Joshua Zekiah Pryor (born October 25, 1999) is an American football defensive end. 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 ...

Bowie State Bowie State University (Bowie State) is a public historically black university in Prince George's County, Maryland, north of Bowie. It is part of the University System of Maryland. Founded in 1865, Bowie State is Maryland's oldest historically b ...

and was signed by the Washington Commanders as an undrafted free agent in .

Early life

Pryor was born on October 25, 1999, in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

. He began playing football at age five. He attended Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in Baltimore and was an unranked recruit. He began his collegiate career with the NCAA Division II

Bowie State Bulldogs The Bowie State Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent Bowie State University, located in Bowie, Maryland, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Bulldogs compete as members of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association ...

in 2017.

College career

Pryor redshirted his first year at Bowie State in 2017, appearing in no games. In 2018, he appeared in 13 games and helped the Bulldogs win the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) championship in 2018, totaling 55 tackles, fourth-best on the team, 20 tackles-for-loss, nine sacks, three forced

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful ...

s, a fumble recovery and a blocked kick. For his performance, he was named first-team All-CIAA, the conference rookie of the year and to the CIAA All-Rookie team, additionally being chosen to the BoxToRow All-America team. In 2019, Pryor helped Bowie State repeat as CIAA champions while posting 12.5 sacks and being named the team defensive

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

, BoxToRow All-American and first-team All-CIAA. He was also selected the Protect Your Skull Division II Defensive Player of the Year. After the 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he was named second-team All-CIAA and helped the Bulldogs win a third-straight conference championship in 2021. In his final season, 2022, Pryor led the Bulldogs with 47 tackles, posted 1.05 tackles-for-loss, 3.5 sacks, two

pass breakups In American football, a pass deflected, also known as a pass deflection, a pass defended, a pass , a pass knockdown, or a pass breakup, is an incomplete pass that is caused by a defensive player. This is done by slapping or blocking the ball with ...

and two forced fumbles on his way to being named first-team All-CIAA, the CIAA Defensive Player of the Year and second-team Associated Press All-American. He ended his collegiate career as the all-time school leader in sacks (32) and tackles-for-loss (77) and placed second in total tackles (245), additionally four forced fumbles. He was invited to the

HBCU Legacy Bowl The HBCU Legacy Bowl is an annual post-season American college football all-star game for NFL draft-eligible players from historically black colleges and universities (HBCU). History The event was announced by the Black College Football Hall of ...

and had two sacks in the game. He graduated from Bowie State with a degree in communications.

Professional career

After going unselected in the

2023 NFL draft The 2023 NFL Draft will be the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft is scheduled to be held in the plaza outside of Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, on April 27–29, ...

, Pryor was signed by the Washington Commanders as an undrafted free agent. He was released during roster cuts August 28. He was signed to the team's

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

on October 10. He was elevated to the active roster for the Commanders' Week 11 game against the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

. Pryor was signed to the active roster on December 14, 2023, and was waived on May 7, 2024.

References

External links

Bowie State Bulldogs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pryor, Joshua 1999 births Living people American football defensive ends Players of American football from Baltimore Bowie State Bulldogs football players Washington Commanders players