Roell Preston (born June 23, 1972) is a former professional

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 with ...

player. He was selected by the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

in the fifth round of the

1995 NFL Draft The 1995 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 22–23, 1995 at the Paramount Th ...

. A 5-foot 10-inch, 187-pound wide receiver from the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...

, Preston played in five NFL seasons from 1995 to 1999 for the Falcons, the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

, the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

, the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

, and the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

. He was a 1998

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

selection as a member of the Packers, mainly used as a

kickoff Kickoff or kick-off may refer to * Kick-off (association football) * Kickoff (gridiron football) * ''Kick Off'' (series), a series of computer association football games * ''Kick Off'' (album), a 1985 album by Onyanko Club * ''Kick Off'' (magaz ...

and

punt return In gridiron football, a punt is a kick performed by dropping the ball from the hands and then kicking the ball before it hits the ground. The most common use of this tactic is to punt the ball downfield to the opposing team, usually on the final d ...

specialist. He is currently living in the North Miami area.

Early life

Having grown up in the troubled Lincoln Fields Apartment complex of North Miami, Preston attended Hialeah High School in Hialeah, Florida and was a letterman in football and track. After some initial struggles as a high school freshman, Preston began training in earnest as a sophomore. As a junior, he was a second-team All-Dade County selection in football. As a senior, he was a first-team All-Dade County selection. All three years at Hialeah High Preston donned jersey number 2.

College career

Preston started at

Northwest Mississippi Community College Northwest Mississippi Community College is a public community college in Senatobia, Mississippi. It was founded in 1928. As of August 2008, Northwest's enrollment exceeds 7,100 students. There are approximately 3,000 students on the Senatobia ca ...

, but soon transferred to the

to play for the

Ole Miss Rebels The Ole Miss Rebels are the 18 men's and women's intercollegiate athletic teams that are funded by and represent the University of Mississippi, located in Oxford. The first was the football team, which began play in 1893. Originally known as th ...

as a wide receiver. At Northwest he majored in criminal justice and excelled in football. As a sophomore, the year Mississippi won the national title, he caught 58 passes for a total of 1,026 yards. He then led the team with 35 receptions for a total of 455 yards. During his senior year, he was chosen as the Super Sleeper Team choice by The Poor Man's Guide to the NFL Draft.

Professional career

Preston played four years in the NFL for several different teams, used mostly as a returner on special teams. His best season was in 1998, when he racked up 1,497 yards returning kickoffs and 1,918 all-purpose yards. He also set a Packers franchise record in the playoffs with 198 kickoff return yards in their loss to the

. Preston finished his career with 4,256 total yards and 5 touchdowns. Preston also played in 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 ...

and

XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...

in 2001.

Personal

His brother, Rock Preston, played in the CFL and was a teammate with Roell on 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 ...

.Temper optimism with caution
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Preston, Roell 1972 births Living people Hialeah Senior High School alumni American football wide receivers American football return specialists Canadian football wide receivers Northwest Mississippi Rangers football players Ole Miss Rebels football players Atlanta Falcons players Green Bay Packers players Washington Redskins players Miami Dolphins players San Francisco 49ers players Tennessee Titans players Saskatchewan Roughriders players Chicago Enforcers players National Conference Pro Bowl players Players of American football from Miami Players of Canadian football from Miami