Reggie Nelson

Reggie Lee Nelson (born September 21, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida Gators, winning a national championship and earning consensus All-American honors. He was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first round of the 2007 NFL draft and also played for the Cincinnati Bengals and Oakland Raiders. Nelson was born in Melbourne, Florida in 1983. He attended Palm Bay High School in Melbourne, and was a standout high school football player for the Palm Bay Pirates. He was teammates with Joe Cohen and Xavier Carter. Nelson was a two-time first-team All-State honoree, and helped lead Palm Bay to win Florida Class 4A state championship as a safety and return specialist in 2002. As a senior, Nelson averaged forty-five yards per punt return and 26.8 yards per kickoff return, totaling a state record 1,531 return yards. In 2007, four years after he graduated from high school, the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) named Nelson to its "All-Century Team," recognizing him as one of the thirty-three greatest Florida high school football players of the last 100 years. He was taught how to play football by Rob Robbins.