Supremely Effective Joseph Awaits Vandals Mcneese State Senior Quarterback Has Professional Potential, Scouts Say

McNeese State quarterback Kerry Joseph compares well.

Idaho football coach Chris Tormey, whose defense will attempt to collar Joseph on Saturday night in the playoffs, said Joseph is “like a Division I-AA Tommie Frazier.”

Pro scouts tell McNeese State coach Bobby Keasler that Joseph is sort of like Kordell Stewart, rookie wide receiver AND quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Perhaps, but as far as we know, Stewart doesn’t punt; Joseph does.

Others say Joseph is comparable to Steve McNair, backup quarterback with Houston in the NFL.

“He’s better than McNair,” said McNeese sports information director Louis Bonnett. “He’s a runner and a thrower. McNair couldn’t run. Kerry’s a tough kid, 6-foot-1 and 206, strong. He throws it 70 yards flat-footed.”

Who does Joseph compare himself to?

No one.

“I enjoy all the compliments,” said the senior, who has produced 21 touchdown passes and six rushing scores this season as McNeese has marched to an 11-0 record and No. 1 ranking. “I just try to be myself.”

Come Saturday evening in Lake Charles, La., Idaho would like to compare Joseph to Northern Arizona’s Jeff Lewis, Boise State’s Tony Hilde, Montana’s Dave Dickenson and Northern Iowa’s Chris Berg.

All those top quarterbacks had megastats, but all were contained (semi-contained, in the case of Dickenson) and lost to the Vandals this year.

“Hilde had good speed and was a good athlete,” Tormey said. “He (Joseph) doesn’t just have good speed. He’s a track guy, and he’s got a good arm, too.”

With Joseph at the controls as a freshman, McNeese drove for a late touchdown and defeated UI 23-20 in the 1992 playoffs. Last year, Joseph had 177 yards rushing and 175 passing in a 38-21 win over the Vandals.

The Cowboys’ offense has been even more productive this year, averaging 390 yards per game. No opponent has kept McNeese to less than 20 points.

“A lot of things have been working,” said Joseph, named the Southland Conference player of the year earlier this week. “We have a lot of maturity. We’re all familiar with each other because most of us have played together for a while.”

McNeese fans will long remember the play Joseph turned in to save the Cowboys’ undefeated season.

With his team trailing 24-19 against James Madison, Joseph retreated to punt because the regular punter was injured.

A high snap sent Joseph scurrying after the ball. After tracking it down, he sidestepped two onrushers and booted the ball 79 yards, 46 from the actual line of scrimmage. McNeese rallied to win, 30-24.

Bonnett recalled the scene in Cowboy Stadium when Joseph injured his shoulder and left in the first quarter against Northwestern State.

“They took him to the dressing room and the crowd was moaning and groaning,” Bonnett said. “The biggest ovation I’ve ever heard was when he came out of the locker room in the second quarter and back on the field.” McNeese won, 20-10.

As an underclassmen, Joseph built a reputation for late-game heroics. These days, McNeese usually doesn’t wait for the fourth quarter to ice its victories.

“We just decided we’d come out and win easy,” Joseph joked, “and not have to do all that stuff at the end.”

However, he doesn’t expect a cakewalk against Idaho.

“It was a battle last year,” he said. “They fought us to the end, but that’s how the playoffs are. There are only winners in the playoffs.”

Winning and Joseph have become synonymous. McNeese is 37-8 with Joseph as the starter.

“He’s been our leader since he took over four years ago,” Keasler said. “They (scouts) like him because he’s a winner and they like his athletic ability.

“People talk about bringing him in as their third quarterback and with him being a great athlete, playing him somewhere else, too.”

, DataTimes