Joe Banyard

Joe Banyard (born November 12, 1988) is an American football running back who is currently a free agent. He played college football at the University of Texas-El Paso. He was signed by the Jaguars as an undrafted free agent in 2012. He has been a member of the New Orleans Saints and the Minnesota Vikings before returning to the Jaguars in 2015.

Early years

Banyard attended Sweetwater High School in Sweetwater, Texas, where he played football and competed in track and powerlifting. In football, he earned Honorable Mention 3A All-State honors as a defensive back. As a senior in 2007, he switched to running back, totalling over 1,200 yards and 21 touchdowns.

Also a top competitor in track & field, Banyard was a state qualifier sprinter. In 2005, he went to the Texas State Meet as a member of Sweetwater's relay squads; In the 4 × 100m final, he ran the third leg, helping them earn a second-place finish and setting a new school-record time of 41.98 seconds. He and his teammates also placed third in both the 4 × 200m and 4 × 400m relays with times of 1:27.40 and 3:19.62, respectively.^[1] He ran the 200-meter dash in 23.21 seconds in 2006.^[2] As a senior, he placed third in the long jump at the Regional Meet with a leap of 6.64 meters (21'9.5").^[3] At the San Angelo relays, he recorded a personal-best time of 50.51 seconds in the 400-meter dash.^[4]

Regarded only as a two-star recruit by Rivals.com, Banyard committed to TCU on January 21, 2007.^[5]

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Joe Banyard RB	Sweetwater, Texas	Sweetwater High School	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Jan 21, 2007
	Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
‡ Refers to 40 yard dash Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2008 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 26, 2013.

College career

Banyard started his college career at Texas Christian University.^[6] Prior to his freshman season, Banyard transferred to University of Texas-El Paso. He saw his first playing time his junior season. He was UTEP's leader in rushing attempts with 109. He also had 623 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns.^[7]

Professional career

Jacksonville Jaguars

Banyard signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars prior to the 2012 NFL Draft as an undrafted free agent.^[8]

New Orleans Saints

June 7, 2012 Banyard signed on contract with the New Orleans Saints. On September 13, 2012 he was waived by the team.

Minnesota Vikings

Banyard was signed by the Minnesota Vikings, where he spent the rest of the 2012 season on the practice squad. Banyard was released by the Vikings on August 31, 2013 (along with 18 others) to get to a 53-man roster,^[9] signed to the practice squad the following day, released again on September 4, and then re-signed to the practice squad on September 10, 2013. On December 14, 2013, Banyard was added to the Vikings active roster.^[10] On December 16, 2013 the Vikings waived Joe Banyard, only to re-sign him to the practice squad two days later.

On August 30, 2015 he was released from the team.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Banyard was signed to the Jacksonville Jaguars practice squad on October 14, 2015, after runningbacks Corey Grant and Bernard Pierce were added to injured/reserved list for the remainder of the season. The following week he was re-signed to the active roster.^[11] After Toby Gerhart suffered an injury, Banyard was promoted to third string.

He was released by the Jaguars on September 4, 2016.^[12]

References