Mickey Joseph Season 1991

Honors & Awards
Honorable-Mention All-Big Eight (AP, Coaches, 1990)
Big Eight Offensive Player of the Week (vs. Minnesota, 1990)
Big Eight Offensive Player of the Week (vs. Missouri, 1990)
Team Captain (1991)

1991 (Senior)
One of four team captains for the Big Eight champion Huskers in 1991, Mickey Joseph played eight games at quarterback his senior season for the Huskers. He completed 15-of-30 passes for 200 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. He added 26 carries for 135 yards and two more scores. Joseph started NU’s season-opening win over Utah State, before Keithen McCant took over the starting duties for the last 10 regular-season games and the 1992 Orange Bowl against Miami. Joseph completed his only pass attempt for nine yards against the Hurricanes in the Orange Bowl to cap his Husker career.

A four-year letterman, Joseph finished his career with 1,091 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns on just 180 carries (6.1 ypc). He also passed for 909 yards and 14 scores to finish with exactly 2,000 total yards and 30 touchdowns over 34 regular-season games with nine starts.

1990 (Junior)
Joseph’s season came to a premature end in the first quarter against Oklahoma, when he slid into a metal bench on the Sooner sideline. He suffered a lacerated calf muscle in his left leg, which required extensive surgery. Joseph, who earned honorable-mention All-Big Eight accolades, finished the season as the top-rated passer in the Big Eight (141.9 rating), completing 34-of-78 passes for 624 yards and a conference-leading 11 touchdowns against six interceptions. He was also NU’s third-leading rusher with 554 yards and a team-leading 10 touchdowns. A two-time Big Eight Offensive Player of the Week (Minnesota, Missouri), Joseph went 7-for-11 for 117 yards and three touchdown passes against the Gophers, while adding two more rushing touchdowns. Against Mizzou, Joseph tied a Nebraska record with four rushing touchdowns, while totaling 95 yards on the ground. He also completed 4-of-8 passes for 65 yards and another score. His top day through the air came on 7-of-16 passing for 165 yards and two touchdowns against Kansas. His best rushing total came with 123 yards on eight carries against Iowa State. Joseph played 11 games with eight regular-season starts, sharing time with quarterback Mike Grant throughout the season. Joseph missed the 1991 Florida Citrus Bowl because of his calf injury.

1989 (Sophomore)
Nebraska’s alternate behind All-Big Eight quarterback Gerry Gdowski for most of the season, Joseph appeared in eight games. He completed 4-of-12 passes for 69 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. He also closed the year as NU’s sixth-leading rusher with 210 yards and one touchdown on 39 carries. Joseph earned his second varsity letter and played in the 1990 Sunkist Fiesta Bowl against Florida State. He completed 1-of-2 passes against the Seminoles and rushed four times for minus-two yards and one touchdown.

1988 (Redshirt Freshman)
Nebraska’s No. 3 quarterback behind All-Big Eight Steve Taylor and Gerry Gdowski, Joseph played in seven games to earn his first varsity letter. He rushed 24 times for 215 yards and three touchdowns to help the Huskers capture the Big Eight championship with a 7-0 conference regular season. His best game came in blizzard conditions at Iowa State when he carried four times for 44 yards, including a 24-yard run to the ISU 3. He scored touchdowns against Utah State, Arizona State and Kansas.

1987 (Redshirt)
Joseph redshirted in his first season at Nebraska.

Archbishop Shaw High School
A consensus All-American and the Louisiana Offensive Player of the Year for Coach Hank Tierney at Archbishop Shaw High School in New Orleans in 1986, Joseph was the most sought-after option quarterback in the nation his senior year. He switched to quarterback after rushing for 771 yards and six touchdowns as a sophomore tailback in 1984. As a junior, he passed for 1,297 yards and 10 touchdowns, while also rushing for 891 yards and nine scores. As a senior, he completed 62-of-115 passes for 1,135 yards and 12 touchdowns, while rushing 153 times for 947 yards and 14 TDs in leading Shaw to an 11-1 record. He chose Nebraska over Oklahoma.

Personal
The son of Robert and Linda Joseph, Robert L. “Mickey” Joseph has a younger brother Vance, who has been a long-time coach in the NFL.  Mickey has produced a long coaching career at many levels, beginning at Omaha North High School before coaching at Wayne State College (1997). He coached at his high school alma mater (Archbishop Shaw, La.) in 1998, before spending a season at Tulane (1999). He enjoyed his longest stint at LSU from 2017 to 2021 before returning to Nebraska in 2022, where he served briefly as interim head coach. In 2024, he was named the head coach at Grambling State.