When Joshua Josephs sat down in his locker at Davis Wade Stadium, outside linebackers coach Levorn “Chop” Harbin had some choice words for one of the key cogs of the Tennessee football defense.
Harbin wasn’t pleased with the first-half performance he saw from the senior against Mississippi State.
“What I said, I just try to keep that between us,” Harbin said. “But I think sometimes guys need a little motivation. If I see it on my part as a coach, if I don’t see them playing at a level they should, that’s my job. So that’s what I’m going to do. If I don’t see you doing your job, I’m going to call you out. It’s just part of it. He understands that he knows I love him. So he responded well. And we’re happy.”
While the message wasn’t necessarily personal, Josephs took it that way. He delivered with a monster second half, giving Tennessee a late lead as he returned a fumble for his first career touchdown. A career-best nine tackles were added to his ledger when the overtime thriller came to a close.
Luckily for Josephs, his play so far this season hasn’t warranted the need for numerous stern visits from Harbin. His four sacks slot him fourth in the SEC in the category, while two forced fumbles are good enough for seventh best in the entire nation.
The Kennesaw, Georgia, native finds his success at the LEO position for defensive coordinator Tim Banks, a hybrid spot on the field that fits the explosive skillset of the 240-pound pass rusher.
“I see him as one of my own kids,” Harbin said. “He’s doing everything we’ve asked for him to do. Trying to maintain his weight, working on the techniques that we ask him to do to get better. We don’t need Superman out there. We really need for Josh to come through and be a team player, not to be selfish. And he will.”
Josephs enjoyed a breakout junior campaign in 2024, finishing second on a talented defense with nine tackles for loss. James Pearce Jr. is the only guy who can boast a better number, an accolade that earned him a first-round selection in the NFL Draft. Josephs is eyeing a similar path to that of his former teammate, but his coaching staff refuses to let him rest on his laurels.
“I’m never satisfied,” Harbin said. “I mean, he wants to be better. I told the guys in the spring, you want to be a first-rounder, you got to get production. The only way you’re going to get production, you got to do it the right way. It’s no shortcuts to getting production. We’ve had guys before that tried to do their own deal and not play within the defense. That’s not how it works. You have to play within the defense and you have to play for one another. Josh is not selfish.”
Now, as he eyes the challenge of containing one of the SEC’s most proficient rushing quarterbacks in Arkansas’ Taylen Green, Josephs will have to bring the same approach he’s had with the previous signal-callers he’s tracked down this season. Green’s legs provide a new wrinkle, one that Harbin’s group will be tasked with keeping contained when Tennessee welcomes the Razorbacks on Oct. 11.
“The goal is to get better from week to week,” Harbin said. “He’s gotten better each week. At the pace I like? No. At the pace we need as a program? No. But he’s getting better every week, that’s the goal. Now we want to see how we can get better from week five, from game five to game six. So that’s the goal, I want you to see progress every week. You have to progress every week to get better, to reach your goal at the end of the year. And he has done that.”
