Teams Johnathan Joseph Has Played For:
Early Life:
Johnathan Joseph was born April 16, 1986 in Rock Hill, South Carolina. He attended Rock Hill (Northwestern) High School, and although he did play football, and helped Rock Hill win its 1st AAAA Divison 1 state championship in 2002, he started out playing Junior College in Kansas.
Coffeyville Red Ravens-2003-Freshman Year:
Joseph started playing college football at Coffeyville, a small junior college located in Montgomery County, Kansas. Joseph helped the Red Ravens to the Dalton Defenders Bowl, where Coffeyville lost to the Rochester Yellow Jackets 30-27. At the end of the 2003 season, he was ranked as the 31st best JUCO player in the nation by College Football News and earned All-Conference Honors. Joseph started getting Divison 1 offers from a number of teams, His top 2 offers were from Florida and South Carolina. Joseph decided to stay close to home, and headed to South Carolina.
South Carolina Gamecocks-2004-Sophmore Year:
Joseph started at cornerback his first two games of the 2004 season, but broke his foot in the first quarter against the Georgia Bulldogs. Joseph spent the remainder of the year rehabilitating his injury. Joseph recorded two tackles in his first game against the Vanderbilt Commodores and also forced a fumble. The Gamecocks finished the year 6-5.
South Carolina Gamecocks-2005-Junior Year:
In 2005, Joseph was scheduled to have a big season in 2005, along with teammate and fellow defensive back Ko Simpson, who is now with the Buffalo Bills. Joseph earned the Outstanding Defensive Back Award in spring practice and recorded two tackles and a broken up pass in the Garnet and Black Game (For those who are wondering what that is, the Garnet And Black Game is the spring game between the South Carolina Offense vs. the South Carolina Defense. It is an annual tradition for the Gamecocks.) Joseph finished the season with 55 tackles, four interceptions, and nine broken up passes. The Gamecocks finished 7-5 under new head coach Steve Spurrier, and went to the Independence Bowl, where South Carolina lost to the Missouri Tigers 38-31, after the Tigers twice came back from 21 points down. It was a disapointing end to Joseph's South Carolina career.
Cincinnati Bengals-2006:
Joseph was drafted in the First Round (24th overall) in the 2006 NFL Draft. Joseph had five tackles in NFL debut September 10 at the Kansas City Chiefs. On September 24 at the Pittsburgh Steelers, he recorded three tackles and three passes defensed. Joseph had five tackles and a team-high 3 passes defensed on October 15 at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. On October 22 vs. the Carolina Panthers, Joseph had three tackles, and forced a three-and-out by breaking up a pass intended for future Hall Of Famer Keyshawn Johnson in fourth quarter, after Bengals had taken 17-14 lead. Joseph logged three tackles and two passes defensed November 5 at the Baltimore Ravens, and on November 19 at the New Orleans Saints, Joseph had seven tackles, and blocked John Carney PAT (Point After Touchdown) try after Saints' final TD in fourth quarter, making it the first Bengals blocked PAT since 1991. Joseph had a tackle and two passes defensed in scoreless defensive effort November 26 at the Cleveland Browns. On November 30 vs. the Baltimore Ravens, Joseph tied his season high with seven tackles and tied the team's season high with four passes defensed. In third quarter of the Baltimore game, broke up a third-down pass intended for Derrick Mason that forced a Ravens punt. On December 10 vs. the Oakland Raiders, Joseph tied for the team lead in tackles with 7, while also recording a pass defensed, and on Raiders' first offensive play, recovered an Alvis Whitted fumble at Bengals 39, setting up 61-yard drive for game's first score. On December 31 vs. the Pittsburgh, tied for team lead in tackles (9), with two passes defensed.
Cincinnati Bengals-2007:
The season started well for Joseph, as he played in 15 games, starting 14 of them. On September 23 at the Seattle Seahawks, his pass defensed led to a Madieu Williams interception, and he also had five tackles. On October 21 vs. the New York Jets, Joseph went 42 yards for a TD with his first pro INT (Interception) off Chad Pennington, and the late fourth-quarter score provided the eventual winning points in 38-31 decision. A couple weeks later, Joseph snagged his second INT on November 25 vs. the Tennessee Titans, when he outfought Bo Scaife for a Vince Young pass in first quarter, and returned it four-yards to the Bengals 46, and also led the team in passes defensed with 3 and led the secondary in tackles with 7. Joseph had an INT for the second straight game December 2 at the Pittsburgh Steelers, picking off a Ben Roethlisberger pass at the Steelers 24 in the fourth quarter and returning it seven yards. On December 9 vs. the St. Louis Rams, Joseph had four tackles on defense, a pass defensed, and led in special-teams tackles with 3. On December 15 at the San Francisco 49ers, Joseph tied team's high for the season in passes defensed with 4, including a fourth-down breakup in the fourth quarter, and added two tackles. On December 23 vs. the Cleveland Browns, Joseph had a personal season-high eight tackles, and helped stop the Browns comeback bid by picking off a Derek Anderson pass at the Bengals 5 yard line in the fourth quarter, with 23-yard return to the Bengals 28 yard line. On December 30 at the Miami Dolphins, Joseph had six tackles, and led the team in passes defensed with 3, two of which came on third down and forced the Dolphins to punt.
Cincinnati Bengals-2008:
Joseph only played in 8 games, but was still productive. On September 7 at the Baltimore Ravens, his 65-yard return of a Ray Rice fumble produced the only Bengals TD, and he also had eight tackles while leading team in passes defensed with 3. On October 12 at the New York Jets, his team-leading three passes defensed included one that led to a Corey Lynch interception, and he also had three tackles. On October 19 vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers, Joseph forced a punt in the 2nd quarter after he forced Mewelde Moore to fumble (which the Steelers recovered) after a third-down pass reception. In a 21-19 win on November 2 vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars, Joseph kept the Jaguars from tying the score at 21 when he teamed with safety Marvin White to break up two-point conversion pass late in fourth quarter, and he also tied for team lead in tackles with a personal season-high with 12. He also led in solo tackles with 10 and led in passes defensed with 3. On November 16 vs. the Philadelphia Eagles, Joseph tied for the team lead in tackles with eight and also had his first INT of the year, which ended Philadelphia’s final scoring threat of the first half when he picked off a Donovan McNabb pass at the Bengals 12 yard line and returned it 22 yards to the Bengals 34 yard line. Joseph had three total passes defensed vs. the Eagles, tying for team lead. His season came to a halt after that, as he suffered a foot injury, which ended his season the next week.
