OXFORD |On paper, acquiring Florida State transfer Edwin Joseph was one of the biggest splashes Ole Miss made this offseason within its transfer portal class.
However, Joseph would have to wait to prove himself on the field until the summer, since he initially arrived in Oxford with a pre-existing injury that the team was aware of. After missing all of spring camp recovering from an undisclosed injury, Joseph has been a full-go for the Rebels' defense this summer and it hasn't taken long for him to prove his place.
According to rumblings around the building, Joseph has been among the standouts and has provided a boost to what Ole Miss already believes is a bolstered defense.
"I feel great. I feel 100 percent," Joseph said following Friday's practice. "It feels great to be back out there playing football, making plays. Being hurt (in the spring) I could just tell in the future that I would be making a lot of plays here and that it's going to be a great year."
At Florida State in 2025, Joseph was a big defensive playmaker for the Seminoles. In 10 games last season the Florida native notched 37 tackles, five pass breakups, one forced fumble and three interceptions.
"I think one of (my) best strengths is just my ability to go for the ball," Joseph added. "I kind of have a sense for certain things - route combinations and certain things because I've seen it before. I've seen it multiple times playing receiver so just the little tells and the middle tips that I could just jump on before the snap. That's probably the biggest thing."
However, despite his individual production, it didn't translate to much team success as FSU finished with a 5-7 record.
Of course, Joseph wanted to win, but there were other reasons for the safety of jumping into the portal.
Ole Miss safety Edwin Joseph during a fall camp practice in Oxford. | Ole Miss Athletics
"Just a fresh start (and) a chance to be respected again. A new chance to earn stripes again. Just restart fresh with a coaching staff, fanbase (and) new family just to make plays for.
What made Ole Miss the right fit? Well, among other factors, safeties coach Wes Neighbors made a lasting impression as the Rebels were gearing up to play in the Fiesta Bowl CFP semifinal.
"I came the day before (Ole Miss was) leaving for Miami. I stayed until 2:30 (and) Coach Neighbors stayed with me. I took that as a sign of how much they respect, how much they value me," Joseph explained. "I think that was probably the biggest thing that played a part in my decision coming here. I just like how he stayed the whole night no matter how long it took me and him. Just that played a big part."
"I think the biggest thing was (Neighbors) just breaking down the defense. I was just picturing myself in the defense and how I could make plays. It looked good, it looked perfect (and) it looked like something I could do for however long to go to the league. I think just how he broke it down to me, how he told me I would fit in, where I would fit in at and just the versatility of moving all over the place and making a lot of plays everywhere - it kind of got me riled up."
Joseph didn't have a previous relationship with Pete Golding to depend on going into the portal, but after meeting him once, he felt like he had a pretty good idea of who he was.
"I didn't know Pete. Coming into the portal you try to have a feel for a lot of the coaches and you don't have a lot of time, but I kind of had a feel (from) how he was acting on the visit - which is how he acts on a regular basis," Joseph told reporters. "Coaches could just put on an act, but he felt real. It didn't feel like he was putting on an act for anybody. He told us 'straight up regardless if you come or not, it's gonna be that'. Just how real he was and how he talked to me and how he spoke to my family."
As one could imagine, especially entering a new environment physically banged up, the transition to Ole Miss took time for Joseph.
"I've never dealt with transferring and stuff like that. Coming in, it felt like (being) a new kid so I was really to myself," he reflected of the spring. "But I wasn't on the field (during the spring), so I couldn't really feel like talking to everybody. Once I got on the field everybody just - once they'd seen what I could do - welcomed me with open arms regardless."
Since his arrival in Oxford, Joseph has noticed 'big' differences compared to his time in Tallahassee.
"It's a big difference in football to be honest. From practice to walk throughs, the facility, everybody around the facility - going to the custodian - everything is different," Joseph reiterated. "Just the feeling you walk around with, the feeling you wake up knowing you're going to a building full of people who want the best for you. That was the biggest thing, so far, that I enjoy."
Going into the offseason, Ole Miss had to address its defensive backfield and replace each of its starting safeties. The Rebels were fine with that, as they struggled at times with busted coverages, and felt they upgraded by bringing other transfers such as Joenel Aguero and Shariff Denson.
Each safety has some valuable versatility to their game that Ole Miss will be using to its advantage in 2026.
"I think this is probably the best group I've been a part of. One thing about it is it's not just individual, it's just I know I got a lot of people that I could depend on," Joseph assessed. "If I say I got post, I got post there. Just to be able to rely on a couple people to do their jobs and then them actually doing it has been a big difference."
"They've definitely been moving us around all throughout the safety room. Just recently, the past two days, I've been at corner actually. I've kind of been all over the place, enjoying learning all parts of the defense. I think it just adds more value and makes it easier on me to learn the defense and get it down pat."
Although Joseph just returned to the field this summer, Ole Miss is expecting an immediate impact from him once the season arrives. Joseph expects the same.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/olemiss as 'Everything is Different': Edwin Joseph Details Transfer to Ole Miss From FSU .
