Marcel Antoine Wayne Reece (born June 23, 1985) is an American former professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
player who was a
fullback in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL). He played
college football
College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
as a
wide receiver
A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...
for the
Washington Huskies
The Washington Huskies are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) N ...
and was signed by the
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...
as an
undrafted free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...
after the
2008 NFL draft
The 2008 NFL draft was the 73rd NFL draft, 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 (state), New York ...
. He was also a member of the
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...
and the
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...
. After his playing career, Reece became an executive with the
Las Vegas Raiders
The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West ...
in 2020.
Early life
Reece attended
Hesperia High School in
Hesperia, California
Hesperia () is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It is located north of downtown San Bernardino in Victor Valley and surrounded by the Mojave Desert. Because of its relatively high elevation and the unique and moderat ...
, where he was a first-team All-league performer in football, basketball and track. In
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
, he earned All-league honors as a
wide receiver
A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...
.
In
track & field
Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and ...
, Reece competed as a
sprinter while at Hesperia, earning All-league honors. He recorded a personal-best time of 49.8 seconds in the
400-meter dash as a senior. In addition, he also recorded a 4.45-second
40-yard dash
The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...
, bench-pressed 360 pounds and had a 34-inch
vertical.
College career
Reece continued his football career at
Chaffey College where he posted 25 receptions for 600 yards and 7 touchdowns. Reece decided to transfer to
El Camino College the following year where he posted 47 catches for 1,286 yards and 13 touchdowns. This performance earned him a scholarship to the University of Washington. He broke out during his senior year and made 39 catches for 761 yards and 8 touchdowns. The most notable play of Reece's career came against the University of Arizona where he had a 98-yard reception for a touchdown, which is the longest play from scrimmage in UW history. He also became a member of the
Omega Psi Phi
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. () is a List of African-American fraternities, historically African-American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. It was founded on November 17, 1911 at Howard University. Omega Psi Phi is a founding member of ...
fraternity.
Professional career
Pre-draft
Despite posting a 4.4-second
40-yard dash
The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...
, Reece was not drafted. He was noted as a "tweener", meaning that scouts did not know what position would fit him in the NFL. He was noted as being too big to be a receiver and too small to be a tight end.
Miami Dolphins
He was signed by the
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...
as an
undrafted free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...
in 2008. That same year, he was later cut after not making the final squad.
Oakland Raiders
The Raiders picked him up and experimented with him in a variety of positions and in this process found that fullback fit him best. Reece spent the entire 2008 season and the majority of the 2009 campaign on the Raiders’ practice squad.
In the
2010 NFL season
The 2010 NFL season was the 91st regular season (NFL), regular season of the National Football League (NFL) and the 45th of the Super Bowl era.
The regular season began with the National Football League Kickoff game, NFL Kickoff game on NBC S ...
, he emerged as the starting fullback for the Oakland Raiders, hauling in 25 receptions for 333 yards and 3 touchdowns while rushing for 122 yards and one touchdown. He blocked for his teammate running back
Darren McFadden
Darren McFadden (born August 27, 1987) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks football, Arkansas ...
, who rushed for 1,157 yards and 7 touchdowns.
In 2012, after a series of injuries to McFadden and back-up
Mike Goodson, Marcel Reece was switched from fullback to running back. He rushed for a total of 271 yards and recorded 52 receptions for 496 yards and one touchdown.
In 2013, both McFadden and back-up
Rashad Jennings were limited due to injures, allowing Reece to line up at running back. On December 27, 2013, he was the lone Raider selected for the
2013 Pro Bowl
The 2013 Pro Bowl was the National Football League (NFL)'s sixty-third annual all-star game which featured players from the 2012 season. It took place at 2:30 pm Hawaii–Aleutian Time ( UTC−10:00; 7:30 pm Eastern Time) on Sunday, Ja ...
, his second Pro Bowl nomination.
On December 23, 2014, Reece was selected once again to the Pro Bowl, marking his third straight Pro Bowl appearance at the fullback position.
In 2015, after
Derek Carr suffered an injury to his throwing hand,
Matt McGloin stepped in at quarterback, finding Reece for two receiving touchdowns, in a season-opening loss to the
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...
. On December 22, 2015, he was selected to his fourth straight Pro Bowl. On December 28, 2015, Reece was suspended for four games for violating league policy on performance-enhancing substances.
Reece was released by the Raiders on September 26, 2016.
Seattle Seahawks
On December 6, 2016, Reece was signed by the
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...
.
On July 28, 2017, Reece was re-signed by the Seahawks. He was released on September 2, 2017.
Career statistics
Return to the Raiders
On September 11, 2020, the Las Vegas Raiders announced Reece's return in an executive position, with the newly created title of Senior Advisor to the Owner and President for
Mark Davis and
Marc Badain. Less than two years later, Reece was promoted to Chief People Officer and then around May 21, 2022 Reece became Raiders' Senior Vice President, Chief of Staff. He resigned in 2023.
References
External links
*
Washington Huskies bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reece, Marcel
1985 births
Living people
People from Hesperia, California
American football wide receivers
American football fullbacks
Washington Huskies football players
Miami Dolphins players
Oakland Raiders players
Seattle Seahawks players
Players of American football from San Bernardino County, California
American Conference Pro Bowl players
Unconferenced Pro Bowl players
Las Vegas Raiders executives