Joshua N. Evans (born June 5, 1991) 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 ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

. 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 the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

, and was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the sixth round of the

2013 NFL Draft The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

Early years

Evans attended Irvington High School in Irvington, New Jersey. He played high school football for the Irvington Blue Knights, playing on both offense and defense. He rushed for 1,403 yards and 14 touchdowns, and completed 123 of 190 pass attempts for 1,856 yards and 18 touchdowns. Evans also recorded 78 tackles and seven interceptions on defense during his senior year. Following his senior season, the ''Star-Ledger'' recognized him as he Essex County Player of the Year, and he received first-team all-state honors. Also an standout

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete, Evans competed in hurdles, relays and the jumps, and led Irvington to the New Jersey Group III state championship.GatorZone.com, Football, 2012 Football Roster
Josh Evans
Retrieved April 27, 2013. At the 2008

NJSIAA The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) is an association of hundreds of New Jersey high schools that regulates high school athletics and holds tournaments and crowns champions in high school sports. State championsh ...

Group Championships, he took silver in the

110-meter hurdles The 110 metres hurdles, or 110-metre hurdles, is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is included in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metres hurdles. As part of a racing event, ten hurd ...

(13.91 s), placed 9th in the

200-meter dash The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

(22.22 s) and finished 6th in the

400-meter hurdles The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Summer Olympics, Olympic athletics (sport), athletics programme since 1900 Summer Olympics, 1900 for men and since 1984 Summer Olympics, 1984 for women. On a s ...

(55.19 s). He captured the state title in the

55-meter hurdles 55 metres hurdles is a distance in hurdling Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both fee ...

at the 2009 NJSIAA Meet of Champions, with a PR time of 7.40 seconds. He got a personal-best time of 7.98 seconds in the

60-meter hurdles 60 metres hurdles is a distance in hurdling which is generally run in indoor competitions. It is equivalent with the first 5 hurdles of a standard outdoor hurdle race. The current women's and men's world records are 7.68 seconds ( Susanna K ...

at the 2009 National Scholastic Indoor Championships, where he took 5th.

College career

Evans accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the

, and played for coach Urban Meyer and coach Will Muschamp's

Florida Gators football The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of ...

teams from

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

. He started 24 of 47 games in which he appeared for the Gators during his four-year college career, compiling a total of 154 tackles. As a senior in 2012, he distinguished himself in the Gators' 14–7 win over the Missouri Tigers, leading the team with twelve tackles.

Professional career

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars chose Evans in the sixth round, with the 169th overall pick, of the

. Evans officially signed with the Jaguars on July 18, 2013. Evans finished with 58 tackles as a rookie. Evans played in all 16 games with 14 starts, recording 90 tackles in his second season. On September 3, 2016, Evans was released by the Jaguars.

Washington Redskins

On October 5, 2016, Evans was signed by the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

. He was released by the Redskins on October 28, 2016. He was re-signed to a two-year deal on December 28 after

Donte Whitner Donte Demetrius Whitner Sr. (born July 24, 1985) is a former professional American football strong safety. He played college football at Ohio State, and was drafted by the Buffalo Bills eighth overall in the 2006 NFL Draft. Whitner has also pla ...

was placed on injured reserve. Evans was released by the Redskins on August 3, 2017.

Orlando Apollos

Evans signed with the Orlando Apollos of the

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan are ...

(AAF) for the 2019 season. The league ceased operations in April 2019. On August 16, 2021, Evans announced his retirement from the NFL.

References

External links

Washington Redskins bio

Jacksonville Jaguars bio

Florida Gators bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Josh 1991 births Living people People from Irvington, New Jersey Players of American football from Essex County, New Jersey American football safeties Irvington High School (New Jersey) alumni Florida Gators football players Jacksonville Jaguars draft picks Jacksonville Jaguars players Washington Redskins players Orlando Apollos players