Fresno State receives commitment from Devon Rivers, who will further family legacy

Devon Rivers is well aware he’s part of a Fresno State family. His father Ron was a star running back for the Bulldogs. His older sister Malia played softball, hitting .342 as a senior when the Bulldogs advanced to the NCAA Tournament. His older brother Ronnie will go through Senior Day on Saturday against New Mexico as the Bulldogs’ all-time leader in touchdowns scored and third on the career rushing yards list.

So well ahead of his senior season, the running back at Heritage High in Brentwood ended what little suspense might have developed through a drawn-out recruiting process and committed to the Bulldogs’ Class of 2023.

“This is a pretty easy decision,” he said.

Rivers also received early scholarship offers from New Mexico and UNLV even before Fresno State, and New Mexico running backs coach Jamie Christian played at Fresno State with Ron Rivers in 1991 and ‘92.

They were part of the team that beat USC in the Freedom Bowl in what former coach Jim Sweeney called the biggest game in school history.

But Rivers doesn’t think anyone in his family got too nervous that he would end up in a different uniform.

“New Mexico, it’s the first offer and it gets my name out there, really,” he said. “Even though I didn’t tell them, they had to know that I was going to commit so I don’t think they were nervous at all.”

The 5-foot-7 running back had big seasons at Heritage the past two seasons, rushing for 1,175 yards and 15 touchdowns in 10 games as a junior and 911 yards and 12 TDs in just six games as a sophomore. He will have some big targets to reach once he gets to Fresno State, but the Bulldogs offense is a good fit, as it is for his older brother.

“I think it’s a really good offense and it showcases the running back a lot, especially backs that can do it all,” he said.

Ron Rivers held the school rushing record at Fresno State for nearly 20 years, rolling up 3,473 yards from 1991 to ‘93 before Robbie Rouse catapulted to the top spot in 2012 and finished his career with 4,647 yards.

Ronnie Rivers, with two regular-season games, a bowl game and possibly a Mountain West championship game in his future, has a chance to move into the Top Five in the conference in career touchdowns.

He set the school record for touchdowns in a season-opening 45-0 rout of UConn, scoring on a 61-yard pass from quarterback Jake Haener to break a tie with Anthony Daigle. That was the 45th of his career, and he since has added rushing touchdowns against Cal Poly and Nevada, two against UCLA.

With 49, he is just behind former San Diego State running back Rashaad Penny, who scored 52 touchdowns from 2014 to ‘17 and is fifth all-time in the Mountain West.