Vaughn Rivers

Infobox NCAA Athlete
name = Vaughn Rivers


caption =
college = West Virginia
conference = Big East
sport = Football
jersey = 19
position = WR, CB, KR, PR
class = Senior
major =
career_start = 2003
career_end = 2007
nickname =
height_ft = 5
height_in = 9
weight_lb = 170
nationality = USA
birth_date = birth date and age|1984|8|22
birth_place = Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
highschool = Perry Academy, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
championships =
championship_list =
awards =

Vaughn Rivers (born August 22, 1984 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is a former American football cornerback, receiver, and return specialist for the West Virginia Mountaineers.

Early life

Rivers grew up as a football star in high school. He was the Pittsburgh Athletic Association player of the year with 15 catches for 225 yards and five kickoffs and three punts return for touchdowns as a senior. Over his four-year career in high school, Rivers tallied 18 interceptions. He also earned all-state, all-city, and was named to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Fabulous 22 and Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Terrific 25 teams. Rivers was also a basketball and track letterman.

Collegiate career

Freshman season

Rivers enrolled at West Virginia University in 2003, but did not see varsity action and was redshirted by head coach Rich Rodriguez. [http://www.msnsportsnet.com/profile.cfm?id=100597 MSNsportsNET.Com - West Virginia University Mountaineers ] ]

In 2004, as a redshirted-freshman, Rivers saw more action at corner. He totaled 11 tackles on the season, with four coming against Virginia Tech. Against Rutgers, Rivers had 39 return yards on punt and kick returns while starting corner and returner Pacman Jones was injured. He also had a 20 yard kick return against Boston College.

ophomore season

In 2005, Rivers saw action as a receiver as well. He totaled six catches for 38 yards on the season, along with 8 rushing yards on two reverse runs. Rivers had a 41 yard kick return against Syracuse, along with a 22 yard catch against Wofford. He had two catches in the win against Maryland, but sprained his ankle against East Carolina and was forced to miss the Virginia Tech game. Rivers bounced back and gained 41 yards on returns against Louisville and totaled 26 yards in punt returns and had a 24 yard kick return against Connecticut. Rivers totaled 98 punt return yards on the season and 191 kick return yards to go along with his two tackles on defense.

Junior season

As a junior in 2006, Rivers saw less action at receiver and more at defensive back to go along with his return duties. Rivers played in all 13 games for the first time in his career while having the best statistics in a season for his career. He started the season out with five tackles in the Friends of Coal Bowl against Marshall, followed by a forced fumbles and two pass break-ups against Eastern Washington. He then had six tackles against Maryland and ECU, followed by a 50-yard punt return for a touchdown against Mississippi State. He then had fourth-quarter interceptions at Connecticut and Cincinnati. In the final game of the season against Rutgers, Rivers tipped the two-point conversion pass in triple-overtime to Ray Rice to win the game for the Mountaineers. Rivers totaled 195 yards on 18 punt returns with a touchdown, the first of his career. He also had 293 kick return yards on 13 returns, but shared kick return duties with receiver Darius Reynaud. On the defensive side of the ball, Rivers totaled 38 tackles and two interceptions. He also had two forced fumbles, two pass break-ups, and a tackle for a loss. [http://fb.mountaineerstats.com/stat_player.php?team_id=308&person_id=1647]

enior season

Going into the 2007 season, Rivers was expected to see time at the starting cornerback role with Antonio Lewis, and time as returner along with Reynaud and newcomer Noel Devine. In the first game of the season against Western Michigan, Rivers had a total of 76 return yards on 6 returns. Against Marshall, Rivers had two returns for 25 yards and two tackles at corner. The next week against ECU, Rivers had six returns for 93 yards. Then in the 13-21 loss to USF, Rivers had only one return for 24 yards. In the victory over Mississippi State, Rivers had five returns for 78 yards and a tackle; then in the victory over Rutgers, Rivers had two returns for 36 yards and a tackle. In the victory over UConn, Rivers had a total of 8 returns for 147 yards, a career-high. He finished the regular season out with 2 returns for 57 yards and an interception in the loss to Pittsburgh. Rivers earned the Gridiron Gladiator Award and Captain Award from head coach Rich Rodriguez at the end of the regular season. In Rivers' final collegiate game, the 48-28 victory in the Fiesta Bowl over Oklahoma, Vaughn returned a punt 51 yards in the first quarter, a career-long. Rivers finished the season with 479 punt return yards, the most in a single-season in school history. His 11.68 yards per punt return was also 16th most in a season in school history. Rivers also recorded an interception on the season.

Vaughn Rivers finished his career with 789 punt return yards, third most in school history. His 11.6 yards per punt return in his career was also third most in school history.

References