Mickey Joseph
Encyclopedia
Mickey Joseph is a former starting quarterback for the University of Nebraska. He led his team to a 9-2 regular season record as a junior in his only season as the team's starting signal caller in 1990 under the direction of head coach Dr. Tom Osborne. He now serves as the Interim Head Football Coach at Langston University.
and Gerry Gdowski for his freshman and sophomore years. He took over the team as the starter in a two quarterback system with teammate Mike Grant during Joseph's junior year in 1990.
That season, Joseph got Nebraska off to a perfect 8-0-0 record as expectations in Lincoln, Nebraska were building up off a No. 3 ranking from the AP Poll
. The next game came on Nov. 3, 1990 as Nebraska faced nationally ranked No. 1 Colorado
. With 2:38 left in the third quarter of this contest, Joseph connected with his tight end Johnnie Mitchell on a 48 yard touchdown pass to give the Huskers a 12-0 lead. However, Colorado surged ahead by scoring 27 unanswered fourth quarter points to win the game, 27-12.
Joseph's team finished 9-2 for the regular season, but the regular season finale on Nov. 23, 1990 proved to be costly as the dual threat quarterback suffered a season ending injury by breaking his leg early in the first quarter of the game with the Oklahoma Sooners in Norman, Oklahoma. Without Joseph, this Nebraska team would never be the same as Oklahoma won, 45-10, and the Huskers would go on to struggle in post season play.
For the 1990 season
, Joseph's team finished at 9-3 and ranked No. 24 nationally after its Orange Bowl loss to co-national champion Georgia Tech, 45-21, on Jan. 1, 1991. The 5-foot-10, 175-pound Joseph had cat-like quickness and ran the triple option as an option quarterback. He led Nebraska in passing yards with 624 and completed 34-of-78 passes with 11 touchdowns and six interceptions in 11 games as a junior. He also ran a tailback predicated option offense that included three I-backs - Leodis Flowers, Scott Baldwin, and Derek Brown
- that combined for nearly 2,000 rushing yards. Joseph rushed 91 times for 621 yards including 10 touchdowns and recorded a longest run of 70 yards.
Joseph's best single game passing performance came on November 10, 1990 at Kansas in a 41-9 win over the Jayhawks where he completed 7-of-16 passes for 164 yards and threw touchdown passes of 35 and 28 yards to his tight end, Mitchell. Joseph also had 10 rushes for 58 yards.
The Husker signal caller's finest single game rushing performance came on October 27, 1990 in a 45-27 blasting of Iowa State at Ames, Iowa. Joseph rushed for 123 yards on eight carries and went 4-for-4 passing the ball for 67 yards that included touchdown passes to Mitchell of 23 and three yards.
Joseph's most productive offensive performance in a single game came on Oct. 13, 1990 in a 69-21 win over Missouri when he accounted for five touchdowns. Joseph had nine rushes for 95 yards and was 4-for-8 passing the ball for 65 yards that included a 10 yard scoring pass to split end Jon Bostick. Joseph also scored on touchdown runs of 15, five, two, and three yards in the contest with the Tigers.
Joseph finished his career at Nebraska the same way it began. He fell down the depth chart after returning from the leg injury for his senior season as Keithen McCant became the Huskers' starting quarterback. McCant would go on to win the 1991 Big Eight Offensive Player of the Year Award. For the 1991 season
, Joseph passed for 200 yards off 15-of-30 attempts with a touchdown in 11 games. He rushed 26 times for 112 yards and recorded two touchdowns in limited playing time.
where, at 5-foot-10 inches tall and mobile, his skillset was best suited to perform the task. Instead, Joseph graduated from Nebraska in 1991 and pursued a teaching and coaching career.
Joseph coached at colleges and then took a job in his hometown as a seventh-grade history teacher and gym teacher at Desire Street Academy. This was an all-boys school located in one of the poorest neighborhoods that is in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans, Louisiana
. Joseph was their teacher and football coach. Then in late August 2005, Joseph's school suffered badly from the flooding and other damage caused by Hurricane Katrina
forcing Desire Street Academy to relocate some four hours east of New Orleans to a 4-H camp which is located along the Choctawhatchee Bay
in Florida.
