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Future is bright for Rivers III

I can't help but wonder.

What is Roland Rivers III going to do next?

The Slippery Rock University senior quarterback is putting the finishing touches on one of the most amazing seasons I've ever seen a college football player put together.

He has thrown 50 touchdown passes in 13 games and has 11 games of at least three TD tosses this year. That ties a Division II record set by Keith Null of West Texas A&M in 2008 and matched by Justin Dvorak of Colorado Mines three years ago.

Rivers has been responsible for 59 touchdowns this year — having also rushed for nine — leaving him two shy of Dvorak's national record of 61 set in 2016.

With four more TD passes, he would tie the national record of 54 set by Dusty Bonner of Valdosta State in 2000 and matched by Shippensburg's Zach Zulli in 2012.

But it's not just the numbers that make this guy impressive.

It's the way he's putting them up.

Rivers stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 230 pounds. He routinely hits receivers in stride, splitting two defenders with a line-drive pass 30 to 40 yards down the field.

He's deftly lofted passes into the arms of receivers streaking down either sideline for electrifying touchdowns.

He's shot-putted passes over a number of leaping defenders into the arms of a receiver just across the line of scrimmage.

He buys time by escaping the pocket, implementing The Rock's “scramble drill” that result in plays resembling backyard football.

Simply put, this guy's a winner.

Hmmm ... reminds me of a guy quarterbacking the Steelers right now, a non-drafted free agent out of Samford named Devlin Hodges.

Hodges set all of the passing records at Samford — no one taking notice on a national scale because it was Samford.

Rivers has broken all of the passing records at Slippery Rock — no one taking notice on a national scale because it's Slippery Rock.

Rivers wants to play in the NFL. He at least wants a shot. He should get one.

At 6-3, he's got the size. He definitely has the athleticism, physical strength and touch on the ball.

And his name is out there. Rivers has already been approached by scouts from 28 NFL teams.

Hodges is having a storybook season. After seeing Rivers play, I can understand why.

Guys like him are out there.

Trevor Harris was a record-breaking quarterback at Edinboro and is now enjoying a solid career in the Canadian Football League.

This is not to say Rivers will be drafted by an NFL team. This is to say he will likely wind up as a “camp arm” with somebody in July.

It's up to Rivers to turn himself into something more — just like Hodges did.

I'll say this: Don't bet against him.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle

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