Gators praise Joseph for his recent play, potential at linebacker
When asked during last year’s bowl practices which freshman he saw elevating his play in practice and that he believed would make an impact in the future, Jalen “Teez” Tabor made a selection that proved to be prophetic.
“I like Jabari Zuniga,” the Florida cornerback said at the time.
Zuniga, who redshirted in 2015, has been a key contributor for the Florida defensive line this season with a team-leading five sacks to go along with nine quarterback hurries, 8.5 TFL, a forced fumble and a blocked kick.
So when the same question was recent posed to Tabor as Florida prepares for its Outback Bowl matchup with Iowa on Jan. 2, everyone awaited whom Tabor would essentially label the next potential breakout player on the Gators roster.
“I would say Vosean (Joseph),” Tabor said of the true freshman linebacker. “I just like the way he plays, for some reason. Once he really understands the defense and gets it all, once it comes together for him, man, he’s going to be a special player. The same thing I said about [Zuniga] last year. I was like, ‘Man, he’s going to be pretty good.’ Some guys just take a little bit longer because college is hard. … Physical, physical, physical. You know, that’s what you want out of a linebacker to be real physical.”
Joseph, a 6-foot-1, 226-pound three-star recruit out of Miami Norland High School, stuck with Florida during his recruitment – despite interest from Alabama late in the recruiting cycle – and has proven to be a promising piece for the future among the crop of linebackers Randy Shannon has assembled.
Although he has just seven tackles and a fumble recovery in 12 appearances on the year and has seen most of his playing time on special teams, Joseph has seen a more active role on defense during the second half of the year with Jarrad Davis (ankle) and Alex Anzalone (broken arm) battling injuries. It’s been a good learning experience for Joseph, who has seen snaps against the likes of LSU, FSU and Alabama down the stretch.
Easily the highlight of Joseph’s season up to this point was his crushing hit on Danny Etling in the LSU game, as the freshman linebacker met Etling as the Tigers signal-caller rushed toward the end zone and prevented him from crossing the plane. After two more stops, Florida would go on to hold LSU scoreless on that drive thanks to that goal-line stand. A number of Joseph’s teammates, including quarterback Austin Appleby, called his hit “the play of the game.”
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That moment was a flash of what Joseph is capable of – and Florida head coach Jim McElwain is looking forward to see more of that type of play from Joseph in the future.
"Here's the deal about Vo, he's done a great job on special teams, as well,” McElwain said. “That's where you kind of earn your stripes a little bit, kind of like Chauncey (Gardner) did. He's done that and become an every-down player. And Vosean is in that same mold. He's a guy that can cover and run, and yet is physical enough to handle when teams are trying to beat on your with those inside runs.”
However, McElwain still sees areas in Joseph's game where he can improve.
"His understanding of how to play, sometimes he still runs through gaps and doesn't quite understand he doesn't have the outside gap and somebody has the inside gap,” explained McElwain. “You'd rather have to dial him back than dial him up. He's one of those players."
If Joseph, a 2016 summer enrollee, can use this upcoming offseason to successfully develop and blossom as a football player, it would mean a huge deal for the Gators’ linebacker position in 2017. With Davis and Daniel McMillian on the way out and Anzalone’s status with the team up in the air as he mulls a difficult draft decision, Florida would benefit greatly from establishing more depth at linebacker. Fellow freshmen David Reese and Kylan Johnson stepped in and played key roles in 2016, but there are still a number of question marks surrounding Florida’s underclassmen at linebacker.
Gators fans will certainly hope that Joseph can prove to be a key cog at linebacker in 2017. If Tabor’s nod is an indication, he’s on the right track to accomplishing that.
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