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Virginia Hosting FIU Star Receiver Transfer Eric Rivers for Visit

Matt Newton

Eric Rivers/IG
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Virginia is in the hunt for one of the most highly-coveted players on the transfer portal market. Florida International wide receiver Eric Rivers, who has picked up offers from nearly 50 programs since entering the portal, has reportedly scheduled an official visit to UVA for next week. According to reports from Pete Nakos of On3 and Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports, Rivers had initially planned to visit Virginia starting on Wednesday (December 11) of this week, but has altered his schedule and will now visit Miami this upcoming weekend (December 13-15) and will then take his visit to UVA after that.

A redshirt senior from Chattanooga, Tennessee, Rivers was initially recruited as a defensive back and he played that position for one season at Memphis before transferring to Florida International, where he transitioned to wide receiver. That move has certainly paid off for him.

Rivers logged a modest 370 receiving yards and two touchdowns on 32 receptions in 2023 before erupting for a breakout season in 2024. In 12 games, Rivers racked up 62 receptions for 1,172 yards and 12 touchdowns. He broke FIU's all-time single-season records for receiving yards and receiving touchdowns and led Conference USA in both categories. Rivers finished the regular season ranked fifth in the country in receiving yards and third in receiving touchdowns, trailing only Colorado's Travis Hunter (14) and San Jose State's Nick Nash (16). He averaged 18.9 yards per catch and nearly 100 receiving yards per game and had five games with over 100 receiving yards, including an outstanding performance against New Mexico State in which he posted 11 catches for 295 yards and three touchdowns.

Rivers was named First-Team All-Conference USA and could have some All-American accolades headed his way soon as well.

Naturally, Rivers is not only one of the best wide receivers available in the portal but one of the most highly-pursued overall players on the transfer market. We're not going to list all of the programs that have expressed interest in Rivers, but the highlights include Alabama, Florida, Michigan, LSU, Clemson, Texas A&M, South Carolina, and many more Power Four schools. Virginia appears to be in line to have at least a shot at snagging his commitment.

Virginia is in need of some reinforcements at the wide receiver position. The Cavaliers have had five receivers enter the transfer portal since the end of the season. And while a few of those names weren't huge losses, JR Wilson and Jaden Gibson likely would have figured into the rotation at receiver next season at the very least. Additionally, Chris Tyree has exhausted his eligibility and the team's leading receiver, senior Malachi Fields, faces a tough decision as he has another year of eligibility remaining, so the Hoos are eagerly waiting his decision.

Regardless of whether Fields stays or not, Virginia would absolutely benefit by acquiring Eric Rivers.

Keep track of all of UVA's transfer portal activity, including outgoing and incoming transfers here: Virginia Football Transfer Portal Tracker

Stay up to date on all of the transfers who have received offers from Virginia or who have scheduled visits to UVA here: Tracking UVA Football's Offers and Visits in the Transfer Portal

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Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.