Derek Rivers was a menace to opposing teams during his YSU football career. And we loved every second of it. For his record-setting career and being an outstanding leader, he is being recognized as the 2016-17 YSU/The Vindicator Athlete of the Year.
By the end of this week, Rivers will become the first YSU football player selected in the NFL Draft since 1998 (Harry Deligianis). He also has a chance to become just the second player in program history to be picked in the first 85 selections.
Rivers was a three-time first-team All-Missouri Valley Football Conference selection as a defensive end. He played in 49 games, recording 173 total tackles, 56.5 tackles for loss, 48 quarterback hurries, 41 sacks, four fumble recoveries and three forced fumbles.
He set the YSU career record for sacks during his junior year and by the end of his career held the school mark by 19. The previous high career sack total was only 22. He also finished his career ranked fourth at YSU in tackles for loss. He had the most TFLs of any Penguin since 1982. Rivers ranked in the top five in FCS in history in career sacks as well.
Rivers made great strides on a national stage with his showing at the Senior Bowl, the NFL Combine and YSU’s Pro Day following the season. At the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., Rivers turned heads all week during practice and had a sack in the game. At the NFL Combine, he had many performances that were near the top of his position. Eventually scouts from 18 organizations came to Youngstown, and he made numerous visits to NFL franchises for private workouts and interviews.
During his senior campaign, the Penguins’ march through to the Division I National Championship Game was spearheaded by Rivers. For the year he had 58 total tackles, 41 of which were solo stops, in making 16 starts at defensive end. He was credited with 19.5 TFLs and had 15 sacks while adding 21 QB hurries. In the five postseason games he had 21 total tackles, seven TFLs, six QB hurries and five sacks.Â
For his regular-season efforts he received second-team All-America honors by STATS and The Associated Press. He was also a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award.
In 2015, he was a third-team All-America honoree. On the year he had 52 total tackles, including 37 solo stops. He finished with 15.5 TFLs and nine sacks. He ranked  17th in the FCS in sacks per game. With a two-sack effort against South Dakota State on  Oct. 17 at Stambaugh Stadium. It took him just 28 games to set the school career record for sacks.
In 2014, he had his first taste of being a starter and showed that the future was bright. He played in all 12 games, making 11 starts. He made 50 total tackles, including 31 solo stops. Rivers finished with 14 sacks, 17 TFLs and 11 QB hurries.Â
In 2013, he played in 10 games and was credited with 13 tackles. In a sign of what was to come, Rivers had more sacks as a sophomore than he had tackles as a freshman.
A native of Kinston, N.C., he is the 2016-17 recipient of the Jermaine Hopkins Scholarship. He is a Communications Studies major and maintains a 2.96 GPA.
