rusher with 899 yards. He also led the Mountain West with 16 touchdowns. He also had two or more touchdowns in four consecutive games. During his sophomore season, Rivers posted a team-high 10 rushing touchdowns and was the MVP of the Las Vegas Bowl after posting the fourth-most all-purpose yards in school history with 286 (212 rush/41 punt return/33 receiving) in the Bulldogs' win over Arizona State on Dec. 15. He also rushed for 63 yards on 17 carries and scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime against Boise State in the 2018 Mountain West Championship on Dec. 1. Rivers started 7-of-13 games played during his freshman season, the most starts at running back by a Fresno State true freshman since 1984. He made his collegiate debut and his first start against Incarnate Word in 2017.
Personal: Rivers was one of six finalists for Cal-Hi Sports' Mr. Football State Player of the Year as a senior at Freedom High School. He was named the 2016 Bay Valley League's Most Valuable Player, The Mercury News East Bay Offensive Player of the Year, the 2016 MaxPreps All-NorCal Offensive Player of the Year, and the Prep2Prep All-North Coast Section Player of the Year. As a senior, Rivers rushed for 2,239 yards and scored 33 touchdowns. He posted 100-yard plus rushing performances in 11-of-13 games in 2016 and rushed for a school-record 387 yards and seven touchdowns to lift the unbeaten Freedom Falcons past Antioch 65-28. Rivers' seven rushing touchdowns tied a school record previously held by former Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon (2014-16). He led the BVAL with 38 total touchdowns in 2016 and also threw a touchdown pass and caught two TDs in addition to his 33 rushing scores as a senior. Rivers also returned an interception for a touchdown in a win over Liberty, and returned two kickoffs for scores, including one in the CIF Division 1 NorCal final against St. Mary's-Stockton. He guided Freedom to an 11-2 record in 2016 as well as the Bay Valley league championship with a perfect 5-0 record. Rivers was named the 2016 NCS Open Division Runner Up, the 2016 CIF Nor Cal D1AA Runner Up and was named an Impact Player by Junior Prep Sports Football Classic. Born in Castro Valley, CA., Rivers is the son of Ron and Myla. His father is Fresno State's second-leading rusher (3,473) in school history and played at Fresno State from 1991-93. His sister Malia is also a Bulldog alum who completed her senior softball season at Fresno State in 2017.
