Roland Rivers III

Roland Rivers III is an American former professional football quarterback. He played college football at Valdosta State and Slippery Rock and was the 2019 winner of the Harlon Hill Trophy. He played for the Pittsburgh Maulers of the United States Football League (USFL) in 2022.

Early life and education Rivers was born in Ellenwood, Georgia, and grew up in Atlanta. He was a fan of Michael Vick growing up, which motivated him to join a local Pop Warner football team in fifth grade. as Martin Luther King ultimately lost in the playoffs to Gainesville, who were led by Deshaun Watson.

Although Rivers received several offers from Division I-AA schools, he decided to accept an offer from Division II Valdosta State.

Head coach David Dean and quarterbacks coach Justin Roper both left following the 2015 season, and the former was replaced by Kerwin Bell; Bell instituted his NFL-style offense, which "effectively tapped into Rivers' true potential," according to Pro Football Network. However, in week eight, he suffered a torn labrum, which ended his season. He underwent surgery to repair his labrum in March 2017 and missed the entire 2017 season as a result. Rivers earned first-team All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) honors and helped Slippery Rock advance to the second round of the playoffs, where they lost to Notre Dame. In just 26 games across two seasons at Slippery Rock, Rivers had set several team records, including: most passing touchdowns (80), most total yards of offense per game (326.1), highest completion percentage (63.3), and best passing efficiency (164.1). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he did not receive the opportunity to tryout with any team during the season. Afterwards, he received an invite to the rookie camp of the Pittsburgh Steelers, but did not sign. He started in the seventh game of the season, completing 18 of 38 passes for 218 yards and one touchdown in a loss to the New Jersey Generals. He appeared in three other games as a backup, finishing the season with four games played, 32 completions out of 64 attempts, and 366 passing yards along with two touchdowns and an interception. He was released after the season on January 2, 2023.

Albany Empire On May 5, 2023, Rivers signed with the Albany Empire of the National Arena League (NAL). Two days later, Rivers was released by the Empire.

Career statistics

USFL Season Team Games Passing Rushing GP GS Record Comp Att Yards Pct TD Int Att Yds Avg TD 2022 PIT 4 1 0–1 32 64 366 50.0 2 1 7 46 6.6 1 Career 4 1 0–1 32 64 366 50.0 2 1 7 46 6.6 1

College Season Games Passing Rushing GP GS Record Comp Att Yards Pct TD Int Att Yds Avg TD 2015 10 – 9–3 43 67 548 64.2 6 2 34 125 3.7 1 2016 8 – 8–3 123 218 1,312 56.4 13 8 99 301 3.0 3 2017 0 – 5–4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 2018 12 – 11–3 198 341 2,721 58.1 28 12 137 597 4.4 7 2019 14 – 13–1 322 481 4,460 66.9 52 7 164 700 4.3 9 Career 44 – 46–14 686 1,107 9,041 61.9 99 29 434 1,723 3.9 20