Prechae Rodriguez (born January 21, 1985) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He signed with Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2008. During his rookie 2008 season, Rodriguez accumulated 1099 yards in only 14 games, en route to being named the East Division Most Outstanding Rookie. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

Auburn Tigers The Auburn Tigers are the athletic teams representing Auburn University, a public four-year coeducational university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. The Auburn Tigers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Associat ...

Early years

Rodriguez was born to Sonja Milian-Rodriguez and Andrei Rodriguez, his brother is Marcelino Rodriguez. At Jefferson High School he played both basketball and football. The Rodriguez brothers are regarded as some of Tampa's best streetball players. In 2003 Prechae Rodriguez' skills nearly earned him national recognition when he participated in the open run of the AND-1 Mix Tape Tour at the University of South Florida (USF) SunDome in Tampa, Florida where Rodriguez instantly became a fan favorite of the more than 500 fans. He initially received a spot on the AND-1 team by winning the slam dunk competition, but Rodriguez did not join the team because he was unsure how it would affect his NCAA eligibility. Rodriguez went on to sign a full football scholarship with Coffeyville Community College.

College career

Coffeyville

Upon graduation from Thomas Jefferson, Rodriguez attended

Coffeyville Community College Coffeyville Community College (CCC) is a community college located in Coffeyville, Kansas, United States. It was founded in 1923. Coffeyville Community College is a member of the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference and the National Ju ...

. As a freshman in 2003, he redshirted, and in 2004 he hauled in 39 cataches for 553 yards and two touchdowns, returned 11 kicks for 236 yards. He was named Second-Team All-

Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference The Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC) is a college athletic conference that is a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). As of 2007, the KJCCC was home to more than 3,000 student-athletes in the 19 me ...

, J.C Grid Wire honorable mention, SuperPrep Junco 100, and CollegeFootballNews.com's Top JUCO Wide Receivers. Rodriguez committed to

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

on November 14, 2004. Rodriguez is among several current AFL players ranked in "Top 100" that were highly recruited players coming out of high school and junior college. Rodriguez accepted his FBS scholarship from Auburn.

Auburn

In 2005, Rodriguez enrolled at

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...

where he majored in

Sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

. As a member of the

Auburn Tigers football The Auburn Tigers football program represents Auburn University in the sport of American college football. Auburn competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Western Division o ...

team, he saw action in 11 games, catching 13 passes for 240 yards and one touchdown. His first catch as a Tiger came against Ball State and he finished the game with three catches for 39 yards. For the second straight game he posted a team high with 79 yards against Kentucky, one of the three catches against the Wildcats was a team season-high 41-yard touchdown in the second quarter, rushed for a 5-yard reverse touchdown early in the fourth quarter in that same game against the Wildcats. After recording one catch for 18 yards in the

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

game he surpassed the 100 yard mark in the 2005 season. In 2006 Rodriguez caught 14 passes for 168 yards and a touchdown. Posted an 18-yard reception against

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

in the Cotton Bowl. During the 2006

Iron Bowl The Alabama–Auburn football rivalry, better known as the Iron Bowl, is an American college football rivalry game between the Auburn University Tigers and University of Alabama Crimson Tide, both charter members of the Southeastern Conferenc ...

Game against

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

, he caught a 22-yard touchdown pass from quarterback

Brandon Cox Brandon Cox (born October 31, 1983) is a former American football quarterback, who played collegiately for Auburn University. As Auburn's starting quarterback from 2005 to 2007 he guided the Tigers to a 29–9 record and was a member of the wi ...

in the third quarter that served as the game-winner for the Auburn Tigers.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Prior to the

2008 NFL Draft The 2008 NFL Draft was the 73rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 26 and April 27, ...

, Rodriguez was projected to be undrafted by NFLDraftScout.com. He was rated as the 129th-best wide receiver in the draft. He was not invited to the

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footb ...

