Daniel Joseph’s decision to return to NC State wasn’t a hard one

NC State fifth-year defensive end Daniel Joseph's journey from Toronto to Raleigh wasn’t exactly straightforward, but his decision to return to the Wolfpack for a sixth season of college football was.

Joseph, a native Canadien from Toronto, Ontario., attended Lake Forest (Ill.) Academy just north of Chicago in high school. That’s where he became a three-star prospect and the No. 27 ranked defensive end in the class of 2016 according to Rivals.

Although NC State head coach Dave Doeren and staff recruited him out of high school, Joseph committed and signed with Penn State, where he spent the next four seasons before transferring as a graduate into the Wolfpack program in February of 2020.

He announced his decision to join the Pack just weeks before the world as we knew it changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which put the entire college football season in question for the next several months.

It wasn’t long after the NCAA’s announcement last August granting all fall athletes an additional year of eligibility that Joseph realized his intent to stay in Raleigh the following fall, no matter how the 2020 campaign ended up shaking out.

“I don't think it really was that hard for me to make the decision,” Joseph said. “I really knew what I wanted to accomplish and where I saw this team getting to. I knew that I wanted to be a part of it. It was a very easy decision because there wasn't much to think about for me and what I had to get done to achieve my goals and help this team achieve theirs.”

NC State would later end up playing one of the least interrupted schedules in the country in 2020, competing in 12 total contests, which tied for third-most among FBS programs nationally.

The Wolfpack, which finished with a disappointing 4-8 record the season prior, produced a surprising 8-4 campaign in 2020 that included two wins over then-ranked opponents — Pittsburgh and Liberty — after being picked to finish 11th in the preseason ACC media poll.

Joseph, the lone senior defensive starter, played a big role in the turnaround. The 6-3, 265-pound pass-rusher led the Pack and finished the season tied for eighth in the ACC with 6.5 sacks.

For him, the team’s success on the field last fall just confirmed his original intention to return in 2021.

“There's a lot to accomplish for me personally and this team,” Joseph said. “After being here for a year, and it was a very chaotic year, I really wanted to get a feel for what NC State is. It treated me well through a pandemic. With me having that positive experience through a pandemic, I just wanted another year, not just for me to develop and get better, but for the world to really see what I have to offer. The team was really the driving force for me to come back.”

Starting in eight of the 11 games he played in his debut season for the Wolfpack, Joseph produced 37 tackles, 10 for loss and three quarterback hurries. The graduate transfer led the defensive line in tackles and finished second on the team in tackles for loss behind only redshirt sophomore linebacker Payton Wilson, who became the first Pack player to lead the ACC in tackles since Levar Fisher in 2000.

But the former Nittany Lion isn’t content with the success he found on the field in Carter-Finley Stadium last fall. When asked what specific area of his game he was working to improve upon this season, the super senior kept it simple with an answer that further proved his maturity.

“All of them,” Joseph replied. “In this game, you can never sell yourself short by thinking that you can't improve. In all regards, on defense and offense, we all have room to improve and are going to. I'm not really going to pinpoint a specific area that needs to improve, just going back and looking at the tape, it's imminent that everyone needs to improve.”

His experience was much-needed in a defensive line room that was among the youngest of the Wolfpack’s position groups.

Although Joseph was one of the few Wolfpack defensive linemen old enough to legally drink a beer in 2020, he often took a non-verbal approach to a leadership role he involuntarily inherited as a new face on the roster.

Joseph isn’t one to shy away from speaking his mind when he feels it’s warranted, but even after a full season with the program under his belt, his by-example leadership style is more a reflection of his personality rather than an unspoken product of locker room etiquette.

“I've always been a guy that lets my performance speak for itself,” Joseph said. “I think that is better suited for me as a person, so I've been sticking with that despite having a full season under my belt here. When it's needed, I put in my two cents or whatever you want to call it, but I don't think it necessarily means I should have that role at all times.

“At the end of the day, it's mostly about leaving a legacy and letting the young guys learn from their own mistakes. I've never been a believer of always having somebody tell you what to do or lead you in this way. We're all different, and for some people that may be vocal, others may lean more so through their actions, and I think that's me.”