Bernard "Josh" Lay (born September 8, 1982) 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 drafted by the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

in the sixth round of the

2006 NFL Draft The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with ad ...

. 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 ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. Lay was also a member of the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arr ...

California Redwoods ''Sequoia sempervirens'' ()''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607 is the sole living species of the genus '' Sequoia'' in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include coast redwood, coastal ...

, and

Pittsburgh Power The Pittsburgh Power were a professional arena football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The team belonged to the East Division of the American Conference (AC) in the Arena Football League (AFL). Founded in 2011, the Power ...

Early years

Lay attended Aliquippa High School, where he was a three-year starter at cornerback. He was a prep school quarterback, wide receiver and cornerback at

Valley Forge Military Academy Valley Forge Military Academy and College (VFMAC) is a private boarding school (grades 7–12) and military junior college in Wayne, Pennsylvania. It follows in the traditional military school format with army traditions. Though military in ...

in 2001 before attending Pittsburgh.

Professional career

New Orleans Saints

Lay was selected in the sixth round (174th pick overall) of the

by the

. On July 17, 2006, he agreed to a three-year contract with the Saints. He was waived by the Saints on September 1.

St. Louis Rams

Lay was signed by the Rams on December 13, 2006. The team assigned him to the

Berlin Thunder The Berlin Thunder were a professional American football team in NFL Europe. History The Thunder came into existence as an expansion team, after the London/England Monarchs franchise shut down operations, prior to the 1999 season. Home games f ...

NFL Europa NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

on February 24, 2007. The Rams waived Lay on August 31, 2007. He was then signed to their practice squad on September 5, 2007. He was released from the practice squad on September 11, 2007.

California Redwoods

Lay was signed by the

of the United Football League on September 2, 2009.

Pittsburgh Power

Lay was signed by the

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

on February 24, 2011. During the 2011 season, he played in 14 games for the Power, starting 10. He made 34.5 tackles and intercepted 4 passes, returning 1 for a touchdown. He re-signed with the team on December 5, 2011. However, following a players' strike, Lay was placed on League Suspension on April 5, 2012, where he remained for the entirety of the 2012 season.

Personal

Lay is a cousin of NFL cornerback

Ty Law Tajuan Edward "Ty" Law (born February 10, 1974) is an American former American football, football cornerback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the New England Patriots. He played college football a ...

. His given first name is Bernard, "Josh" is a nickname. On April 7, 2011, Lay was arrested in his hometown of Aliquippa, and charged with drug possession with intent to deliver and possession of a controlled substance.

References

External links

Pittsburgh Panthers bioUnited Football League bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lay, Josh 1982 births Living people People from Aliquippa, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Pennsylvania American football cornerbacks Pittsburgh Panthers football players New Orleans Saints players St. Louis Rams players Berlin Thunder players Sacramento Mountain Lions players Pittsburgh Power players