Buckeyes safety Josh Proctor signing with Jacksonville Jaguars as undrafted free agent
COLUMBUS — Josh Proctor spent six years at Ohio State, working to make his dream come true in a journey that took much longer than expected.
He hit one more speed bump this week. But, despite not hearing his name called in the NFL Draft, Proctor is still getting a chance in the NFL.
He’s signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent.
Proctor was a highly-rated four-star prospect coming out of high school, and he was expected to be a star early in his Buckeyes career. Many even thought of Proctor as a three-and-done star at the safety position. But injuries slowed him down for most of his career. And after failing to break out in 2022, he finally had the best year of his Ohio State career last season.
“My whole thought process coming out of high school was three and done,” Proctor said at the NFL Combine in late February. “That’s everybody’s plan coming out of high school. But you never know what’s going to happen, and you never know what you’re going to take away from this.”
In that same vein, Proctor somewhat surprisingly went undrafted on Day 3. Nevertheless, he’s got an opportunity with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
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Ohio State had four former Buckeyes players selected in the NFL Draft. Those players are wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., who was selected No. 4 overall by the Arizona Cardinals; defensive tackle Mike Hall, who was taken by the Cleveland Browns with the No. 54 overall pick; tight end Cade Stover, who was selected No. 123 overall by the Houston Texans; and linebacker Tommy Eichenberg, who was taken by the Las Vegas Raiders with the 154th pick.
Recruiting background from Josh Proctor
From Lettermen Row’s Andy Backstrom:
Josh Proctor was the only Ohio State defensive player from the 2018 cycle still on the roster last season. He spent six years with the program, the first of which coincided with the final year of Meyer’s Buckeyes heading coaching tenure. Since, Meyer has gone into television, coached quarterback Trevor Lawrence — the top prospect in Proctor’s high school class — in the NFL and then returned to television all while Proctor had an up-down-and then up again career at Ohio State. Potential was never the issue for Proctor, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound safety from Owasso, Oklahoma. He was a two-way player in high school. In addition to playing safety, he also lined up at wide receiver. Those ball skills came in handy when he kicked off his senior season with an 100-yard pick six. That year, he helped lead Owasso to its first Class 6A-I state title since 1974.
Proctor also held scholarship offers from Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, Nebraska, Michigan, Louisville, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State, Arkansas, UTSA and Arkansas State. In addition to Ohio State, Proctor was mostly considering Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, but he committed to the Buckeyes during halftime of the 2017 spring game.
