Prechae Rodriguez

Prechae Rodriguez (born January 21, 1985 in Tampa, Florida) is an American football wide receiver who is currently a member of the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League. He most recently played for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. He was originally signed by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats as an undrafted free agent in 2008. During the 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 for the Auburn Tigers.

Early years
Rodriguez was born to Sonia 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 Junior College.Tampa Tribune In 2005 his brother Marcelino participated in the same AND-1 Mix Tape Tour at USF showcasing his dribbling ability to shake defenders and finish with powerful dunks earning him numerous compliments from fans and AND-1 team members and is currently featured on the 2005 Play Station2 AND1 Streetball video game.AND1

College career
Rodriguez attended Auburn University and majored in Sociology. However, before he went to Auburn he attended Coffeyville Junior College, redshirted in his freshman year in 2003 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, J.C Grid Wire honorable mention, SuperPrep Junco 100, and CollegeFootballNews.com's Top JUCO Wide Receivers. In 2005 Rodriguez became an Auburn Tiger and saw action in 11 games, caught 13 passes for 240 yards and one touchdown. His first collegiate catch 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 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 in the Cotton Bowl. During the Iron Bowl Game against Alabama, he caught a 22-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Brandon Cox in the third quarter that served as the game-winner for the Auburn Tigers.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Rodriguez went undrafted in the 2008 NFL Draft and attended tryout camps for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Hamilton Tiger-Cats and New York Jets. He signed with the New York Jets and was later released. On May 7, 2008 he signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and was expected to play a big role on the Tiger-Cats Team. He saw action in 14 games out of an 18 game season in 2008. Against the Edmonton Eskimos on July 26, Richie Williams threw a pass to Rodriguez for 46 yards which helped Jesse Lumsden score a touchdown on the next play. On September 13, once again against the Eskimos, Rodriguez caught two touchdown passes from quarterback Casey Printers 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 in the "Hall of Fame Game" in which Rodriguez caught a touchdown. In a late season game against the first place Montreal Alouettes, Rodriguez recorded 12 catches for a total of 198 yards with three touchdowns. His performance helped first time head coach Marcel Bellefeuille 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 of the Saskatchewan Roughriders 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 is among the CFL most dangerous wideouts. His outstanding size and leaping ability makes him a great target for quarterbacks.

Saskatchewan Roughriders
On February 24, 2010, Rodriguez was traded to the Saskatchewan Roughriders for non-import Canadian Adam Nicolson, 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 emgerged 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. The imported 2008 East Division Rookie of the Year 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 Montreal Alouettes but was released on July 27 after appearing in one game.

Edmonton Eskimos
On August 15, 2011, Rodriguez was signed by the Edmonton Eskimos after slotback Fred Stamps 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 of the Toronto Argonauts. 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 and wideout Prechae Rodriguez signed with the Tampa Bay Storm after spending four seasons (2008-2011) in the Canadian Football League (CFL) where he recorded 158 catches for 2,098 yards and 12 touchdowns while also earning the honor of Most Outstanding Rookie in 2008. Rodriguez never played indoor football until signing with the Tampa Bay Storm and was a breakout star for the Storm in 2012. In the first three games of his AFL 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, led by another outstanding performance by the Offensive Player of the Game and the game's MVP, wide receiver Prechae Rodriguez. By midseason Rodriguez 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 and Amarri Jackson 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 team work 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).