Johnathan Jerone Arrington (born January 23, 1983) 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 ...

in 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 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

California Golden Bears The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as ''California'' or ''Cal'', the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club te ...

, earning consensus

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

recognition in 2004. Arrington was selected by the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

in the second round of the

2005 NFL draft The 2005 NFL draft, the 70th in league history, took place on April 23 and 24, 2005 NFL season, 2005. The draft was held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City and was televised for the 26th consecutive year, with coverage on E ...

. He also played for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

and had a brief stint with the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

and

Las Vegas Locomotives The Las Vegas Locomotives (called the Locos for short) were a professional American football team based in Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas, Nevada that played in the United Football League (2009–2012), United Football League. The team played their ...

of the United Football League (UFL). He also was the last player to win the

Pop Warner Trophy Coaches of the Pac-12 Conference bestow the following awards at the end of each football season. The conference was founded in its current form as the Athletic Association of Western Universities in 1959, but traces its roots to the Pacific Coast C ...

Early life

Arrington was born in

Nashville, North Carolina Nashville is a town and the county seat of Nash County, North Carolina, United States. The town was founded in 1780 and features Victorian and Queen Anne–style homes. It is part of the Rocky Mount, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. ...

. He attended Northern Nash High School and was a letterman in football as a tailback. In football, he was a three-year varsity starter and a two-time All-Conference selection. He was also named his team's Most Valuable Player and the Area Offensive Player of the Year as a senior.

College career

Arrington was sent to College of the Canyons by

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of universities in North Carolina by enrollment, fourth largest university in North Carolina and the only one in the state with s ...

with the intent that he would play for the Pirates in two years. As a sophomore at College of the Canyons, he won All-Region III honors (which is selected by the California Community College Football Coaches Association and the Junior College Athletic Bureau) and had 135 rushing attempts for 769 yards (5.7 yards per rushing attempt average), and caught 30 passes for 320 yards (10.67 yards per reception average). His 19 touchdowns that season, and 29 career touchdowns, were both school records. Arrington transferred to the University of California, Berkeley as a junior, and played for the

California Golden Bears football The California Golden Bears football program represents the University of California, Berkeley, in college football as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference at the NCAA Division I FBS level. They were previously a member of the Pac-12 Confer ...

team in 2003 and 2004. Arrington would receive few carries for most of the 2003 season aside from his 114-yard performance against Southern Mississippi. A knee injury to then starting running back

Adimchinobi Echemandu Adimchinobe Echemandu (born November 21, 1981) is a Nigerian-American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) He was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the seventh round of the 2004 NFL draft. ...

would thrust Arrington into the starting role against the Washington Huskies. This proved to be his breakout game as he mauled the Huskies defense for 185 yards and a touchdown. It took him only 14 carries to achieve this feat. In the first half managed to tally 157 yards on ten carries. He also caught a 30-yard touchdown pass from

Aaron Rodgers Aaron Charles Rodgers (born December 2, 1983) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the California Golden Bears foo ...

giving him a total of 215 yards on the day. Despite his performance, he would receive limited carries for the rest of the 2003 season. He did play a pivotal role in the

Insight Bowl The Rate Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that has been played in the state of Arizona since 1989, under several different names. Played as the Copper Bowl from inception through 1996, it was known as the Insight.com Bowl from 1997 ...

by catching five passes for 38 yards, including a 13-yard touchdown pass that would reduce

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

's lead to only 28–21 at halftime. Cal would ultimately prevail 52–49 on a game-winning field goal. The 2004 season would see Arrington earn the starting tailback spot after the departure of Echemandu for the NFL. Arrington played a major role in the Cal Bears' first 10-win season since 1949. He would rush for at least 100 yards in every single game that season. Arrington rushed for 169 yards or more in eight of his team's 12 games as well. Ultimately Arrington would have one of the greatest seasons of any running back in NCAA and Pac-10 history, gaining 2,018 rushing yards that season. He became only the third Pac-10 Tailback to gain over 2,000 yards, joining USC tailbacks

Marcus Allen Marcus LeMarr Allen (born March 26, 1960) is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the Los Angeles Raiders. Considered one of the greatest goal li ...

and Charles White. His mark is also the tenth best total in NCAA history. He would receive the honor of the Pop Warner Award, deeming him the best College Football player on the west coast. He would also earn

and All-Pacific-10 conference honors. Ultimately, the season would end in disappointment. Despite a 10–1 record, the Bears were bypassed for a BCS Bowl bid by The University of Texas. As a result, they played in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl against a 7–4 Texas Tech squad, where Cal was defeated by a score of 45–31, to end Arrington's college career. In addition, Arrington was not invited to the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

ceremony (a distinction afforded the top three to five likely winners) despite having a better statistical year (15 TDs, 2,018 yards rushing, 6.98 yards per carry) than the number 2 vote-getter,

Adrian Peterson Adrian Lewis Peterson (; born March 21, 1985) is an American former professional football running back who played 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He is widely considered to be one of the greatest running backs in football hist ...

(15 TDs, 1,925 yards rushing, 5.68 yards per carry).

Professional career

Arizona Cardinals

After drafting him in the second round of the

, the Cardinals placed him as the starting running back on the depth chart, with the intention of having him share carries with

Marcel Shipp Marcel Cornelius Shipp (born August 8, 1978) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) from 2001 to 2008 for the Arizona Cardinals and Houston Texans. He was signed by the Ari ...

. He started the first 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

gaining 5 yards on 8 carries (0.625 average). After this poor showing in his first game, he didn't play a snap the second game of the season against 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, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

. By the end of the season, he had played 15 games with 5 starts, gaining 370 yards on 112 carries (3.3 average) and 2 touchdowns. That following offseason the Cardinals signed

Edgerrin James Edgerrin Tyree James (; born August 1, 1978) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. He played college football at the University of Miami for the Miami Hur ...

. The Cardinals' drafting of

Tim Hightower Timothy Michael Hightower (born May 23, 1986) is an American former professional football running back. He played college football for the Richmond Spiders and was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL draft. He was ...

in 2008 resulted in Arrington being shifted to third place on the depth chart at running back. He became the team's principal kick returner and in

Super Bowl XLIII Super Bowl XLIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champions Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champions Arizona Cardinals to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...

caught 2 passes for 35 yards.

Denver Broncos

Arrington signed with the

on March 4, 2009. He was released on May 27, 2009, after failing his physical. It was determined that Arrington would need season-ending microfracture surgery on his right knee, following surgery to the same knee in February. He was re-signed on March 4, 2010.

Philadelphia Eagles

Arrington was traded to the

in exchange for linebacker Joe Mays on July 30, 2010. He was waived on September 3. Due to Arrington being released prior to the start of the season, the Eagles received a 2012 sixth-round draft pick from the Broncos.

Las Vegas Locomotives

Before the 2011 season, Arrington signed with the

of the United Football League.

References

External links

Cal Bears bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arrington, J. J. 1983 births Living people All-American college football players American football return specialists American football running backs Arizona Cardinals players California Golden Bears football players College of the Canyons Cougars football players Denver Broncos players Las Vegas Locomotives players People from Nashville, North Carolina Philadelphia Eagles players Players of American football from North Carolina