Rejected by USF and nearly jettisoned by Illinois, Jones’ Kerby Joseph set for breakout NFL season in Detroit

Kerby Joseph has a lot to look forward to. He has surprised many people, but not himself.

Joseph is embarking on his second season in the NFL, and the former Jones High star is part of the Detroit Lions who have extremely high expectations. The Lions will open the season Sept. 7 at Kansas City, facing the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs. It’s one game too late as far as Joseph is concerned, but he’ll relish this opportunity.

“Pressure makes diamonds, and I love to shine,” Joseph said to the Sentinel recently.

He can’t wait, but it’s still four weeks away.

Of course, Joseph wanted the matchup to have taken place Feb. 12 on Super Bowl Sunday. But he was in Tampa, sitting mesmerized in front of the TV while everyone else meandered about at a small gathering at a friend’s house.

Joseph was focused. He pondered: What would it be like to be a part of one of the biggest sports spectacles on Earth? What would it be like to be one of the subjects being watched by 113 million people worldwide?

The Lions missed the playoffs on the final day of the regular season, so they were on vacation. Many probably did not even watch the game.

But Joseph had to know.

The strong safety did his best to put himself in the moment, watching the entire game while wearing his Lions silver and blue football helmet.

“I know, it’s silly, … it’s sad, but I really wanted to go to the Super Bowl,” Joseph said. “I wanted to feel like I was in the game. I really wanted to go to the Super Bowl. I always do weird stuff like that.”

Lowly Lions no more

It’s weird to even consider the Lions as Super Bowl contenders.

The franchise has won four NFL titles, but the Lions have never appeared in the big game during the Super Bowl era that started in 1967. They’re the only NFC team to never make a Super Bowl appearance.

Making it to the Big Show, however, is not weird for Joseph, All-Pro punt returner Kalif Raymond, receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, rookie defensive end Aidan Hutchinson and former Florida Gators linebacker Alex Anzalone. The Lions also recently added Chauncey “C.J.” Gardner-Johnson, a former Gators and Cocoa High star.

Gardner-Johnson, a safety like Joseph who will play nickelback in Detroit, knows Super Bowls. He played in one last season for Philadelphia before signing as a free agent with Detroit in March. Joseph welcomes Gardner-Johnson aboard and is excited to bolster the lineup.

“Chauncey is an amazing athlete,” Joseph said of his fellow Central Florida teammate, who tied for the NFL lead last season with six interceptions. “What he did last year … was great, and that’s something that can add to our room even more.”

The Lions’ defense is stacked. These young players are spearheading a turnaround under coach Dan Campbell that has many experts predicting a first-place finish in Motown. Detroit is favored to win the NFC North Division.

One is respected ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, who said this recently: “This is a dude who, I’m just telling you now in his second year, is going to be a first-team All-Pro. He’s going to be a Pro Bowler. … This defense is going to take a step up because the pass rush is going to be better, the secondary overall is better and Kerby Joseph is going be a main part of why Detroit was the team that I started the hype train with all the way back in January and said this is a team that I believe can make it to the NFC title game, if not make it to the Super Bowl.”

If the Lions, winners of eight of their last 10 games, had not started off so poorly, they likely would have won their division last season.

“I feel like it’s everything,” Joseph said of making the playoffs. “And without my teammates, I would not be here. I feel like all the plays I made are because of those guys, from the D-line to the linebackers, the cornerbacks and even my other safety. They were all helping me, encouraging me when things got rough.”

Joseph certainly did his part. He led the Lions in interceptions with four, which tied him for 11th in the NFL. Three of those picks came off balls thrown by sure-to-be Pro Football Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers with Green Bay (now the New York Jets). Joseph is the only player to accomplish the feat against Rodgers.

“Growing up, the Packers were my favorite team. I used to always be the Packers on Madden,” he said of the video game, “so picking off Aaron Rodgers was wild because I consider him to be the best QB.

“That’s my journey and that’s what I believe it takes … to be the best you have to beat the best. Hopefully, if I do get a chance to see him again, I’ll talk to him.”

Jones coach’s sage advice

Joseph was not heavily recruited out of high school. He had committed to USF in 2017, but the Bulls pulled his scholarship offer just before National Signing Day.

