Maxwell Football Club Release (PDF)

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Slippery Rock University quarterback Roland Rivers III added another prestigious honor Wednesday when he was announced as the 2019 Maxwell Football Club's Brian Westbrook Regional Player of the Year.
 
Rivers will be honored at the Maxwell Football Club's 83rd Annual Gala March 6 at the Tropicana Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey alongside LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, Ohio State defensive end Chase Young, LSU head coach Ed Orgeron and the still-to-be-named NFL Player and Coach of the Year. Also honored that night will be NFL Hall of Famer Anthony Munoz and the two High School National Players of the Year – Alabama commit Bryce Young and Clemson commit Bryan Bresee, as well as Regional Coach of the Year Nathan Milne from Muhlenberg.
 
"What a tremendous honor for Roland and our program," said Slippery Rock head coach Shawn Lutz. "He won the Division II Player of the Year Award and now he gets to go be recognized on the same stage with the Division I Player of the Year and some of the top names in football in this country. Just think, between Joe Burrow and Roland sitting on that stage they combined for 125 touchdowns this year. That's incredible. We're so proud of him and can't wait for him to get to experience this event."
 
The Brian Westbrook Regional Athlete of the Year award is named in honor of former Philadelphia Eagles running back Brian Westbrook. It recognizes the top collegiate player in the region, regardless of the level of competition. Last year's winner was Princeton quarterback John Lovett. Other former winners of the award include Penn State quarterback Chase McSorley and Rutgers receivers Mohamed Sanu and Kenny Britt.
 
Rivers is the first player from any western Pennsylvania college to win the award. Prior to this year, the farthest west the award extended was Penn State when McSorley won it in 2016.
 
This marks the second major award Rivers will accept after the senior signal caller also collected the Harlon Hill Trophy as the Division II National Player of the Year just last week in Little Rock, Arkansas.
 
Rivers is racking up the postseason honors after shattering numerous SRU single-season records and setting or tying multiple NCAA Division II single-season records in 2019. He set the Division II single-season record for points responsible for with 370 and tied the Division II single-season records for touchdowns responsible for (61) and games with at least three passing touchdowns (11). Rivers also shattered the SRU single-season records for completions (322), passing yards (4,460), passing touchdowns (52) and total offense (5,160). His 52 passing touchdowns are the fourth most in Division II history in a single-season and he became just the fourth player in Division II history to top 5,000 total offensive yards in a single-year.
 
Rivers ranked first in the nation in passing yards (4,460), passing touchdowns (52), total offense (5,160) and points responsible for (370) and finished the year completing 322-of-481 passes for 4,460 yards with 52 touchdowns and just seven interceptions, while also rushing for 700 yards and nine touchdowns. He shattered the SRU career record for touchdown passes, throwing 80 in just 26 games over two seasons at The Rock. His 99 career TD passes at the Division II level are 25 more than any other active player in Division II at the end of 2019.
 
Rivers closed his career by throwing for for 1,051 yards with 12 touchdowns and just one interception, while also rushing for three touchdowns, in The Rock's three NCAA playoff games.
 
He led SRU to a 13-1 record, the PSAC West and outright PSAC titles, a Super Region One title and its second-ever appearance in the NCAA Division II National Semifinals. Over two years as the SRU starting quarterback, Rivers posted a perfect 14-0 record in PSAC Western Division play, went 23-3 overall and led SRU to at least the quarterfinal round of the Division II playoffs in each season.
 
He is currently training with an NFL quarterbacks coach in San Diego and is scheduled to play in the Hula Bowl collegiate all-star game in Hawaii Jan. 26. That game will be televised live on the CBS Sports Network nationally with a 10:30 p.m. EST start.
 
Tickets for the Maxwell Touchdown Club Gala are $300 each and can be purchased online here.
 
 

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