Jonathan Raymond Greenard (born May 25, 1997) is an

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 ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

for the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). 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 ...

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

and

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Early life and high school career

Greenard grew up in

Hiram, Georgia Hiram is a city in Paulding County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population is 4,929. History The Georgia General Assembly incorporated the Town of Hiram in 1891. The city was named after Hiram Baguette, the town's first po ...

and attended

Hiram High School Hiram High School is a public high school in Hiram, Georgia, United States. History The history of a school in the Hiram area goes back a century. The earliest records list teachers working between 1907 and 1913, when a new three-room schoolhou ...

, where he played basketball and football. As a senior, he was named the 5-A regional defensive player of the year. Rated a three-star recruit, Greenard committed to play college football at

over Kentucky.

College career

Greenard was a member of the Louisville Cardinals, redshirting his true freshman season. He was a key reserve at linebacker as a redshirt freshman recording 22 tackles (seven for loss) and 2.5 sacks along with two passes broken up and an interception, which he returned 42 yards for a touchdown. He made his first career start in the 2016 Citrus Bowl, making five tackles (1.5 for loss). Greenard became a starter for the Cardinals in his redshirt sophomore season and led the team with 15.5 tackles and tied for the team lead with seven sacks. Greenard dislocated his wrist in the first series of first game of his redshirt junior season against Alabama and was forced to miss the entire season. He announced that he would be transferring to the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

at the end of the season. While injured as a redshirt junior, Greenard took extra courses in order to graduate a semester early and was able to enroll at Florida in January 2019 as a graduate transfer. He was named the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

co-Defensive Lineman of the Week after making six tackles with 1.5 sacks against

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

in his first game as a Gator. Greenard finished the season with 52 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks with three forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, four passes defended and an interception.

Professional career

Greenard was drafted by the

in the third round, 90th overall, of the

2020 NFL Draft The 2020 NFL Draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The d ...

. On May 14, 2020, Greenard signed a four-year contract with the Texans that included a nearly $900,000 signing bonus. Greenard made his NFL debut on October 4, 2020 against 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 ...

. In Week 11 against the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

, Greenard recorded his first career sack on

Cam Newton Cameron Jerrell Newton (born May 11, 1989) is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He has played for 11 seasons, primarily with the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed "Super Cam", he is the NFL ...

during the 27–20 win. Greenard finished his rookie season with 19 tackles, two tackles for loss, and one sack in 13 games played with one start. On October 22, 2022, Greenard was placed on injured reserve. He was activated on December 17.

References

External links

Louisville Cardinals bioFlorida Gators bioHouston Texans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenard, Jonathan 1997 births Living people Players of American football from Paulding County, Georgia American football linebackers Louisville Cardinals football players Florida Gators football players Houston Texans players