“They said, ‘We’re not going to take you,’” Joseph recalled.

But he didn’t go long without a big-time offer. Illinois inquired about his services and from there it was simple. Illinois offered and Joseph accepted, without ever visiting the campus in Urbana-Champaign.

“At that time, I never really thought much of it. I figure I got God on my side,” Joseph said. “So I figured I’m going to be good and things will work out for the best because I’m a believer. I believe that stuff happens for a reason. God put me in that position.

”I also figured it might be a good opportunity to showcase my talent, so I just ran with it.”

At Illinois, he shined after the departure of coach Lovie Smith, who was fired in 2020. His relationship with Smith was far from perfect, and it slowed his progress. But once Smith was out, replaced by Bret Bielema in 2021, Joseph blossomed in his final season.

“I don’t want to bash coach Smith or anything because that’s not me,” Joseph said. “I wouldn’t say it was a bad relationship. Me and him just didn’t really see eye-to-eye.”

Joseph admitted he messed up, too. At one point, Smith had kicked him off the team after he missed a practice and was late to a meeting.

He called his high school coach Elijah Williams at Jones and he sounded off on his displeasure about being at Illinois.

“He called me talking about how he was going to transfer and the coach didn’t like him and all of this crap about how they were treating him, but I said, ‘No, no, what did you do?’” Williams said. “So then he told me he was kicked off the team and all of that. I told him he needed to sit down with that coach and talk to him. He needed to talk to that coach face to face, like a man.

“He did that and next thing I knew he was back on the team. The next year, Lovie was gone and the new coach came in and Kerby balled out.”

Bielema and the rest of the coaching staff meant big things for Joseph’s career. They turned the 2020 redshirt junior into an All-Big Ten performer. He played 13 games and had 40 tackles with Smith in charge. That number jumped to 18 games in his final two seasons under Bielema, and he had 76 tackles with defensive coordinator Ryan Walters.

“When Coach B came in, it was like a light. We saw a future in the program,” Joseph said of Bielema. “It wasn’t like, ‘Y’all just shut up and listen to what I say.’ He came in knowing that we didn’t know who he was and how he operated. He wanted us to trust him and he came in with knowledge that we didn’t have before.”

Laughing to the bank

The 22-year-old has plenty of knowledge now. And plenty of money. As a third-round draft pick on the NFL’s sliding rookie scale, Joseph made $705,000 this past season and also received a $849,020 signing bonus as well as incentive bonuses after his rookie year.

“Yeah, somebody decided they wanted to pay me,” Joseph laughed.

He’s always laughing, like when he was reminiscing about his high school days. He played his freshman and sophomore years at Oak Ridge — where Williams coached after a year at FAMU — before Joseph transferred to Jones.

“He was long and skinny at Oak Ridge,” Williams said. “When I came back, he transferred to Jones and he was a little bigger. He was the starting receiver for us his junior year. He was very athletic and had great ball skills. We were still trying to figure out what position to put people.

“When it came to his senior year, we moved him to our dawg position at cornerback and he was great.”

As much as Joseph blossomed through high school, Williams knew he had a special player.

“He was also very humble. He plays football for all the right reasons,” Williams said. “He don’t care about stuff like Instagram and all that. He wanted to be the best as a student and as a player.

“He was always on time, never missed practice, never missed classes in school. He didn’t miss anything. He’s a humble guy. When he comes back to the school now, all the coaches light up and the teachers get happy and excited every time he walks through that door.”

And Joseph loves it.

He laughed hard when walking through the commons area at Oak Ridge earlier this year. Joseph was visiting former Jones defensive coach Andrew Anderson, now head coach at Oak Ridge.

Joseph saw a vending machine on the concourse.

“I used to reach my arm up in there and get out Pop-Tarts and stuff,” Joseph said of when he was about 5-11 on his toes and 175 pounds.

Then he looked at his 6-1 frame, which is about 30 pounds heavier, laughing.

“These arms would never fit up in there nowadays.”

Bigger goals are ahead. He eyes that coveted Super Bowl, the one thing he will forever yearn for until he gets one.

“Man,” Joseph said, “I just want to know what it feels like.”