Artose Deonce Pinner (born January 5, 1978) is a former

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

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

. He was drafted by the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

in the fourth round of the

2003 NFL Draft The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936 NF ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

High school years

Pinner attended

Hopkinsville High School Hopkinsville High School is a four-year public high school located in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, with over 1,000 students. It is operated by the Christian County Public Schools school district. History There was controversy in 1925 when the Christia ...

in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and was a standout in football and

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

. In track, he was a two-time Regional Champion in the 400 meter dash.

College career

He was a star running back for the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

between 1999 and 2002, running for 1414 yards in 2002, second-most in a single season in school history to

Moe Williams Maurece Jabari Williams (born July 26, 1974) is a former American football running back in the National Football League (NFL). He formerly played for the Minnesota Vikings and Baltimore Ravens. He attended the University of Kentucky. High sc ...

Professional career

Pinner was drafted with the second pick of the fourth round of the

by the Lions. He increased his rushing total in each of his first three seasons in the league, going from 99 yards in 2003 to 174 yards in 2004 to 349 yards in 2005. Through the 2005 season, Pinner scored five touchdowns, all rushing. Pinner was cut by the Detroit Lions in 2006 and was quickly claimed by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

. He had his best game statistically, which was his first start in the NFL, on December 10, 2006, when he ran for 125 yards and three touchdowns against his former

. On May 1, 2008, he returned to the

. After the 2008 preseason, he was waived by the Lions during final cuts on August 30, 2008.

Post-retirement

Pinner returned to the University of Kentucky in the summer of 2013 to complete his degree in

media studies Media studies is a discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history, and effects of various media; in particular, the mass media. Media Studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but mostly ...

. He graduated in December 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinner, Artose 1978 births Living people American football running backs Atlanta Falcons players Detroit Lions players Kentucky Wildcats football players Minnesota Vikings players New Orleans Saints players Sportspeople from Hopkinsville, Kentucky Players of American football from Kentucky