Troy Pride Jr. (born January 19, 1998) 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 ...

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 ...

for 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 ...

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 ...

at Notre Dame.

Early life and high school

Pride grew up in

Greer, South Carolina Greer is a city in Greenville County, South Carolina, Greenville and Spartanburg County, South Carolina, Spartanburg counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 35,308 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census Greer is ...

and attended

Greer High School Greer High School is a public high school in Greer, South Carolina, United States. With about 1200 students, Greer High is a moderate sized school in Greenville County, South Carolina. Curriculum Greer High School offers the International Baccala ...

. As a senior, Pride caught 41 passes for 848 yards and 13 touchdowns, rushed for 197 yards and three touchdowns, returned three punts for touchdowns and intercepted three passes on defense with one returned for a touchdown. He originally committed to play college football at

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

, but de-committed after the retirement of head coach

Frank Beamer Franklin Mitchell Beamer (born October 18, 1946) is a retired American college football coach, most notably for the Virginia Tech Hokies, and former college football player. He is the father of current South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Shane ...

. He ultimately committed to Notre Dame over offers from

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, Virginia Tech, Ole Miss,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, and Clemson.

College career

Pride played in eight games with three starts for the Fighting Irish as a true freshman, making 12 tackles with a fumble recovery. As a sophomore, he recorded 22 tackles and one tackle for loss with an interception and two passes broken up. As a junior, Pride made 47 tackles and finished second on the team with 10 passes defended and two interceptions. As a senior, Pride was named All-

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

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after making 37 tackles with an interception and five passes defended and holding quarterbacks to a 50.9% completion rate on passes thrown into his coverage. Pride finished his collegiate career with 121 tackles, 18 passes broken up and four interceptions with one forced fumble and two fumbles recovered in 45 games played. Pride was also a sprinter for the Notre Dame track team. He competed in the 60-meter dash final at the 2018

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

Indoor Track and Field Championship.

Professional career

Carolina Panthers

Pride was selected by the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

in the fourth round with the 113th pick 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 ...

. Pride made his NFL debut on September 13, 2020, in the season opener against the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West divis ...

, starting the game and making seven total tackles in a 34-30 loss. On January 2, 2021, Pride was placed on injured reserve. He finished the season with 41 tackles and two pass deflections. On August 17, 2021, Pride was placed on injured reserve after suffering a knee injury in the preseason. On May 16, 2022, Pride was waived by the Panthers after failing his physical.

New Orleans Saints

On January 11, 2023, Pride signed a reserve/future contract with the

References

External links

Notre Dame Fighting Irish bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pride, Troy 1998 births Living people Players of American football from South Carolina People from Greer, South Carolina American football cornerbacks Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's track and field athletes Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Carolina Panthers players New Orleans Saints players