Emotions were running high on Florida State football’s sidelines in the loss to Stanford on Oct. 18. The one that drew attention during the nightcap ACC game involved sophomore defensive back Edwin Joseph.
In the first quarter, Joseph was called offside in Stanford’s field goal attempt, giving the Cardinal an automatic first down. The Cardinal would then score on a busted coverage by Joseph. Head coach Mike Norvell was furious with the Joseph on the sideline.
Norvell addressed it after the game, and Joseph handled it maturely, playing better for the rest of the game and finishing with five tackles, 0.5 sacks and two pass deflections.
“I talked to Edwin at halftime and talked to him after, and I mean, and he came back and made some good plays then later in the game, but you never know where the ones going to show up, and we had a bunch of those single plays where, after the fact,” Norvell said.
“Just to know how important it is and to have that discipline to focus and, just everything that we do within the program to emphasize some of those situations and critical things.”
Defensive coordinator Tony White was in between Norvell and Joseph during the conflict after the drive. He addressed the situation during his media availability on Oct. 21 and explained how he and Norvell resolved it on the sideline, knowing how Joseph would respond after his two mistakes.
“He knew what he had done,” White recalled.
“Like, he had to put it back in his mind. You got to remember, he jumped offside, and then he gave up the damn touchdown. So, guys, everybody in the world, however many millions of people were watching, he gave up the touchdown. So he was gathering himself up, and then Coach Norvell went over there and said, “Yo, like what the hell are you doing?” It was emotions on the sideline, which is competition, all that kind of stuff. But sat down, told Ed like, ‘Bro, you can’t do that kind of stuff,’ And when he calmed down, it was like, ‘Bro, like you can’t act like that.’ So conversations were had, and it was like, you better be, you’ve got to be right. You’ve got to be right in there. He went back, stayed composed, and helped make numerous plays that gave us a chance to win the game.”
In seven games, Joseph produced 17 total tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions, and three pass breakups. FSU fell to Stanford 20-13, marking its fourth straight ACC loss, ninth dating back to last season.
FSU (3-4, 0-4 ACC) is on a bye week and won’t return on the field until next Saturday, Nov. 1, when it hosts Wake Forest (4-2, 1-2) at Doak Campbell Stadium. The game is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.
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Peter Holland Jr. covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at PHolland@Gannett.com or on X @_Da_pistol.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: How FSU football’s Edwin Joseph’s offside penalty turned into heated conversation vs. Stanford
Reporting by Peter Holland Jr., Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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