, he posted the following numbers during his Auburn pro-day workouts:

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Rodriguez went undrafted in the

and attended tryout camps for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

, Hamilton Tiger-Cats and

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

. He signed with the

and was later released. On May 7, 2008, he signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the

and was expected to play a big role. He saw action in 14 games out of an 18-game season in 2008. Against the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

on July 26,

Richie Williams Richard "Richie" Williams (born June 3, 1970) is an American former professional soccer player and coach. Known for his diminutive height and his dogged tackling, Williams spent the vast majority of his playing career in the United States, pla ...

threw a pass to Rodriguez for 46 yards which helped

Jesse Lumsden Jesse Lumsden (born August 3, 1982) is a Canadian Olympic bobsledder and a retired Canadian football player, who played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Edmonton Eskimos and Calgary Stampeders. Career Football Lumsden is the son of former CFL fullba ...

score a touchdown on the next play. On September 13, once again against the Eskimos, Rodriguez caught two touchdown passes from

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Casey Printers Casey J. Printers (born May 16, 1981) is a former professional American football, Canadian football and indoor football quarterback. Printers spent most of his professional career with the BC Lions in the Canadian Football League, and also played ...

including an 18-yard catch that ended a 97-yard possession. The week after the Edmonton game, the Tiger-Cats faced the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...

in the "Hall of Fame Game" in which Rodriguez caught a touchdown. In a late season game against the first place

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

, Rodriguez recorded 12 catches for a total of 198 yards with three

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

s. His performance helped first time

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

Marcel Bellefeuille Marcel Bellefeuille (born March 19, 1966) is a Canadian football coach who is the head coach of the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees and the wide receivers coach for the Philadelphia Stars of the United States Football League (USFL). He originally ...

with his first win. In the Tiger-Cats final home game of 2008 on October 24, Rodriguez had 61 yards making him 31 yards from the 1,000 yard mark. Before the final game of the season, Rodriguez emerged as one of the CFL's most explosive offensive threats and was recognized as the Hamilton Tiger-Cats "Most Outstanding Rookie" and went on to be nominated the CFL Rookie of the Year, with

Weston Dressler Weston Dressler (born June 14, 1985) is an American former Canadian football slotback. Dressler last played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Prior to his being signed by the Blue Bombers organization in 2016, h ...

of the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...

being his main competition. Although Dressler ended up winning, Rodriguez received the finest players CFL 2008 East Division Rookie of the Year Award, Frank M. Gibson Trophy. Rodriguez ended the 2008 season with 70 catches, 1,099 yards and seven touchdowns. In 2009 Rodriguez was on his way to another 1000 yard season when he was slowed by a bone bruise in a knee, he caught 45 passes for 495 yards with three touchdowns over 12 games. Rodriguez was among the

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

most dangerous wideouts during his time with the Tiger-Cats. His outstanding size and leaping ability made him a great target for quarterbacks.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

On February 24, 2010, Rodriguez was traded to the

for non-import Canadian

Adam Nicolson Adam Nicolson, (born 12 September 1957) is an English author who has written about history, landscape, great literature and the sea. He is also the 5th Baron Carnock, but does not use the title. He is noted for his books ''Sea Room'' (about t ...

, a third round selection in the 2011 CFL Draft, and the rights to a negotiation list player. In the 2009 season the Roughriders' already had a solid talented receiving corps before Rodriguez emerged in the 2010 season. The production of import wide receivers in 2009 combined for 60 catches for 703 yards and three touchdowns. That production may have been limited because Saskatchewan's offence was built around its slotbacks. He saw action in 10 games in the 2010 season and recorded 30 receptions for 376 yards and two touchdowns. The limited production no doubt affected his game. The Roughriders decided that Rodriguez wasn't in their plans going forward and released him on September 14, 2010. See video highlights of Rodriguez' 2010 Roughriders season.

Montreal Alouettes

On January 10, 2011, Rodriguez signed with the

but was released on July 27 after appearing in one game.

Edmonton Eskimos

On August 15, 2011, Rodriguez was signed by the

after

slotback Slotback, sometimes referred to as an A-back or slot receiver, is a position in gridiron football. The "slot" is the area between the last offensive lineman on either side of the center and the wide receiver on that side. A player who lines up ...

Fred Stamps Fred Stamps (born December 10, 1980) is a retired Canadian football, football slotback in the Canadian Football League who last played for the Montreal Alouettes. But signed a 1 day contract to officially retire as part of the Edmonton Eskimos. ...

went down with an abdominal injury. On September 12, 2011, he was released by the Eskimos.

Toronto Argonauts

On September 12, 2011, it was announced that Rodriguez would be joining the

practice roster In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

of the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

. After playing in two games and only recording five receptions for 30 yards, he was released by the Argonauts on October 11, 2011.

Tampa Bay Storm

On November 11, 2012, the Tampa native signed with the

Tampa Bay Storm The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The f ...

