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No. 3: Derek Rivers, Youngstown State
Courtesy of Youngstown State Athletics
Tackles | Solo tackles | Tackles for loss | Sacks | Sacks/Game |
---|---|---|---|---|
44 | 35 | 15.5 | 12.0 | .92 |
Derek Rivers was a monster for a very good Youngstown State defense in 2016, helping the Penguins allow just 17.7 points per game (seventh-best in FCS) and 314.7 yards per game (13th-best in FCS).
He was ninth in FCS play with 12.0 sacks (.92 per game) and added 18 quarterback hurries in the process. Rivers trailed only Karter Schult in Missouri Valley Conference play in both sacks and tackles for loss.
Rivers is drawing plenty of eyes at the next level, and is currently NFLDraftScout.com’s 12th ranked defensive end in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Some NFL team will be very happy with their selection when Rivers ends up on their squad in the coming year.