Garland Rivers Garland A . Rivers ( born November 3 , 1964 ) is a former professional American football defensive back who was drafted in the 1987 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He played briefly for the Chicago Bears in the 1987 NFL season after having starred as an All - American for the Michigan Wolverines football team for whom he set the single - game tackles record as a sophomore . This record still stands . After returning to the University of Michigan to complete his bachelors degree , he returned to professional football for several seasons in the Arena Football League . However , before returning to professional football he became embroiled in a scandal involving sports agents engaging amateur athletes . College career . After attending Canton McKinley High School , where they won the 1981 Ohio High School Athletic Association football championships , he went to the University of Michigan where he became the only freshman varsity letter winner on the football team in 1983 . Rivers , who wore # 13 as a Wolverine , started 32 consecutive games until a shoulder injury caused him to end the streak . He posted six interception s in his Michigan career , including one for a touchdown . Another one during the same season was a game saving interception in the 1986 Fiesta Bowl in a 27 – 23 victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team . Rivers started 12 of the 13 games his senior season for the Big Ten Conference champions and was one of three All - Americans ( along with Jumbo Elliott & Jim Harbaugh ) that season as the team went 11 – 2 and was invited to the Rose Bowl . Rivers once had 17 tackles and an assist as a sophomore defensive back in a game against the 1984 National Champion Brigham Young Cougars football team in the 1984 Holiday Bowl . 17 tackles continues to stand alone as a school single game record . His college athletic career was not without controversy . He was named by Michigan Football coach and Michigan Wolverines athletic director Bo Schembechler as one of two players ( the other being Robert Perryman ) who had transgressed National Collegiate Athletic Association rules in violation of their amateur status . According to Schembechler , both players had signed contracts and accepted loans from agents before their college eligibility expired . Schembechler testified in a Federal District Court case involving charges of mail fraud and racketeering against Norby Walters and Lloyd Bloom . According to Schembechler , Rivers had denied having entered into an agreement before the team ' s 1986 NCAA Division I - A football season had ended in a meeting with him , but confessed in a Federal Bureau of Investigation meeting . Because the investigation occurred late in the Spring academic term at Michigan , River ' s athletic scholarship in the form tuition and room and board had already been fully paid by the University . However , when Rivers returned to Michigan in 1988 to complete his degree , the university did not provide a scholarship for which he would have otherwise been eligible . Professional career . Rivers was drafted by the Detroit Lions of the National Football League with the eighth pick of the fourth round ( 92nd overall ) of the 1987 NFL Draft . He played briefly for the Chicago Bears under Mike Ditka in 1987 . The Bears went 11 – 4 that season and qualified for the 1987 - 88 NFL playoffs that season . Garland Rivers played for several years in the Arena Football League as a wide receiver and linebacker . He mostly played on defense . He played for the Albany Firebirds for 1990 and 1991 . The Firebirds qualified for the 4 - team 1991 AFL playoffs as the # 4 seed and lost to the # 1 seed Detroit Drive in the first round . Then , he played for the Arizona Rattlers in 1992 and 1993 . The Rattlers qualified for 8 - team the 1993 AFL playoffs as the # 4 seed and advanced to the second round before losing to the # 1 seed Detroit Drive . Rivers has coached at Timken , McKinley and GlenOak . , he worked for Indian River School . Family . Rivers was inducted into the Stark High School Hall of Fame in 2012 . His son Jewone Snow , by Linda Snow , is a form McKinley Bulldogs ( class of 2010 ) football standout . Snow is the sister of Percy Snow and Eric Snow , who were also standout athletes for McKinley . Jewone went to college at West Virginia where he joined the football team . Rivers is the father of three sons and two daughters .