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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (BVM) – Sports have always been a huge part of Preston Engel鈥檚 life. He grew up in a family that had sports directly connected to them, as his father, Greg Engel, played in the NFL for the San Diego Chargers and Detroit Lions. This passion for athletics has driven Preston towards his goals, and he鈥檚 having a blast being part of the Illinois Fighting Illini football program.听

A multi-talented athlete, Preston did it all while attending Normal Community High School where he played both football and basketball.听

鈥淚 played football and basketball pretty much my whole life,鈥� Preston said. 鈥淎fter my freshman year of high school, I decided I enjoyed playing football more, and that鈥檚 when I put more time into the weight room my sophomore year.鈥澛�

The time Preston had been putting into his passion for sports had been paying off for him as well when it came to the skills he had developed.

鈥淚 knew it was better to come from a background of playing a lot of sports, so I played as much as I could of all different things when I grew up,鈥� Preston said. 鈥淚 know that helps with the development of being good at sports, you have to be good at multiple things, not just one thing, so that definitely helped.鈥�

Preston not only played and loved the sport of football, he watched it all the time as well.听

鈥淚 was a Charger fan growing up,鈥� Preston said. 鈥淚 always got hate from all my friends because they were Bears fans being from central Illinois.鈥澛�

While playing football for the Normal Community Ironmen, Preston led the front lines as the team鈥檚 starting center. This was a role he took very seriously, as he commanded the entire offensive line.听

鈥淵ou have a responsibility for everybody around you and you just have to make sure that everyone is on the same page,鈥� Preston said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 something that taught me a lot of different life skills, not just football skills. Being able to conduct people around you, being able to help them out when they need you, you just have to be focused on your assignment and what you have to do in order to be successful and then execute that. That was my mindset every play.鈥澛�

This mindset, combined with his family鈥檚 involvement with Illinois, made Preston鈥檚 commitment there seem like a no-brainer. While his dad played college football for Illinois, he has other family members involved there as well. His mother, Melissa, is the Director of Internal Operations for Institutional Advancement at Illinois. His older brother, Mclain, also attended Illinois. While Mclain was in Champaign, he was a student manager for the Fighting Illini men鈥檚 basketball team.听

While Preston had other schools interested in him such as Ball State, Purdue and Indiana State — who all had extended him walk-on opportunities — Illinois was too good to pass up.

I am excited to announce my commitment to continue my academic and football career at the University of Illinois this fall馃張馃敹馃敺

— Preston Engel (@PrestonEngel53)

For Preston, having such a strong family background that was successful in the sport of football inspired him to strive for greatness. While his family doesn鈥檛 pressure him to play football, they will always support him and his time in the game. Instances like his father鈥檚 career inspire him. Greg was also a center at Illinois prior to a four-season NFL career in the 1990s where he was primarily in a reserve role for the Chargers and Lions.

Happy 50th Birthday to graduate Greg Engel. He played four seasons in the NFL with the San Diego Chargers and Detroit Lions. @BHSraiderFB

— Mike Pearson (@illinilegends)

鈥淚t definitely did, but my dad never put any pressure on football,鈥� Preston said about his father鈥檚 career inspiring him and how his dad supports him. 鈥淗e always tells me of how he lived his football life, he鈥檚 not gonna live his football life through me. Obviously he鈥檚 gonna support me and he always does that, which is awesome. It鈥檚 nice not having that pressure, and it really made me feel like if I wanted to pursue it, I could. But if not, I could find something else. I did find a true passion for it and it inspired me and brought me to the U of I, which is where I wanted to be.鈥澛�

Preston鈥檚 debut for Illinois in 2018 as a redshirt freshman had many emotions involved with it. It鈥檚 an experience he鈥檒l never forget.听

鈥淚t was definitely an emotional experience,鈥� Preston said. 鈥淚 grew up being an Illinois fan, and I went to the games and always followed football at the U of I. Being on the other side of it, being a player and knowing all of the stuff that went into it, and then ultimately seeing it on game day, it was surreal. It鈥檚 something that I鈥檒l never forget.鈥澛�

Preston鈥檚 experience at Illinois is also coupled with a newer face for the program, coach Bret Bielema, whom Preston has a tremendous amount of respect for.听

鈥淗e鈥檚 been awesome,鈥� Preston said. 鈥淪omething that he does is he鈥檚 super transparent, he lets you know what he wants. That鈥檚 something I really respect out of him, and I think that鈥檚 how he gets the most out of us. The process of a coaching transition is tough, but he made it really smooth. He gave everybody a chance to come back onto the team no matter what. I think that鈥檚 something that a lot of people don鈥檛 do when they鈥檙e making a coaching change in college football.”

Not only has Bielema been forthcoming with the team, his players such as Preston are learning a lot from the seasoned coach.

鈥淐oach Bielema is an elite coach,鈥� Preston said. 鈥淪ome of the things that we鈥檙e learning are some things that I鈥檝e never been exposed to, and overall the transition has just been awesome.鈥澛�

For Preston though, the 2021 season would be one that tested every skill he had grown over the years as he was sidelined with an injury.

