M.J. Rivers II has had a strong start as a freshman quarterback at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Rivers played in eight games with three starts so far this season. According to the school’s website, that makes Rivers the third true freshman quarterback in the school’s history to start three or more games and the fifth to start a game.
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound athlete threw two touchdowns in his Illinois debut against Western Illinois. His current record as a freshman is 56 passes for 547 yards and three touchdowns.
Rivers, the son of former NFL tight end Marcellus Rivers, attended Lone Star High School prior to joining the Illinois Fighting Illini football team. He scored six touchdowns in the 2017 Texas state playoffs first round and led Lone Star to the 2017 Texas 5A Division II Region II finals.
Rivers was a three-star recruit by ESPN, 247Sports and Rivals.
Rivers choose Illinois University over New Mexico and Iowa State.
