Roland Rivers III had the right idea.

The former Slippery Rock University quarterback — who guided The Rock to the Division II national semifinals in 2019 — always believed he could reach the NFL while shining for a Division II school.

Rivers won the Harlon Hill Trophy as the best football player in all of Division II that year. He wound up getting a brief look with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the spring and played a few games with the Pittsburgh Maulers.

For whatever reason, his vision of playing in the NFL didn’t pan out. But it could have.

Tyson Bagent is proving that.

Like Rivers, Bagent played quarterback for a PSAC school (Shepherd). Like Rivers, he won the Harlon Hill Trophy. He had a chance to transfer to a bigger school his senior year, but had enough faith in his ability to remain at Shepherd.

Like Rivers, Bagent led his team to the national semifinals in his final season. That was just last year, when he threw for 4,580 yards, 41 touchdowns and only eight interceptions. Again, those numbers were Rivers-like.

It was Bagent and Shepherd who eliminated Slippery Rock in the Division II playoffs last season. He threw for 372 yards and a pair of scores in a 37-27 Rams’ victory.

Like Rivers, Bagent was bypassed in the NFL draft the following spring. But that’s where the similarities end.

Bagent signed a non-drafted free agent contract with the Chicago Bears. He spent mini-camp and the preseason elevating himself from the bottom of the depth chart to the No. 2 spot, behind former Ohio State great Justin Fields.

As they say, the No. 2 quarterback is only a play away from taking the field. Fields went down with an injury two weeks ago and Bagent started behind center for the Bears last week against the Raiders — less than a full year after playing against SRU.

He completed 21 of 29 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown in leading the Bears to a 30-12 victory. A Martinsburg, W.Va., native, Bagent became the first person born and raised in West Virginia to ever start a game at quarterback in the NFL.

With Fields still sidelined, Bagent will now get a second start — on national TV Sunday night against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Some might consider this a Cinderella story.

Hopefully, NFL teams see it as a wake-up call. There are Division II football players good enough to play in the NFL at all positions.

If only Rivers could have gotten a longer look ... who knows?

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle