Former Youngstown State standouts Jaleel McLaughlin, Derek Rivers and Andrew Ogletree were named to the initial 53-player rosters of the Denver Broncos, Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts the organizations released on Tuesday.
McLaughlin made the Broncos squad as an undrafted free agent while Ogletree was a sixth-round draft pick of the Colts in 2022. Ogletree missed the 2022 campaign after suffering a torn ACL in fall camp. Rivers is in his seventh NFL season and has been with the Texans since the 2021 season.
A former FCS and Division II All-American, McLaughlin set the NCAA All-Division career rushing yardage leader with 8,166 yards. In 2022, he was first-team All-America by The Associated Press, Athlon Sports, FCS Stats Perform and HERO Sports. In his three seasons as a Penguin, he rushed for 3,418 yards on 535 attempts and had 30 touchdowns. He was a two-time first-team All-MVFC selection while adding second-team honors as well. Prior to coming to YSU he spent two seasons at Division II Notre Dame (Ohio). At Notre Dame, he was a two-time first-team Division II AFCA All-American.
Ogletree transferred to YSU from Findlay and was a member of the program for the 2021 spring and fall seasons. In the spring of 2021 he had 12 catches for 109 yards. In the fall 10-game campaign he caught 28 passes for 282 yards. He was the first YSU offensive player selected in the draft since offensive lineman Jim Zdelar in 1989.
Rivers played a major role in the Penguins advancing to the 2016 National Championship game. In his NFL career, he has appeared in 24 games playing for the New England Patriots, Los Angeles Rams and Texans. At YSU, Rivers became the first Penguin to be drafted since Harry Deligianis was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 1998 NFL Draft. Rivers ended his career with 41 sacks, 56.5 TFLs and 173 tackles in 49 games played. He broke the school record for sacks by 19 and ranked in the top five in FCS history in career sacks. A second-team All-American selection in 2016, he had 58 total tackles, 19.5 TFLs and 14 sacks.
