Henry Josey (born September 25, 1991) 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 wi ...

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 handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

. He was most recently a member of the

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) (French: Le Rouge et Noir d'Ottawa) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Starting ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL). He played college football at

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

Early years

Josey is from

Angleton, Texas Angleton is a city in and the county seat of Brazoria County, Texas, United States, within the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan area. Angleton lies at the intersection of State Highway 288, State Highway 35, and the Union Pac ...

. His father, Henry Neal, set a national high school record in the 100-meter dash in 1990. Josey attended

Angleton High School Angleton High School is a public high school located just outside the city of Angleton, Texas, United States in unincorporated Brazoria County. It is classified as a 5A school by the University Interscholastic League (UIL). It is a part of the ...

, where he began his football career as a linebacker in 2007. As a junior, he moved to the running back position and gained 1,267 rushing yards and scored 20 touchdowns. As a senior in 2009, he gained 1,369 yards rushing and scored 15 touchdowns. Also a standout

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 eve ...

athlete, Josey earned a second-place finish in the 100-meters at the 2010 Region 3-4A Meet, recording a career-best time of 10.50 seconds. He also competed as a

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a ...

er, he got a personal-best mark of 6.48 meters at the 2009 Rice Bayou Classic, placing 6th.

College career

2010 season

As a freshman for the

2010 Missouri Tigers football team The 2010 Missouri Tigers football team represented the University of Missouri in the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Gary Pinkel, who returned for his tenth season with Mizzou, and played their home games at Fa ...

, Josey gained 112 yards and scored three touchdowns (including a 62-yard touchdown run) in the season opener against

McNeese State McNeese State University is a public university in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Founded in 1939 as Lake Charles Junior College, it was renamed McNeese Junior College after John McNeese, an early local educator. The present name was adopted in 1970. ...

. Over the course of the 2010 season, he totaled 437 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 76 carries for an average of 4.8 yards per carry.

2011 season

As a sophomore, Josey became the starting running back for the 2011 Missouri Tigers football team. In the third week of the season, Josey gained 263 rushing yards and scored three touchdowns on 14 carries against Western Illinois. He reached the 263 yard mark in the first half and did not play in the second half. The following week, he rushed for 133 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries against the No. 1 ranked

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to a nickname given to the early participants in the Land Ru ...

. During the 2011 regular season, Josey totaled 1,168 rushing yards on 145 carries for an average of 8.1 yards per carry. He ranked second in the

NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). A ...

in yards per carry. He also ranked 12th in the Football Bowl Subdivision with an average of 116.8 rushing yards per game. His 2011 season ended short due to a severe knee injury.

2012 season

Josey missed spring football practice in 2012. Although he participated in pre-season practice with the team in August 2012, he did not play in any games during the season.

2013 season

Josey returned to play in all 14 games in 2013, rushing for 1,166 yards on 174 carries with 16 touchdowns. He finished his career with 2,771 yards on 395 carries, a Mizzou-best 7.0 yards per carry (minimum 300 attempts). After the season, he announced that he would forgo his senior season and enter the 2014 NFL Draft.

Professional career

Philadelphia Eagles

Josey signed 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 ...

with the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

on May 10, 2014. While Josey had a strong pre-season, he was released by the Eagles on August 29, 2014.

Jacksonville Jaguars

He was signed to the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

practice squad on August 31, 2014.

Minnesota Vikings

On December 24, 2014, Josey signed with 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 expansi ...

off the Jaguars' practice squad.

Toronto Argonauts

On May 26, 2015, Josey signed with the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

in the

(CFL). In the 2015 season Josey carried the ball 16 times gaining 30 yards on the ground; he also caught four passes for 15 yards.

Ottawa Redblacks

Josey signed with the

(CFL) on September 25, 2017. He was released by the club on April 12, 2018.

References

External links

Philadelphia Eagles bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Josey, Henry 1991 births Living people American football running backs Canadian football running backs African-American players of American football African-American players of Canadian football Missouri Tigers football players Players of American football from Texas People from Angleton, Texas Sportspeople from Brazoria County, Texas Philadelphia Eagles players Jacksonville Jaguars players Minnesota Vikings players Toronto Argonauts players 21st-century African-American sportspeople