Josh Pinkard (born April 2, 1986) 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 ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

. He was signed by the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

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 ...

as an undrafted free agent. He played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

Hueneme High School Hueneme High School (HHS) ( ) is a public high school in Oxnard, California. The school is part of the Oxnard Union High School District and serves students in the southern portion of the city of Oxnard and most of Port Hueneme including part of N ...

Oxnard, California Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. On California's South Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the 22nd-most-populous city in California. Incorporated in 1903, Oxnard lies approximately west ...

Early life

Pinkard's prep career included being named a

Super Prep ''Super Prep'' is a sports magazine based in Laguna Beach, California, published in since 1985. It was founded and is published by Allen Wallace, a lawyer. Its main focus is to provide recruiting information on high school football players. In 19 ...

All-American, Super Prep All-Farwest, Prep Star All-West,

Tacoma News Tribune ''The News Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Tacoma, Washington. It is the second-largest daily newspaper in the state of Washington with a weekday circulation of 30,945 in 2020. With origins dating back to 1883, the newspaper w ...

Western 100, All-

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Southern Section first-team, All-CIF Division IV and

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All-Ventura/North Coast pick as a senior suuwooin defensive back, wide receiver, and center. During his senior year at Katy he recorded 123 tackles, 2 sacks and 4 interceptions on defense and 22 receptions for 200-plus yards with 5 TDs on offense. He earned

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n honors in 2003.

Collegiate career

In his

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

year in 2004, Pinkard played in all 13 games as a reserve safety and on special teams. In his

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

season in 2005, Pinkard played in all 13 games and started seven games, with six of those games as a

. In his

junior year A junior is person in the third year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In United States high schools, a junio ...

in 2006, Pinkard suffered a torn

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...

on his right knee at the season opener (a 50-14 win over

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

), and did not play for the remainder of the season. In his

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

in 2007, Pinkard was moved to the top of the cornerback depth chart. However, in the practice before the first game of the season he once again suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament, this time on his left knee, that ruled him out for the remainder of the season.Gary Klein
Pinkard to again miss the season
''Los Angeles Times'', September 12, 2007. On May 18, 2007, Pinkard was arrested on suspicion of

driving under the influence Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...

by the

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. After a brief stay in jail, he was released pending his court hearing. In November 2007, Pinkard pleaded

no contest ' is a legal term that comes from the Latin phrase for "I do not wish to contend". It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense. In criminal Trial (law), trials in certain United States jurisdictions, it is a plea where the def ...

to alcohol-related

reckless driving In United States law, reckless driving is a major moving traffic violation that generally consists in driving a vehicle with willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property. It is usually a more serious offense than careless ...

and was sentenced to 36 months of probation and was ordered to pay a fine.Gary Klein
Davis wants Ohio State
''Los Angeles Times'', November 29, 2007. When a senior, Pinkard was granted a sixth year by the NCAA due to two season-ending knee injuries. He was finally given his full clearance to come back. On the same day, Pinkard was also invited to the NFL combine. He was named second-team All-Pac-10 in 2009.

Professional career

After going undrafted in the

2010 NFL Draft The 2010 NFL Draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, with the firs ...

, Pinkard signed as a free agent with the

. He was released on September 3, 2011, re-signed to the Seahawks' practice squad the following day, and then released from the practice squad on September 6, 2011.

References

External links

Seattle Seahawks bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinkard, Josh 1986 births Living people American football safeties American football cornerbacks Sportspeople from Oxnard, California USC Trojans football players Seattle Seahawks players Players of American football from Ventura County, California