At the twilight of his college football career with the Miami Hurricanes, former Oak Ridge High School standout Joe Joseph is finally reaping the rewards of all his hard work.

#91 Joe Joseph (Photo by Scott McCall)

After redshirting in 2005 the 6-3, 304-pound starting defensive tackle has already put together his best individual effort so far for the No. 18 Hurricanes. And he’s not alone. Miami won just six games in 2006, five in 2007, seven games a year ago and currently sits at 5-2 overall with five regular season games still to play.

Joseph has overcome minor injuries and a number of changes in the depth chart over his career to contribute 22 total tackles (tied for seventh on the team), five tackles-for-loss and one fumble recovery on defense thus far. Not that he gets too tied up over such personal measures. It’s just that those numbers are worth noting after entering 2009 with only 14 starts to his credit over three seasons, where he finished with 25 tackles in ’07 and 17 tackles in ’08.

Less than two weeks ago he played his first game back in Orlando since finishing out an impressive senior season at Oak Ridge in 2003. In the 27-7 win over UCF the soft-spoken giant recorded three tackles in front of plenty of familiar faces.

“It felt really good to be able to play in front of my family and friends who I haven’t seen since high school,” said Joseph of making his return to town.

As a four-year starter in high school Joseph was rated the No. 32 prospect in Florida by SuperPrep and the No. 32 defensive tackle in the nation by Rivals. He finished out his senior year with the Pioneers by tallying 46 solo tackles (68 total), of which nine were for a loss under then-head coach Marc Jackson.

Joe Joseph

“You always knew you could depend on him, you could count on him to come through in a game,” said Jackson. He remembers Joseph as a respectful vocal leader in the huddle that led by example once the whistle blew.

Apparently not much has changed since those golden high school days of old, as his hard-nosed approach in all aspects of life is the legacy he continues to build upon.

“As far as leading by my actions, that’s what I still try to do now,” said Joseph. “My teammates know, I just try to do the best I can on the field and off the field.”

Off the field, Joseph is one of eight players on Miami’s roster that has already earned his degree (in sports administration) and he is currently working on his master’s in liberal arts. On the field, Joseph is playing the game for a coach he believes in during a season in which the Hurricanes have been in the spotlight ever since opening up with a road win over then-No. 18 Florida State.

Joe Joseph (Photo by Scott McCall)

Back home such national attention for Miami has kept that former Oak Ridge coaching staff in constant contact as they keep tabs on one of their own over emails and text messages.

“Joe represents all of us,” said Jackson of those coaches and players who witnessed firsthand the havoc he unleashed on opposing teams back then as a Pioneer. “He represents Oak Ridge.”

And in case they’re wondering, Joseph has hardly forgotten how important those days were in helping him prepare for the journey he’s been on over the past five-plus years.

“I’m very proud of where I came from and I had a lot of fun in high school,” he said. “And the coaches made it fun, too. I learned a lot about character, about pushing myself through hard times, difficult times, and how to go about things like we’re a family.”

Half a decade later those lessons have been put to good use at Miami where he’ll end his college career on a high note (both personally and most likely alongside his teammates in a bowl game) when it’s all said and done come season’s end.

– More on Joe Joseph –

High school video highlights at Rivals

Recap of efforts against Georgia Tech at OSC