Derrell Robertson was an American college football player from Tyler, Texas

Tyler, Texas

Tyler is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Texas, in the United States. It takes its name from President John Tyler . The city had a population of 109,000 in 2010, according to the United States Census Bureau...

 who played for Mississippi State University

Mississippi State University

The Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science commonly known as Mississippi State University is a land-grant university located in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States, partially in the town of Starkville and partially in an unincorporated area...

 in 1988 and 1989. After college, Robertson signed with the Las Vegas Posse

Las Vegas Posse

The Las Vegas Posse was a Canadian Football League team that played the 1994 season as part of the CFL's short-lived American expansion. The Posse was one of the least successful CFL teams, both on the field and off.-On the field:...

 of the Canadian Football League

Canadian Football League

The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....

 in 1994. Robertson was killed in a car accident in December 1994 but was still drafted by the Ottawa Rough Riders

Ottawa Rough Riders

The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. One of the oldest and longest lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine times. Their most dominant era was the 1960s and 1970s, a...

 in a dispersal draft

Dispersal draft

A dispersal draft is a process in professional sports for assigning players to a new team when their current team goes out of business, consolidates with another team, or for some other reason ceases to exist. Since most sports drafts are held in North America, this is where most dispersal drafts...

 after the Posse folded.

Career

After playing at Mississippi State, Robertson was signed by the Posse on April 7, 1994. However, he was killed in an automobile accident on December 5, 1994, about a month after the season ended.

After the end of the 1994 Canadian Football League season, the Posse folded, and its players were made available to the other CFL teams through a dispersal draft in April 1995. A list of potential draftees, including Robertson, was distributed by the league to the teams. With their fourth round pick, the Ottawa Rough Riders selected Robertson. Rough Riders football operations head Garney Henley had previously consulted with the former Posse coach, Ron Meyer

Ron Meyer

-References:...

 and had also spoken with offensive coordinator Ron Smeltzer. Both of them spoke well of Robertson, and were apparently unaware of his death, as they did not mention it. According to Ottawa coach Jim Gilstrap

Jim Gilstrap

Jim Gilstrap is an American singer best known for his work as a session musician and his 1975 solo hit single "Swing Your Daddy", as well as singing co-lead to the theme from the TV series Good Times.-Career:...

, the league had been unaware of Robertson's death, as had the team—until they tried and failed to find him.