Josh Ball (born May 15, 1998) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

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 National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was selected by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

in the fourth round of the

2021 NFL draft The 2021 NFL draft was the 86th National Football League draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland, Ohio from April 29 to May ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

, Butler Community College, and

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia *Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria ** Marshall railway station Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Is ...

Early life

Ball grew up in

Fredericksburg, Virginia Fredericksburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 27,982. It is south of Washington, D.C., and north of Richmond, Virginia, R ...

and played football at

Stafford Senior High School Stafford Senior High School (colloquially known as Stafford High School and often called South Stafford High School) is a public high school in Stafford, Virginia, United States. It was established in 1926 and is part of the Stafford County Pu ...

. As a senior, he was a starter at

left tackle A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and Defensive tackle, defense. In the modern system of ...

, while receiving All-State and All-conference honors. He was a four-star recruit coming out of high school and committed to

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

to play

College career

As a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

freshman in 2017, he was named the starter

in the fifth game against

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

. He would remain as the starter on the left side for the last 9 contests of the season. In 2018, he was expected to be the Seminole's starter at

right tackle A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and Defensive tackle, defense. In the modern system of ...

, however, on May 21, 2018, he was suspended by the school for one year, after being accused of

dating violence Dating abuse or dating violence is the perpetration or threat of an act of violence by at least one member of an unmarried couple on the other member in the context of dating or courtship. It also arises when one partner tries to maintain powe ...

against his former girlfriend. Although he was never charged, he opted to transfer to Butler Community College, where he was named the starter at

. In 2019, he chose to transfer to

Marshall University Marshall University is a public university, public research university in Huntington, West Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States, chief justice of the Uni ...

, instead of returning to

. As a junior, he was a key reserve on the team's

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

, while playing in 13 games with one start against

Western Kentucky University Western Kentucky University (WKU) is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky, United States. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a few decades earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glas ...

. As a senior in 2020, the football season was reduced to 10 games due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. He started 8 games at

. He was ejected from the Conference USA Championship Game against the

University of Alabama at Birmingham The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a public research university in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1969 and part of the University of Alabama System, UAB has grown to be the state's largest employer, with more than ...

for incurring two personal foul penalties. He did not play in the

2020 Camellia Bowl The 2020 Camellia Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 25, 2020, at the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama, with kickoff at 2:30 p.m. EST on ESPN. It was the seventh edition of the Camellia Bowl, and was one of the 20 ...

, opting instead to start preparing for the

NFL Draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

. He was named first-team All-Conference USA after the season. He was forced to miss the 2021 Hula Bowl, after testing positive for

SARS-CoV-2 Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) is a strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19, the respiratory illness responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus previously had the Novel coronavirus, provisional nam ...

, the virus responsible for the

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Ball was selected by the

in the fourth round (138th overall) of the

. If it wasn’t for his problems off the field, he was projected to be a top-70 pick by some experts. He signed his rookie contract on May 20, 2021. Ball was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

with a high ankle sprain injury on September 2. In 2022, Ball was given a chance to compete with rookie Matt Waletzko for the reserve swing tackle position. He didn't look comfortable in pass protection at tackle, forcing the Cowboys to sign the 40-year-old

Jason Peters Jason Raynard Peters (born January 22, 1982) is an American former professional American football, football player who was an Tackle (gridiron football position), offensive tackle. He played college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks footbal ...

, after Tyron Smith suffered a torn hamstring in the preseason. In Week 14 against the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

, Ball replaced an injured Terence Steele (who tore both the ACL and MCL in his left knee). Late in the fourth quarter, Ball gave up a strip sack on quarterback

Dak Prescott Rayne Dakota Prescott (; born July 29, 1993) is an American professional football quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Mississippi State Bulldogs, twice earning first-team ...

, which the Cowboys recovered to back them up at their three-yard line. On the next play, he got beat again and the defender hit Prescott's right arm as he was throwing, which led to a second interception, forcing Peters to play at

for the first time since 2006, on the eventual 98-yard game-winning drive. Ball only played 41 snaps in 13 games as a backup during the season. On August 29, 2023, Ball was placed on injured reserve after suffering a hip injury in the final preseason game. Ball was released during roster cuts on August 27, 2024, and re-signed with the team's practice squad the next day.

New Orleans Saints

On December 31, 2024, the

signed Ball to their active roster.

References

External links

New Orleans Saints bioMarshall Thundering Herd bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ball, Josh 1998 births Living people American football offensive tackles Butler Grizzlies football players Dallas Cowboys players Florida State Seminoles football players Marshall Thundering Herd football players Players of American football from Virginia Sportspeople from Fredericksburg, Virginia New Orleans Saints players