鈥淚 had a small fracture in my leg that I got during camp,鈥� Preston said. 鈥淚鈥檇 prided myself on being somebody who doesn鈥檛 miss practice and who鈥檚 always there and trying to be durable.鈥澛�

This time being sidelined would be an unfortunate new experience for Preston, but his drive to help his team and get back into uniform helped him through that difficult time.听

鈥淚t was definitely something I hadn鈥檛 been accustomed to, I had never been used to being on the sidelines,鈥� Preston said. 鈥淚 just tried to stay as positive as I could throughout the process. The time is gonna pass through and I鈥檒l be better from it, but it was tough. Just seeing everybody out there competing and putting so much into it, and then you鈥檙e off on the sidelines kind of hanging out, that definitely was not enjoyable.鈥�

Preston used the rehabilitation time to pick up on some new habits that helped his recuperation process, and he credits the team鈥檚 training staff for helping him along the way.听

鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of little things you pick up in the training room,鈥� Preston said. 鈥淲e got a really good staff in there, and doing some of the stuff day in and day out, you learn little things in there that are gonna help you with your recovery process. Something as simple as diet and how to eat right to reduce inflammation in your body, that鈥檚 gonna help with your recovery as well.鈥澛�

When it came to his recovery time, Preston was strictly business, as he wanted nothing more than to get back onto the field.听

鈥淚 was really just focused on trying to get as healthy as I could as fast as I could,鈥� Preston said. 鈥淚 had a couple of setbacks during that process, which that鈥檚 kind of how it goes. I was really just focused on getting back on the field more than anything.鈥澛�

When it comes to football, Preston has played many different positions as well, showing off a versatile skill set. In high school he played center, and at Illinois he鈥檚 been on special teams, and in a package as a fullback/tight end. This season, his primary duties will be as a long snapper. This role will be a vital position for Illinois鈥� special teams, and the experience of playing all the different positions has given Preston a lot of knowledge

That鈥檚 a good block by

— Verdisbrown漏锔�4锔忊儯6锔忊儯 (@verdisbrown)

鈥淛ust being in different position rooms just gives you a lot of perspective, and it gives you a lot of knowledge on how to make a room successful,鈥� Preston said. 鈥淚鈥檝e seen good rooms, and I鈥檝e seen not as good of rooms. Just being able to take knowledge from each room that I鈥檝e been in and try to help the room be as positive as it can be to be successful, that鈥檚 been a big takeaway for me.鈥澛�

There are many things that can go wrong when a team runs a play, but Preston and his teammates all have the same mindset to get over the mental hump that can grow from these missed opportunities.听

鈥淲e have a saying in our room, one of one,鈥� Preston said. 鈥淓ssentially what that means is that play is one play of one play. There is no play that will be like that again. That mentality is something that even though some plays don鈥檛 go your way, you have to clear your mind and focus on the next one. You can get caught up thinking about all different kinds of things, and that will ultimately make you play worse on the next play. So being able to be mature enough to understand and figure out what you did wrong and then correct that mistake, that鈥檚 a key to be successful, not just in sports, but in life.鈥澛�

Preston has been on the team for a few seasons now, with his junior year coming up this fall. He鈥檚 accrued many positive memories over that time, with one particular standing out: the 2019 Redbox Bowl between the Fighting Illini and the California Golden Bears.

鈥淛ust being able to get to that point was good, and obviously we now have higher aspirations than that,鈥� Preston said. 鈥淛ust going to bowl games and going to places you haven鈥檛 been was the most fun, and it鈥檚 been an experience. You always want to be playing in the postseason in college football, that鈥檚 something that you always strive for.鈥澛�

After everything he鈥檚 been through, there鈥檚 probably no one more excited than Engel for the Fighting Illini鈥檚 2022 season to start, and he won鈥檛 have to wait much longer. Illinois will host the Wyoming Cowboys on Aug. 27 to kick off the year. For Preston, he can鈥檛 wait for the opportunity to step onto the field at Memorial Stadium again.

鈥淭his season I鈥檓 mostly just looking forward to seeing what we can do compared to last year,鈥� Preston said. 鈥淵ou know we have a different team, we lost a lot of super seniors because of the Covid rules. I think it鈥檚 gonna be fun this year, we got a lot of guys who have been waiting to return, so I鈥檓 most excited to see how we can do as a team, just to see how all the hard work and the process will pay off.鈥澛�

Throughout his career, Preston has also watched a lot of NFL, as he believes watching those in the pro leagues will help him develop his skills.听

鈥淲e watch a lot of NFL film because it鈥檚 fun watching guys at the highest level do what they do,鈥� Preston said. 鈥淛ust being able to take small things from each person鈥檚 game, I鈥檝e been watching a lot of NFL long snappers and studying the techniques they use and some of the things they do that makes them so successful. I think when you watch the best, you ultimately get better from it, because you can see things that are working at a high level all the time. Having access to that information and that film is so beneficial, so I do watch it pretty intensely.鈥澛�

For Preston, he has many different opportunities in life going forward. While a potential pro career could be there for him, he鈥檚 currently just enjoying his time at Illinois with his teammates.

鈥淚鈥檓 just taking it one step at a time, honestly,鈥� Preston said.听

Outside of the game of football, Preston enjoys connecting with the Champaign-Urbana community that鈥檚 cheered him on throughout his career. One such way Preston does this is volunteering to help the , an organization dedicated to helping children with physical and mental disabilities enjoy various sports by organizing teams for the children to play on. The organization connects with the Illinois athletics department for volunteers, and many student athletes from Illinois volunteer to help the kids play and enjoy sports in a safe environment.听

New friends and lots of smiles at tonight's Tom Jones Challenger League All-Star Game

— Illinois Athletics (@IlliniAthletics)

鈥淚 try and go out into the community, going out and helping people and trying to be a good person,鈥� Preston said. 鈥淚 try to help with the Tom Jones Challenger League, they do stuff with student athletes all the time and they鈥檙e a good foundation.鈥澛�

For Preston, the world of sports has always been present in his life. From an early age he has been successful as a gifted multi-sport athlete. This environment has also been with him during one of the toughest periods of his life, but with the skills he鈥檚 gathered over the years, he was able to come back better than ever for a sport and team he鈥檚 loved since his childhood. Now, Preston will have another opportunity with greatness that鈥檚 looming right around the corner, and there鈥檚 no one more excited for the kick off of the 2022 season.

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