Preston Fox Explains Why He Retired From Football and What Brought Him Back

Following the 2024 season, veteran West Virginia wide receiver Preston Fox took some time to weigh his options and ultimately decided to hang up his cleats and retire from the game of football. He still had the opportunity to come back for one more year, but at the time, he thought it was the best decision to step away and get his body right.

Two months later, the Morgantown native decided to hit up head coach Rich Rodriguez to see if he could come out of his brief retirement to finish out his career at WVU, and was given that opportunity.

“Initially, it was because of all the injuries that I had my final year," Fox said when asked about what led to his decision to retire. "My low back was hurting really bad, the stuff earlier in the year, and then at the end of the year with the concussion, it just kind of set me off in my mind. I just didn’t want to play anymore. And then, I started to miss the game. I was going day in and day out, going to the gym, just thinking about football, and decided to text coach and set a meeting up with him, and hopefully he would give me the chance to come back, and he did.”

West Virginia University receiver Preston Fox hauling in a punt against UCF. | Christopher Hall - West Virginia on SI

Fox was with the team for part of the spring, so he's been in the system for a while now and is trying to carve out a role on offense while likely holding down return duties on special teams. So far, the body appears to be holding up for the redshirt senior, who said this is the best he's felt.

“I feel good right now. I just needed a couple of months to get my body back.”

“I’m excited for the next part of my journey, but I’m also trying to leave everything out there on the field and just give it my all each and every day," he continued. "If things go wrong and I get hurt, it happens. It’s God’s plan. I’m just trying to give it my all every single day.”

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