Born in Gilead, Nebraska, Presnell attended DeWitt High School and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He played college football as a halfback for the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team from 1925 to 1927. In 1925, Presnell led Nebraska to a 14-0 victory over an Illini team that included the "Galloping Ghost", Red Grange. As one writer put it, "all the galloping was done by Presnell this day." Presnell was selected as a first-team player on the 1927 College Football All-America Team.