It was then that Joseph took on a surrogate father-like role as he was able to round up 75 of his students from Louisiana and relocate them to the 4-H camp in Florida. This program known as "Florida 4-H Youth Development" was led by former Heisman Trophy winner and Washington Redskins
' quarterback, Danny Wuerffel
. There, Joseph took care of his students, survivors of Hurricane Katrina, by serving as their dorm resident. "I'm a dorm dad," commented Joseph. "Actually, they say I'm the dorm grandpa, because I'm a supervisor of the dorm dads." Joseph mentored the children who were separated from their families during this period of tribulation in the fall of 2005.
For Joseph, his role was expanded as he found more and more of his time being spent with his displaced students. He made certain they were all in bed by 10:00 pm and was still their teacher as classroom responsibilities fell upon him early in the day. He also had a football team formed from his available student body that finished with a record of 2-1 that fall. When he was interviewed in November 2005, Joseph explained of the harsh realities his children had experienced of how they were traumatized in some way. He explained that some had stayed at the New Orleans Superdome for days. Joseph summarized his students' lives by saying, "They showed a lot of courage to just come here and continue their education, but they're really out of their environment. And I'm going to teach them now living with them. So I've been really able to find out a lot of things about them." Then Joseph added, "I'm literally raising them. So some days are good. Some days are bad...but there's never a day where you say, 'I want to quit.'"
. He and his wife, the former Bau-Luan Nguyen, reside in Tulsa, Oklahoma as they have four children. Joseph is in his fourth season as an assistant coach for the Lions.
Collegiate career
Mickey Joseph played quarterback for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The native of Marrero, Louisiana started off his career as a capable backup playing behind starters' Steve TaylorSteve Taylor (quarterback)
Steve Taylor was a quarterback who played in the Canadian Football League. Taylor had signed a four year contract with the Edmonton Eskimos just one month after finishing his senior season with the University of Nebraska...
and Gerry Gdowski for his freshman and sophomore years. He took over the team as the starter in a two quarterback system with teammate Mike Grant during Joseph's junior year in 1990.
That season, Joseph got Nebraska off to a perfect 8-0-0 record as expectations in Lincoln, Nebraska were building up off a No. 3 ranking from the AP Poll
AP Poll
The Associated Press College Poll refers to weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling sportswriters across the nation...
. The next game came on Nov. 3, 1990 as Nebraska faced nationally ranked No. 1 Colorado
1990 Colorado Buffaloes football team
The 1990 Colorado Buffaloes football team represented the University of Colorado at Boulder in the 1990 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Buffaloes offense scored 338 points while the defense allowed 160 points. Led by head coach Bill McCartney, Colorado competed against Notre Dame in the...
. With 2:38 left in the third quarter of this contest, Joseph connected with his tight end Johnnie Mitchell on a 48 yard touchdown pass to give the Huskers a 12-0 lead. However, Colorado surged ahead by scoring 27 unanswered fourth quarter points to win the game, 27-12.
Joseph's team finished 9-2 for the regular season, but the regular season finale on Nov. 23, 1990 proved to be costly as the dual threat quarterback suffered a season ending injury by breaking his leg early in the first quarter of the game with the Oklahoma Sooners in Norman, Oklahoma. Without Joseph, this Nebraska team would never be the same as Oklahoma won, 45-10, and the Huskers would go on to struggle in post season play.
For the 1990 season
1990 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team
The 1990 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the 1990 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Tom Osborne and played their home games in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.-Schedule:...
, Joseph's team finished at 9-3 and ranked No. 24 nationally after its Orange Bowl loss to co-national champion Georgia Tech, 45-21, on Jan. 1, 1991. The 5-foot-10, 175-pound Joseph had cat-like quickness and ran the triple option as an option quarterback. He led Nebraska in passing yards with 624 and completed 34-of-78 passes with 11 touchdowns and six interceptions in 11 games as a junior. He also ran a tailback predicated option offense that included three I-backs - Leodis Flowers, Scott Baldwin, and Derek Brown
Derek Brown (running back)
Derek Darnell Brown is a former American football running back. Brown played for four seasons in the National Football League for the New Orleans Saints...
- that combined for nearly 2,000 rushing yards. Joseph rushed 91 times for 621 yards including 10 touchdowns and recorded a longest run of 70 yards.
Joseph's best single game passing performance came on November 10, 1990 at Kansas in a 41-9 win over the Jayhawks where he completed 7-of-16 passes for 164 yards and threw touchdown passes of 35 and 28 yards to his tight end, Mitchell. Joseph also had 10 rushes for 58 yards.
