Josh Love
Current teamCalgary Stampeders
Number12
PositionQuarterback
Birth dateSeptember 12, 1996 (age 30)
Birth placeMission Viejo, California, U.S.
Height6 ft
Height in0
Weight lb205
High schoolLong Beach Polytechnic
(Long Beach, California)
CollegeSan Jose State (2015–2019)
Undraftedyear2020
Pastteams
StatusActive
CflstatusAmerican
Highlights
USFL record
  • Highest completion percentage in a regular season game (90.0%)
StatleagueUFL
Statlabel 1Passing attempts
Statvalue 1423
Statlabel 2Passing completions
Statvalue 2252
Statlabel 3Completion percentage
Statvalue 359.1
Statlabel 4TD–INT
Statvalue 419–17
Statlabel 5Passing yards
Statvalue 52,660
Statlabel 6QBR
Statvalue 676.0
Statlabel 7Rushing yards
Statvalue 790
Statlabel 8Rushing touchdowns
Statvalue 81
PfrLoveJo05
Cfljosh-love/165304/

Joshua Michael Love (born September 12, 1996) is an American professional football quarterback for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for San Jose State. He also played for the Los Angeles Rams and Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL) and the Pittsburgh Maulers of the United States Football League (USFL).

Early life

Love grew up in Mission Viejo, California, and initially attended Orange Lutheran High School and Tesoro High School before transferring to Long Beach Polytechnic High School after his sophomore year. He shared snaps at quarterback during his junior year but finished the season with 17 touchdown passes to just two interceptions.[1] As a senior, Love passed for 3,199 yards and 41 touchdowns as he led the Jackrabbits to an 11–2 record and was named the Moore League Offensive Player of the Year.[2][3] Love was lightly recruited coming out of high school and committed to play college football at San Jose State University as a preferred walk-on.[4]

College career

Love walked-on to the San Jose State Spartans football team and redshirted his true freshman season and was awarded a scholarship at the end of the year.[1] He played in all 12 of SJSU's games the following season, serving as the holder on the field goal unit and throwing passes in five games with one start, completing 31 of 60 passes for 392 yards with two touchdowns and five interceptions.[5] As a redshirt sophomore Love played in nine games with five starts, completing 54.1% of his passes for 928 yards and five touchdowns with seven interceptions.[6] He became the Spartans' starting quarterback early during his redshirt junior season and finished the year with 1,963 yards and 14 touchdowns while completing 56.1% of his passes.[7] Love started all of SJSU's games as a senior and was named the Mountain West Conference Player of the Week after completing 32 of 49 passes for 402 yards and two touchdowns in a 31–24 upset win over Arkansas.[8] He finished the season with for 3,923 passing yards and 22 touchdowns with a 60.9% completion percentage and was named first-team All-Mountain West Conference and was the first Spartan to be named the conference Offensive Player of the Year since San Jose State joined the conference.[9][10] Love finished his collegiate career with the third most passing yards in school history with 7,206 yards and seventh all-time with 43 touchdown passes.[11]

College statistics

SeasonTeamGamesPassingRushing
GPGSRecordCompAttPctYdsTDIntRtgAttYdsAvgTD
2015San Jose State00—Redshirted
2016San Jose State1210–1316051.739225100.914-41-2.90
2017San Jose State951–49217054.192857101.419−60−3.20
2018San Jose State881–716228956.11,963149122.930−93−3.10
2019San Jose State12125–729348160.93,923228141.225−88−3.53
Career41267–195781,00057.87,2064329126.788-282-3.23

Professional career

Los Angeles Rams

Love signed with the Los Angeles Rams as an undrafted free agent on April 25, 2020, shortly after the conclusion of the 2020 NFL draft.[12] He was waived on August 25, 2020.[13]

Carolina Panthers

Love was signed to the Carolina Panthers practice squad on November 2, 2021.[14] He was released on November 9.[15]

Pittsburgh Maulers

Love was selected in the 12th round of the 2022 USFL draft by the Pittsburgh Maulers of the United States Football League (USFL).[16] He was released on May 10, 2022.

