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Former Pitt star...
Head Coach Shawn Liotta of the Erie RiverRats of the AIFA announced today the signing of quarterback Rod Rutherford. The former University of Pittsburgh standout took most of the quarterback snaps at practice with Erie this week, and will get his first start when the ‘Rats host the Baltimore Mariners on Friday, April 18 at the Tullio Arena.
“We weren’t actively looking to bring another quarterback in, but we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to bring in such an accomplished player as Rod Rutherford to our team. Rod has been to the mountaintop having experienced the NFL for three years and playing collegiately in the Big East and several bowl games. He looked great in practice this week and he got to experience the indoor game earlier this year. His size, arm strength, and speed are obvious, and I look forward to the opportunity of coaching him here in Erie” commented Liotta.
Rutherford (6’2”-225) joins Erie after playing in two games earlier this season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (af2) where he completed 55% of his passes for 488 yards and 11 touchdowns with only three interceptions, and added three rushing touchdowns. His team was 1-1 in his two starts.
Rutherford enjoyed a stellar collegiate career at Pitt under Head Coach Walt Harris, where he started 26 games, completing 458 of 842 passes for 6,724 yards with 60 touchdowns and 30 interceptions. As one of the nation’s most dangerous dual-threat quarterbacks, he added 880 yards on the ground with 14 rushing touchdowns. During his junior season, his first as a starter, Rutherford was voted to the All-Big East team, and led Pitt to a national ranking (18) and a win over Oregon State in the Insight.com Bowl. As a senior, he set all-time Pitt school records for passing yardage (3,679) and total offense yardage (3,829), tied Dan Marino for most touchdown passes in a season with 37, and led the Panthers to a postseason bowl appearance at the Continental Tire Bowl. For his efforts, Rutherford was named as a semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien Award honoring the best quarterbacks in the nation, joining several other accomplished quarterbacks including Eli Manning, Matt Leinart, Philip Rivers, and Ben Roethlisberger.
Upon graduation, Rutherford joined the NFL’s Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent and was a member of their practice squad in 2005. He then joined the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad for their 2006 season, where he earned a Super Bowl ring. In 2007, Rutherford played with Hamburg in NFL Europe.
Rutherford was one of the most highly-coveted athletes in the nation following his high school career at Perry Traditional Academy in Pittsburgh. He led his team to two City League Championships and two Class AAA State Championship games, winning one. His list of honors include Associated Press Pennsylvania High School Player of the Year, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Player of the Year, City League Player of the Year, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review/Fox Sports Pittsburgh Player of the Year, SuperPrep All-American, PrepStar Dream Team and All-American, and an invitation to the Big 33 Football Classic.
The Erie RiverRats return to the Tullio Arena on Friday, April 18, 2008, when they host the Baltimore Mariners in the first of a home-and-home series with pre-game activities starting at 6:30 PM and kickoff scheduled for 7:05 PM. Tickets are available at the Tullio Arena box office and at Ticketmaster outlets. To keep up with all the latest RiverRats news, please visit us at our home on the web at www.erieriverrats.com
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