USF Athletics

Game 11 Player Spotlight: Kelley Joiner Jr.

November 22, 2019

NEXT GAME: USF (4-6, 2-4) vs. No. 18 Memphis (9-1, 5-1)
DAY/TIME: Saturday/4 p.m.
LOCATION: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa
TV/RADIO: ESPNU/USF Radio Network: Over the Air: WDAE 95.3 FM/620 AM & Digital: Bulls Unlimited
SERIES: Memphis leads, 5-4. USF won last meeting, 49-42, at Memphis in 2016
PURCHASE TICKETS: USFBullsTix.com
GAME NOTES: USF (PDF)
 
 
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

TAMPA, NOV. 22, 2019 – Heading into his USF football career, Kelley Joiner Jr. thought he would be spending the 2019 season figuring out the college game from the sideline.

Much to his surprise – and enjoyment – the future is now for the speedy freshman, who ranks third on the team in rushing (226 yards) and is averaging 5.0 yards per carry. Saturday's conference clash with No. 18 Memphis will be the 10^th collegiate game for No. 10.

"It's very exciting," Joiner said. "Going into the rest of my career, I expect to be a big threat for USF in special teams and offense, wherever they want to put me at."

Originally slated to be a wide receiver at USF, Joiner quickly shifted to the running back room and has been attacking defenses all season long from the position that put him on the national recruiting map out of South Lake High School.

"I like to play fast," he said.

Growing up in Clermont, Fla., Joiner didn't play any positions in organized football until he put on the pads for the first time in the ninth grade and was moved up to varsity after just two JV games. During that time, Joiner also was a shooting guard on South Lake's varsity basketball team before he had to make a big decision about his future.

"I got my first offer in 10^th grade, so I started taking football more seriously," he said. "I put down the basketball."

Joiner also ran track a little bit during his sophomore year, clocking an 11-second time in the 100 meters. On the football field, he used his quickness to rack up 4,525 career rushing yards, 44 touchdowns on the ground and 55 total scores overall. Joiner seemed destined to make Florida state high school history as a senior, rushing for 1,005 yards and 17 touchdowns in just three games before suffering a broken right leg that ended his season.

"I just got tackled the wrong way. I got tackled low and high," he said. "I just fell over on my right side."

Despite the injury that required nine months of rehabilitation, Joiner had his fair share of college offers to choose from but stuck with USF for numerous reasons.

Staying in the state was important to Joiner, whose trip home from campus takes a little over an hour. Joiner also thought he'd be a good fit in new USF offensive coordinator Kerwin Bell's #PlayFastScoreFaster system and really respected head coach Charlie Strong, who truly cares about his players' futures.

"He tells me, 'Football comes second. You're here to get an education. You get your education first and then you think about football. If you make it to the NFL, that's great, but you want to graduate college with a degree and do something with your degree,'" said Joiner of what Strong preaches.

After posting a 3.5 grade-point average in summer courses, Joiner has stayed dedicated to his school work while he ponders becoming a physical education teacher, or studying exercise science for a career as a trainer. One thing the true freshman doesn't have to think about is when he'll get to play for the Bulls.

"I am surprised," he said. "Honestly, I thought I was going to redshirt coming into here. I was gonna work on getting strength back in my left leg, but they're using me."

Thanks to working hard this offseason with USF's veteran strength staff, Joiner sure looks like he's back to being explosive. Fans at Raymond James Stadium saw it last Saturday, when the versatile Bull sprinted out of the backfield on a play-action pass and was off to the races on a 49-yard reception that fooled the Cincinnati defense. Joiner also rushed for a career-high 72 yards (5.5 ypc) and led the Bulls with 121 all-purpose yards in the close loss to the No. 17 Bearcats.

"There were some times where we didn't block some people at the point of attack. He made them miss and made some extra yards, got to the second level and made some safeties miss," said Bell of the 5-foot-9, 175-pound playmaker.  "He's gonna be a special football player for us. He's got a lot of ability."

So far, Joiner has shown lots of potential, averaging at least 5 yards per carry in six of his first nine games. Much like last Saturday, Joiner made his second college game count, totaling 85 all-purpose yards and breaking off a 51-yard run – USF's fifth-longest offensive play of the season – in a 55-16 win over South Carolina State.

"Everything is more physical. People are bigger, stronger," he said. "I like it. I'm getting used to it."
 
More About Joiner

• MAKING HIS GRANDPA PROUD: Once Joiner found out he'd be suiting up right away this season, he picked up the phone and called his grandfather, Terry Isom. "I tell him everything. We're real close," Joiner said. "He said, 'All right, make the best of the opportunities you get.'" Joiner fondly remembers playing catch in the backyard and at the park in Clermont, Fla., with Isom, who was kind of his first football coach and stressed conditioning. "He told me to run around the house, do a couple laps, and run up and down the street," Joiner said.
• ATHLETIC PARENTS: Asked about any talents outside of sports, Joiner smiled and said he's been doing backflips since the age of 5, a cool skill he learned from his father, Kelley Sr. Joiner's mother, April Roberson, who used to be star softball player before starting a family.
• CLOSE TEAMMATES WITH BIG DREAMS: Joiner's closest friends on the team are also his roommates – Xavier Weaver (WR), Josh Berry (RB) and Thomas Nance (DE). The freshmen often talk about leaving a legacy and making history at USF before their final snaps as Bulls. "When we're seniors, we're gonna try to make it to the national championship and go undefeated," said Joiner, who can't wait until all four are seeing action at the same time. 

 
ABOUT USF FOOTBALL
Having completed just its 22^nd season of football, and 19^th at the FBS level, the USF football program has earned 10 bowl appearances, including a current run of four straight, and owns a record of 6-4 in bowl games. The Bulls have appeared in the national top 25 rankings in each of the past three seasons, including a program record run of 20 straight weeks in the top 25, and in 2018 reached the program's 150^th win faster than any FBS program in state of Florida history. USF has posted a pair of 10-plus win seasons in the last three years, including a program-record 11 wins (11-2) in 2016, and logged 15 winning seasons overall. Since first taking the field in 1997, the USF program has reached as high as No. 2 in the national rankings (2007), seen 30 players selected in the NFL Draft, 14 named All-American and 29 earn first-team all-conference selection.
 
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