The Husker signal caller's finest single game rushing performance came on October 27, 1990 in a 45-27 blasting of Iowa State at Ames, Iowa. Joseph rushed for 123 yards on eight carries and went 4-for-4 passing the ball for 67 yards that included touchdown passes to Mitchell of 23 and three yards.
Joseph's most productive offensive performance in a single game came on Oct. 13, 1990 in a 69-21 win over Missouri when he accounted for five touchdowns. Joseph had nine rushes for 95 yards and was 4-for-8 passing the ball for 65 yards that included a 10 yard scoring pass to split end Jon Bostick. Joseph also scored on touchdown runs of 15, five, two, and three yards in the contest with the Tigers.
Joseph finished his career at Nebraska the same way it began. He fell down the depth chart after returning from the leg injury for his senior season as Keithen McCant became the Huskers' starting quarterback. McCant would go on to win the 1991 Big Eight Offensive Player of the Year Award. For the 1991 season
1991 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team
The 1991 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the 1991 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Tom Osborne and played their home games in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.-Schedule:...
, Joseph passed for 200 yards off 15-of-30 attempts with a touchdown in 11 games. He rushed 26 times for 112 yards and recorded two touchdowns in limited playing time.
Professional career
After suffering the leg injury at the tail end of his junior season at Nebraska, Joseph had to forgo the idea of chasing the dream of playing quarterback in the Canadian Football LeagueCanadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
where, at 5-foot-10 inches tall and mobile, his skillset was best suited to perform the task. Instead, Joseph graduated from Nebraska in 1991 and pursued a teaching and coaching career.
Joseph coached at colleges and then took a job in his hometown as a seventh-grade history teacher and gym teacher at Desire Street Academy. This was an all-boys school located in one of the poorest neighborhoods that is in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
. Joseph was their teacher and football coach. Then in late August 2005, Joseph's school suffered badly from the flooding and other damage caused by Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
forcing Desire Street Academy to relocate some four hours east of New Orleans to a 4-H camp which is located along the Choctawhatchee Bay
Choctawhatchee Bay
Choctawhatchee Bay is a bay in the Emerald Coast region of the Florida Panhandle. The bay, located within Okaloosa and Walton counties, has a surface area of 129 mi2...
in Florida.
It was then that Joseph took on a surrogate father-like role as he was able to round up 75 of his students from Louisiana and relocate them to the 4-H camp in Florida. This program known as "Florida 4-H Youth Development" was led by former Heisman Trophy winner and Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
' quarterback, Danny Wuerffel
Danny Wuerffel
Daniel Carl "Danny" Wuerffel is a former American college and professional football player who won the 1996 Heisman Trophy and the 1996 national football championship while playing college football for the University of Florida. After graduating from Florida, he played for four National Football...
. There, Joseph took care of his students, survivors of Hurricane Katrina, by serving as their dorm resident. "I'm a dorm dad," commented Joseph. "Actually, they say I'm the dorm grandpa, because I'm a supervisor of the dorm dads." Joseph mentored the children who were separated from their families during this period of tribulation in the fall of 2005.
For Joseph, his role was expanded as he found more and more of his time being spent with his displaced students. He made certain they were all in bed by 10:00 pm and was still their teacher as classroom responsibilities fell upon him early in the day. He also had a football team formed from his available student body that finished with a record of 2-1 that fall. When he was interviewed in November 2005, Joseph explained of the harsh realities his children had experienced of how they were traumatized in some way. He explained that some had stayed at the New Orleans Superdome for days. Joseph summarized his students' lives by saying, "They showed a lot of courage to just come here and continue their education, but they're really out of their environment. And I'm going to teach them now living with them. So I've been really able to find out a lot of things about them." Then Joseph added, "I'm literally raising them. So some days are good. Some days are bad...but there's never a day where you say, 'I want to quit.'"
Personal life
Joseph is now the Interim Head Football Coach at Langston UniversityLangston University
Langston University is an institution of higher learning located in Langston, Oklahoma, USA. It is the only historically black college in the state, and the westernmost historically black college in the United States...
. He and his wife, the former Bau-Luan Nguyen, reside in Tulsa, Oklahoma as they have four children. Joseph is in his fourth season as an assistant coach for the Lions.
Additional sources
- huskerpedia.com/stats/stats_1988.html
- huskerpedia.com/stats/stats_1989.html
- huskerpedia.com/stats/stats_1990.html
- huskerpedia.com/stats/stats_1991.html