Josh Huston

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Josh Huston (born February 28, 1982 in Findlay, Ohio) is an American football placekicker who currently plays for the New York Giants of the National Football League. Huston played college football at Ohio State University.

Huston played high school at Findlay High School, where he earned first-team All-Ohio honors as a junior. His holder at Findlay was current NFL quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. His high school play ended as the Findlay Trojans lost in the Division I regional semifinals to Grove City, 59-41.^[1]

After graduating in 2000, he signed to play for Ohio State. He was redshirted in 2000, and lost the kicking job to Mike Nugent in 2001. In 2002, he was injured again, prompting him to petition the NCAA for a medical redshirt, giving him a sixth year of eligibility. This petition was eventually granted, and after being a backup to Nugent in 2003 and 2004, he took over the starting duty for the Buckeyes in 2005. During that season, he established himself as one of the nation's top kickers, hitting 22 of 28 field goals and 44 of 45 extra points to score 110 points for the Buckeyes.

During a September 11, 2005 game against the 2005 Texas Longhorn football team, Josh Huston made five field goals and attempted a sixth. The five field goals by Josh Huston tied an Ohio State school and stadium record.^[2][3][4] He now shares the school record with Mike Nugent (at North Carolina State, September 19, 2004) and Bob Atha (vs. Indiana, 24 October 1981 in Ohio Stadium).^[2][3]

Huston entered the 2006 NFL Draft, but was not selected. He signed on April 30 with the Chicago Bears. He was released by Chicago on August 24, 2006.

On November 2, 2006, Huston was signed by the Las Vegas Gladiators, of the Arena Football League.^[5] However, before ever playing in an AFL game, the New York Giants signed him to their roster on January 12th, 2007.^[6]

With former New York Giant placekicker Jay Feely signing with the Miami Dolphins on March 7, 2007, the Giants are willing to hand their place-kicking duties over to Huston. [1]

[edit] Notes and References

1. ^ OHSAA 1999 Tournament Results. OHSAA.org. Retrieved 2007-01-17.
2. ^ ^{a b} Texas vs Ohio State (Sep 10, 2005). MackBrownTexasFootball. Retrieved on July 30, 2006.
3. ^ ^{a b} Russo, Ralph. "No. 2 Texas 25, No. 4 Ohio State 22", Associated Press. Retrieved on December 14, 2006.
4. ^ "Ohio State Defeated by Texas, 25-22 - Huston ties Buckeye and Ohio Stadium record with five made field goals", Ohio State University, September 11, 2006. Retrieved on March 12, 2007.
5. ^ Thursday's sports transactions. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved 2006-11-07.
6. ^ Giants News. InsideFootball.com. Retrieved 2007-01-17.