Marvell Tell III (born August 2, 1996) is an

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 wit ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create turnove ...

for 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 club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The club's home ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL). He played college football at USC, and played high school football at Crespi Carmelite High School.

Early years

Playing at Crespi Carmelite High School in

Encino, California Encino ( Spanish for "oak") is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. History In 1769, the Spanish Portolá expedition, first Europeans to see inland areas of California, traveled north through Sepulved ...

, Tell played free safety and had ten scholarship offers after his sophomore year, which saw him intercept a pass and make over 50 tackles. He had to sit out part of his junior season due to a broken collarbone. His commitment to USC came at the Army All-American Bowl after his senior year at Crespi. Tell chose USC over

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...

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

and Vanderbilt, all of whom he visited.

College career

After playing sporadically during his freshman season at USC, Tell claimed a starting position in the defensive backfield for his sophomore season. Tell made the 2017 All-Pac-12 team on the first-team after his junior season. Towards the end of his senior season, Tell sustained an ankle sprain. At the end of the season, he was named an honorable mention on the 2018 All-Pac-12 team.

Professional career

At the 2019 NFL Combine, Tell turned heads with a 42-inch vertical jump. Scouts noted his speed and fluidness but worried about his intangibles.

Indianapolis Colts

Tell was drafted by the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 20 ...

in the fifth round (144th overall) in the

2019 NFL Draft The 2019 NFL Draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee. The first round was held on April ...

. In week 9 against the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Stee ...

, Tell forced a fumble on running back

Jaylen Samuels Jaylen Samuels (born July 20, 1996) is an American football running back who is currently a free agent. He played college football at North Carolina State University. Early years Samuels attended and played high school football at Mallard Cre ...

that was recovered by teammate

Justin Houston Justin Donovan Houston (born January 21, 1989) is an American football outside linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia, where he earned All-American honors, and was dr ...

in the 26–24 loss. On August 5, 2020, Tell announced he would opt out of the 2020 season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. On September 1, 2021, Tell was waived by the Colts and re-signed to the practice squad. On February 21, 2022, Tell re-signed with the Colts. He was waived on August 30, 2022.

Cincinnati Bengals

On September 1, 2022, the

signed Tell to their practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 31, 2023.

References

External links

USC Trojans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tell, Marvell 1996 births Living people Players of American football from Pasadena, California American football safeties USC Trojans football players Indianapolis Colts players Cincinnati Bengals players