Artose Deonce Pinner (born January 5, 1978) is an American former 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 ...

player who was a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

. He was selected by the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

in the fourth round of the

2003 NFL draft The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936 NF ...

. 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 ...

for the

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30, ...

Early life

Pinner attended

Hopkinsville High School Hopkinsville High School is a four-year public high school located in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, with over 1,000 students. It is operated by the Christian County Public Schools school district. History There was controversy in 1925 when the Christ ...

in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and was a standout in football and track. In track, he was a two-time Regional Champion in the 400 meter dash.

College career

He was a star running back for the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

between 1999 and 2002, running for 1414 yards in 2002, second-most in a single season in school history to Moe Williams.

Professional career

Pinner was selected with the second pick of the fourth round of the

by the Lions. He increased his rushing total in each of his first three seasons in the league, going from 99 yards in 2003 to 174 yards in 2004 to 349 yards in 2005. Through the 2005 season, Pinner scored five touchdowns, all rushing. Pinner was cut by the Detroit Lions in 2006 and was quickly claimed by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

. He had his best game statistically, which was his first start in the NFL, on December 10, 2006, when he ran for 125 yards and three touchdowns against his former

. On May 1, 2008, he returned to the

. After the 2008 preseason, he was waived by the Lions during final cuts on August 30, 2008.

Post-retirement

Pinner returned to the University of Kentucky in the summer of 2013 to complete his degree in

media studies Media studies is a discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history, and effects of various media; in particular, the mass media. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but it mos ...

. He graduated in December 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinner, Artose 1978 births Living people American football running backs Atlanta Falcons players Detroit Lions players Kentucky Wildcats football players Minnesota Vikings players New Orleans Saints players Sportspeople from Hopkinsville, Kentucky Players of American football from Kentucky