Trey Diller (born March 12, 1990) is a former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

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 ...

. 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 ...

Sam Houston State University Sam Houston State University (Sam Houston, SHSU or Sam) is a public research university in Huntsville, Texas, United States. Founded in 1879, it is the third-oldest public college or university in Texas. It is one of the first normal schools wes ...

, and signed with the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

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 2013.

High school career

Diller attended

The Woodlands College Park High School The Woodlands College Park High School is a high school in The Woodlands, CDP area of Montgomery County, Texas, in the United States. It is operated by the Conroe Independent School District (CISD), and is one of the six main high schools in th ...

The Woodlands, Texas The Woodlands is a Special district (United States), special-purpose district and census-designated place (CDP) in the U.S. state of Texas in the Greater Houston, Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area. The Woodlands ...

. He caught 59 passes for 1,460 yards and 22 touchdowns, and helped lead the College Park Cavaliers to an undefeated regular season as a senior. He also returned two kickoffs and three punts for touchdowns.

College career

Diller originally played at

Wofford College Wofford College is a private liberal arts college in Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1854, it is one of the few four-year institutions in the southeastern United States founded before the American Civil War that still ope ...

, where he contributed to special teams. He made 5 tackles and also returned a kickoff for a touchdown. Entering his sophomore season, Diller transferred from Wofford to

in Hunstville, Texas, only a few miles north from where he went to high school. In his career, Diller caught 2,117 yards for 11 touchdowns at Sam Houston State, leading his team to two back-to-back FCS national championship appearances. He also returned two punts for touchdowns.

Professional career

Diller was ranked 1st in FCS receivers, 3rd overall in FCS athletes, and 82nd in overall NCAA players. He was predicted to be an early 7th round draft pick.

Carolina Panthers

After going undrafted, Diller signed with the Carolina Panthers on April 26, 2013. He caught 2 passes for 19 yards in the preseason, additionally returning 2 punts for a combined 41 yards, and making 2 tackles. Diller was cut from the team after being placed on injury reserve.

New Orleans Voodoo

After briefly practicing with the

Los Angeles Kiss The Los Angeles Kiss (stylized as LA KISS) were a professional arena football team based in Anaheim, California, and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The Kiss joined the AFL as an expansion team after Los Angeles' previous franchise ( ...

, Diller signed with the

New Orleans VooDoo The New Orleans VooDoo were a professional arena football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They were members of the Arena Football League from 2004 to 2015. The VooDoo were the second team to play in the Arena Football League and play in ...

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

on March 5, 2015. He was released by the team before the season due to a reoccurring knee injury. He shortly thereafter retired from football.

Personal life

Trey Diller retired from professional football after reoccurring injuries began to affect his personal life. He briefly coached at Sam Houston State but currently owns his own business, Inspire Productions. On July 17, 2017, Diller was severely injured in a car accident near

Luling, Texas Luling is a city in Caldwell County, Texas, Caldwell and Guadalupe County, Texas, Guadalupe counties, Texas, United States, along the San Marcos River. The population as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census was 5,599. History The tow ...

, in which his truck rear-ended a semi-truck trailer at high speeds. He was hospitalized for several months, while driver, friend, and Army veteran Justin Hartley was fatally injured.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diller, Trey 1990 births Living people American football wide receivers Carolina Panthers players New Orleans VooDoo players Sam Houston Bearkats football players Sam Houston State University alumni