Albert Gene Anthony Connell (born May 13, 1974) 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

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 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) and

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL). 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 ...

for the

Texas A&M Aggies The Texas A&M Aggies are the students, graduates, and sports teams of Texas A&M University. The nickname "wikt:aggie#Etymology 2, Aggie" was once common at land-grant or "ag" (agriculture) schools in many states. The teams are also simply referr ...

. Connell played in the NFL for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

and the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

and with the CFL's

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium a ...

College career

He played

Trinity Valley Community College Trinity Valley Community College (TVCC) is a public community college based in Athens, Texas. It has six campuses serving five counties across the southeast and eastern parts of the state. History TVCC was founded in 1946 as Henderson County Jun ...

Athens, Texas Athens is a city and the county seat of Henderson County, Texas, Henderson County, Texas, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city population was 12,857. The city has called itself the "black-eyed pea, Bla ...

for two years, and was a member of the 1994 Junior College National Championship team. He was teammates with Al Harris of the

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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. They are the third ...

Matt Bryant Steven Matt Bryant (born May 29, 1975), nicknamed "Money Matt", is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Baylor Bears, and was signed as ...

of the

Buccaneers Buccaneers were a kind of privateer or free sailors, and pirates particular to the Caribbean Sea during the 17th and 18th centuries. First established on northern Hispaniola as early as 1625, their heyday was from the Restoration in 1660 unti ...

, coach Frank Induisi of St Thomas Aquinas High School, and coach Mark Sartain of

East Texas Baptist University East Texas Baptist University (ETBU) is a private Baptist university in Marshall, Texas, United States. It is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. History ETBU is located on the site of the former Van Zandt Farm at the highes ...

. He then went on to play two years at

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

. In the Aggies' game against Colorado on September 28, 1996, he had 18 receptions.

Professional career

Connell was selected in the fourth round of the 1997 NFL draft, the 115th overall pick. The 6'2", 190-pound receiver played in five games in his first season with the

. He had nine receptions for 138 yards and two touchdowns. In

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, he played in fourteen games and had 28 receptions for 451 yards and two touchdowns. In

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, he played in fifteen games and had 62 receptions for 1,132 yards and a career-high seven touchdowns. In

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, he played in 13 games and had 39 receptions for 762 yards and three touchdowns. Among those was an explosive seven-reception, three-touchdown performance against the

Jaguars The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat species in the Americas an ...

in October (that served as his only scores on the season). During his time in Washington, Connell was perceived by teammates and executives - both within and by rivals outside the organization - as having attitude problems that would later prevent him from being offered a long-term extension. In the spring of 2001, the

signed him to a five-year, $13 million contract that included a $2.5 million signing bonus. In

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, he played 12 games for the Saints, recording 12 receptions for 191 yards and two touchdowns. His future in the NFL was cut short when he was accused of stealing from

Deuce McAllister Dulymus Jenod "Deuce" McAllister (born December 27, 1978) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for eight seasons with the New Orleans Saints in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football ...

. He allegedly stole $4,000 from his former Saints teammate and was released from the team. He never played in the NFL again. At 29 years old, Connell signed with the

of the Canadian Football League (CFL) having been off a professional football roster for two years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Connell, Albert 1974 births Living people American football wide receivers Calgary Stampeders players Canadian football wide receivers New Orleans Saints players Players of American football from Fort Lauderdale, Florida Texas A&M Aggies football players Trinity Valley Cardinals football players Washington Redskins players Piper High School (Florida) alumni