Keith Rivers
| Keith Rivers | |
|---|---|
 Rivers celebrates a USC victory | |
| College | USC |
| Conference | Pac 10 |
| Sport | Football |
| Position | Linebacker |
| Jersey # | 55 |
| Class | Senior |
| Nickname | The Shark |
| Career | 2004–present |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Weight | 241 lb (109 kg) |
| Nationality | USA |
| Born | May 5, 1986 San Bernardino, CA |
| High school | Lake Mary High School, Lake Mary, FL. |
| Awards | |
| 2007 SI.com First Team All-American 2007 Walter Camp Football Foundation Second Team All-American 2006 ESPN and Rivals.com All-Pac-10 First Team | |
Keith Rivers (born May 5, 1986) is an American football linebacker from Lake Mary, Florida. Rivers played college football for the University of Southern California Trojans, and is currently a prospect for the 2008 NFL Draft.
College career
USC linebacker coach Ken Norton, Jr. nicknamed Rivers "the Shark" for his aggressive play on the field, juxtaposed to his polite demeanor off of it.[1]
Rivers was on the watch list for the 2006 Bednarik Award, Lombardi Award, Bronco Nagurski Trophy, and Lott Trophy. He was 2006 Rivals.com and coaches first team all-Pac-10. The Trojans leading tackler as a junior in 2006, Rivers decided to stay for his senior season[1].
Rivers was a 2007 preseason Sporting News, Street & Smith's, Lindy's, Phil Steele's, Blue Ribbon and NationalChamps.net All-American. At the end of the 2007 regular season, Rivers was selected to the All-Pacific-10 Conference first team for the second year in a row by league coaches.[2] He was also selected to the SI.com All-American First Team.[3]
Rivers is considered a first-round prospect for the 2008 NFL Draft.[4][5]
High School career
Rivers was a highly decorated letterman in football at Lake Mary High School in Lake Mary, Florida. His awards include include USA Today All-USA first team, Parade All-American, Super Prep All-American, Prep Star All-American, EA Sports All-American, Insiders.com All-American, Super Prep Elite 50, Prep Star Top 100 Dream Team, Lemming Top 10, Super Prep All-Dixie, Prep Star All-Southeast, FOX Sports Net All-South, Gatorade Florida Player of the Year and Florida Class 6A Mr. Football runner up as a senior linebacker. [6] He played in the 2004 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
Rivers was heavily recruited. Then-University of Florida coach Ron Zook, noted for his recruiting ability, made a strong push, including talking to Rivers at 2 a.m. on National Signing Day in 2003. In the end Rivers went with USC; the Trojans promised Rivers he would wear the #55 jersey, which has traditionally been given to a promising linebacker and includes past players such as Junior Seau, Willie McGinest and Chris Claiborne.[4]
Statistics
College [7]
| Year | GP | TKL | TFL | SCK | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 13 | 25 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 1 |
| 2005 | 11 | 52 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 1 |
| 2006 | 13 | 85 | 7.5 | 2.0 | 0 |
| 2007 | 11 | 73 | 4.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 48 | 235 | 18 | 5.5 | 2 |
References
- ^ Mark Saxon, USC's Shark attack, The Orange County Register, August 24, 2007.
- ^ Pac-10 Football Awards and All-Conference Team Announced, Pacific 10 Conference, December 3, 2007.
- ^ SI.com's All-Americas, SI.com, December 11, 2007.
- ^ a b Chris Harry, Rivers lives up to No. 55, Orlando Sentinel, February 25, 2008.
- ^ Mike Triplett, Saints could fill needs with Rivers, The Times-Picayune, February 24, 2008
- ^ USC Trojans, Keith Rivers, USC Player Bio, November 14, 2007.
- ^ Draft Countdown, Keith Rivers Report, Scouting Report, November 15, 2007.