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

. Rodriguez had never played arena football until signing with the Storm, and was a breakout star for the Storm in 2012. In the first three games of his rookie season, Rodriguez recorded 34 receptions for 451 yards and nine touchdowns leading the league in both receptions per game and receiving yards per game. On March 16, 2012, the Tampa Bay Storm accomplished something that had never been done before in the history of the Arena Football League, when they won their 200th game in franchise history with a 50-47 victory over the

Georgia Force The Georgia Force was an Arena Football League (AFL) team based in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States (part of suburban Atlanta) that played in the South Division of the American Conference. The team was owned by Doug MacGregor and Donn Je ...

, led by Rodriguez, who was named the Offensive Player of the Game and the game's MVP. By midseason, Rodriguez had recorded 72 receptions, 967 yards, 24 TDs and was on his way to break a pair of Storm single-season receiving records through nine games and on pace to shatter the franchise record for receptions in a year, set at 125 by

Huey Whittaker Hubert Alton George "Huey" Whittaker (born June 19, 1981) is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2004. He played college football at South Flori ...

and

Amarri Jackson Amarri Nathaniel Jackson (born May 18, 1985) is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. Early life Jackson attended Riverview High School, in Sarasota, Florida, where he earned four varsity letters in football, three ...

in 2011. Throughout the 2012 season, the AFL spotlights players who not only contributed on the field, but made an effort to go above and beyond to make a difference in the community, Rodriguez was recognized for his teamwork and philanthropic efforts in the community with honors that included the Russell Athletic Offensive Player of the Game, AFL Play Maker of the Game, Spalding Highlight of the Game, National Guard Community MVP, and Cutters Catch of the Game. At the end of the 2012 season, Rodriguez had 32 touchdowns and tied the single-season franchise record for receptions (125) and set the single-season franchise rookie record for receiving yards (1,653).

Orlando Predators

Rodriguez set the Orlando Predators single-season franchise record with 41 touchdowns. In his performance against Tampa Bay in Week 12, Rodriguez had his best game of the season, helping beat his former team for 157 yards and 5 touchdowns, and he also tied a career-high with 12 receptions in the contest. At the end of the 2013 season, Rodriguez caught 119 passes for 1,614 yards and 41 touchdowns. He was selected to play in the AFL All-Star Exhibition Games in

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

and

Beijing, China } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

Pittsburgh Power

On February 6, 2014, Rodriguez was traded to the

Pittsburgh Power The Pittsburgh Power were a professional arena football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The team belonged to the East Division of the American Conference (AC) in the Arena Football League (AFL). Founded in 2011, the Power ...

in exchange for

Markell Carter Markell Carter (born July 29, 1989) is a former gridiron football middle linebacker. He was drafted by the New England Patriots with the 194th overall pick in the 6th round of the 2011 NFL Draft. Early life Markell was born in Bartlesville, O ...

and

Ben Ossai Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett or Benson, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben (in he, בֶּן, ''son of'') forms part of Hebrew surnames, e.g. Abraham ben Abraham ( h ...

. Rodriguez missed 8 games due to a high ankle sprain but nonetheless finished the regular season with 85 receptions for 1,138 yards and 32 touchdowns. The Power folded in November 2014.

Jacksonville Sharks

On April 9, 2015, Rodriguez was assigned to the

Jacksonville Sharks The Jacksonville Sharks are a professional indoor football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, playing their home games at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. Beginning in 2017, the Sharks began play as charter members of the National Arena Leag ...

Philadelphia Soul

On December 11, 2015, Rodriguez was traded to the

Philadelphia Soul Philadelphia soul, sometimes called Philly soul, the Philadelphia sound, Phillysound, or The Sound of Philadelphia TSOP, is a genre of late 1960s–1970s soul music characterized by funk influences and lush instrumental arrangements, often feat ...

for future considerations. On March 25, 2016, Rodriguez was placed on reassignment.

Jacksonville Sharks

On April 28, 2016, Rodriguez was assigned to the

. On May 20, 2016, Rodriguez was placed on reassignment.

Tampa Bay Storm

On June 22, 2016, Rodriguez was assigned to the Storm.

Statistics

References

External links

TheWorldofBigPlay.com
Official Website * Frank M. Gibson Trophy {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Prechae 1985 births Living people Players of American football from Tampa, Florida Players of Canadian football from Tampa, Florida Thomas Jefferson High School (Tampa, Florida) alumni American football wide receivers American players of Canadian football Canadian football wide receivers Coffeyville Red Ravens football players Auburn Tigers football players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Canadian Football League Rookie of the Year Award winners Saskatchewan Roughriders players Montreal Alouettes players Edmonton Elks players Tampa Bay Storm players Orlando Predators players Pittsburgh Power players Jacksonville Sharks players Philadelphia Soul players Florida Tarpons players