Imagine if Karl Joseph had not suffered a season-ending injury.
West Virginia’s junior safety missed the final nine games of the 2015 season, including the Cactus Bowl win over Arizona State, due to a right knee injury.
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He sustained the ailment in a non-contact portion of a practice leading up to the Mountaineers’ fifth game of the season against Oklahoma State. Without Joseph, WVU dropped a 33-26 overtime decision to the Cowboys. It was part of a four-game losing streak the Mountaineers sustained during October of last season.
Had Joseph been healthy, the entire course of the West Virginia season could have been altered in a more positive way.
Now, Joseph’s football career is moving forward in a positive direction.
NFL Draft expert Mike Mayock recently released his Top Five list for professional prospects at each position. Joseph grades out as the top safety in the class.
The other four choices by Mayock include Ohio State’s Von Bell, Boise State’s Darrien Thompson, Southern Utah’s Miles Killebrew and Duke’s Jeremy Cash.
Joseph sits at the top of the list because of his statistics and accolades achieved before the unfortunate injury.
Joseph was named National Player of the Week by the Football Writers Association of America, Jim Thorpe Defensive Back of the Week and the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week in his first game as a senior, a 44-0 shutout of Georgia Southern. He was awarded the game ball by Holgorsen after putting up eight tackles, had three interceptions in the third quarter and recovered a fumble.
He finished second the team with 92 tackles as a junior and led the Mountaineers as a sophomore with four fumble recoveries, ranking No. 2 nationally. He also had 68 tackles, five pass breakups and three tackles for loss. Joseph was named a freshman All-American and WVU’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2012 after leading the Mountaineers in tackles (104), solo tackles (76) and tied for the team lead in forced fumbles (3) and interceptions (2).
For his career, Joseph finished with 284 tackles, nine interceptions, eight forced fumbles and six fumble recoveries.
His ability to take over a game was admirable. Joseph had an amazing knack for getting to the ball. His field awareness was his greatest attribute.
Seeing him compete at the next level should give all Mountaineers hope, as it was the Mountaineer family who help get him back on track in the first place.
“I want to thank my teammates and my coaches for their outpouring of support,” Joseph said at the time of the injury. “This has been difficult for me and my family but I know I will come through this stronger than ever. I will forever be a Mountaineer and will be cheering on our team every step of the way.”