Bernard "Josh" Lay (born September 8, 1982) 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 ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

. He was selected by 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 ...

in the sixth round of the

2006 NFL draft The 2006 NFL draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offe ...

. 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 ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. Lay was also a member of 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 ...

Berlin Thunder The Berlin Thunder were a professional American football team in NFL Europe. History The Thunder came into existence as an expansion team, after the London/England Monarchs franchise shut down operations, prior to the 1999 season. Home games f ...

California Redwoods ''Sequoia sempervirens'' ()''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995: 606–607 is the sole living species of the genus '' Sequoia'' in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include coast redwood, coastal ...

, and

Pittsburgh Power The Pittsburgh Power were a professional arena football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team belonged to the East Division (AFL), East Division of the American Conference in the Arena Football League. Founded in 2010, the Power was t ...

Early life

Lay attended

Aliquippa High School Aliquippa Junior/Senior High School is a public high school in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. It is the only high school in the Aliquippa School District. Athletic teams compete as the Aliquippa Quips in the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athleti ...

, where he was a three-year starter at cornerback. He was a prep school quarterback, wide receiver and cornerback at

Valley Forge Military Academy Valley Forge Military Academy and College (VFMAC) is a private boarding school (grades 7–12) and military junior college in Wayne, Pennsylvania. It follows in the traditional Military academy, military school format with army traditions. T ...

in 2001 before attending Pittsburgh.

Professional career

New Orleans Saints

Lay was selected in the sixth round (174th pick overall) of the

by the

. On July 17, 2006, he agreed to a three-year contract with the Saints. He was waived by the Saints on September 1.

St. Louis Rams

Lay was signed by the Rams on December 13, 2006. The team assigned him to the

NFL Europa NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally founded ...

on February 24, 2007. The Rams waived Lay on August 31, 2007. He was then signed to their practice squad on September 5, 2007. He was released from the practice squad on September 11, 2007.

California Redwoods

Lay was signed by the

of the United Football League on September 2, 2009.

Pittsburgh Power

Lay was signed by the

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

on February 24, 2011. During the 2011 season, he played in 14 games for the Power, starting 10. He made 34.5 tackles and intercepted 4 passes, returning 1 for a touchdown. He re-signed with the team on December 5, 2011. However, following a players' strike, Lay was placed on League Suspension on April 5, 2012, where he remained for the entirety of the 2012 season.

References

External links

Pittsburgh Panthers bio

United Football League bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lay, Josh 1982 births Living people Players of American football from Aliquippa, Pennsylvania American football cornerbacks Pittsburgh Panthers football players New Orleans Saints players St. Louis Rams players Berlin Thunder players Sacramento Mountain Lions players Pittsburgh Power players American expatriate sportspeople in Germany