Michigan Panthers

On May 10, 2022, Love was claimed off waivers by the Michigan Panthers of the United States Football League (USFL).[17]

In the first game of the 2023 Michigan Panthers season, Love set the USFL record for highest completion percentage, with 90 percent of his passes having been completed.[18]

Memphis Showboats

On March 13, 2024, Love signed with the Memphis Showboats of the United Football League (UFL).[19]

Calgary Stampeders

On March 10, 2025, Love signed with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL).[20]

Career statistics

YearTeamLeagueGamesPassingRushing
GPGSRecordCmpAttPctYdsY/ATDIntRtgAttYdsAvgTD
2022PITUSFL330–3407354.84406.02270.62115.50
MICH420–2315952.53515.92267.85214.20
2023MICH993–614323660.61,5566.6131080.827491.80
2024MEMUFL511–0385569.13135.72372.87101.41
2025CGYCFL600–05862.5678.40089.10000
UFL career21154–1125242359.52,6606.2191775.741912.21

References

  1. ^ Lombardi, David (August 22, 2019). "In a career full of challenges, QB Josh Love is ready to helm San Jose State's turnaround bid". The Athletic. Archived November 7, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  2. ^ "UNLV faces a survivor in San Jose State QB Josh Love". Las Vegas Review-Journal. October 25, 2018. Archived November 7, 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  3. ^ "Football: Lobos' Tuioti, Spartans' Love have a close bond". Albuquerque Journal. October 2, 2019. Archived October 4, 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  4. ^ "San Jose State gets commitment from Long Beach Poly QB". East Bay Times. February 23, 2015. Archived April 22, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  5. ^ Tucker, Cody (July 23, 2019). "SJSU's Josh Love thought he might be the Pokes next QB … they chose another guy instead". 7220sports.com. Archived April 20, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  6. ^ "Quarterback has Love for leadership". Archived April 22, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  7. ^ "Takeaways: Josh Love, defense guide San Jose State to third straight win". The Mercury News. October 4, 2019. Archived May 1, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  8. ^ "San Jose State rolls into Arkansas, stuns Razorbacks". The Mercury News. September 21, 2019. Archived December 14, 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  9. ^ "San Jose State's Love named Mountain West Offensive Player". The Mercury News. December 4, 2019. Archived May 1, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  10. ^ Ringolsby, Tracy (December 4, 2019). "QB Josh Love 1st San Jose Spartan to Earn MW Offensive Player of the Year Honors". SI.com. Archived May 1, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  11. ^ Hellman, Sam (February 3, 2020). "PFF ranks top 10 quarterback prospects in NFL Draft". 247Sports.com. Archived February 12, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  12. ^ "Josh Love: Signing with Rams". CBSSports.com. RotoWire. April 25, 2020. Archived October 28, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  13. ^ "Rams waive QB Josh Love, sign two linebackers". Rams Wire. August 25, 2020. Archived September 1, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  14. ^ Simmons, Myles (November 2, 2021). "Panthers signing Josh Love to practice squad". Profootballtalk.com. NBC Sports. Archived November 2, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  15. ^ "Josh Love: Released from practice squad". CBSSports.com. RotoWire. November 9, 2021. Archived February 23, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  16. ^ Bittner, Adam (February 23, 2022). "USFL draft: Meet the Pittsburgh Maulers' inaugural class". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived February 23, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  17. ^ "Roster Update". No. 1524198850080112640. May 10, 2022. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  18. ^ "JOSH LOVE'S SIZZLING OUTING HELPS PANTHERS OVERCOME MISCUES IN OPENING WIN". theusfl.com. April 16, 2023. Archived April 17, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
  19. ^ Larsen, James (2024-03-13). "Memphis Showboats Sign QB Josh Love, Waive Cole Kelley". Pro Football Newsroom. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  20. ^ "Stampeders sign American QB Josh Love". CFL.ca. March 10, 2025. Retrieved March 23, 2025.