Craig Anthony Loston, Jr. (born December 21, 1989) 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 ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

. 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 ...

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

, and signed with the Jaguars as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2014.

Early life

Loston attended Eisenhower High School in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, where he was a four-sport star in football, basketball, track and baseball. In

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

, he was timed at 10.4 seconds in the

100-meter dash The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contest ...

. Regarded as a five-star recruit, Loston was ranked as the best safety in the country by ''

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

''.

College career

Loston played in two games as a true freshman in 2009 before suffering an injury and being

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

. After spending 2010 and 2011 as a backup, he became a starter for the first time in 2012. He finished the season with 55 tackles and three

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

s. He nearly declared for the

2013 NFL draft The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

, but returned for his senior season at

Professional career

2014 NFL Combine

Jacksonville Jaguars

Following the

2014 NFL draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

, Loston was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. The Jaguars released Loston on August 29, 2014. However, he was signed to the practice squad on August 31, 2014. Loston was promoted to the active roster on September 13, 2014. He was released on September 20 and re-signed to the practice squad on September 22. He was once again elevated to the active roster on September 29. He was released on September 5, 2015. He was signed to the practice squad on September 6, 2015. On October 14, 2015, he was released. On October 20, 2015, Loston was signed to the practice squad, but was released one day later. On October 27, 2015, he was re-signed to the practice squad. On November 18, 2015, Loston was promoted to the active roster.

References

External links

Jacksonville Jaguars bioLSU Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Loston, Craig 1989 births Living people Players of American football from Houston American football safeties LSU Tigers football players Jacksonville Jaguars players