This isn’t quite a worst-case scenario for Ole Miss, but it’s not far down the list either.
The Rebels will be without starting defensive back Edwin Joseph on Saturday against No. 13 Missouri after he underwent a tightrope procedure Wednesday to repair the high ankle sprain he suffered in last week’s 52-17 win at Vanderbilt.
Joseph was officially ruled out on the SEC’s availability report Wednesday night, though Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding had already hinted earlier in the week that the injury was serious enough to warrant concern. Joseph traveled to Birmingham on Tuesday for a second medical opinion before undergoing surgery on his left ankle.
The expected recovery timeline is 10-14 days, which means Saturday’s game is obviously off the table and next week’s trip to Texas could be in doubt as well.
The good news, if there is any, is that tightrope procedures typically come with shorter recovery timelines than some traditional ankle surgeries. The bad news is Ole Miss is losing one of its most reliable defensive backs at a time when the secondary had finally started to look settled.
Joseph, a senior transfer from Florida State, opened the season at safety before spending much of the last several weeks at cornerback. Wherever Ole Miss needed him, he played. Through five games, he’s totaled 18 tackles and a pass breakup while providing versatility that allowed the Rebels to move pieces around the secondary.
That’s what makes this loss sting.
Ole Miss is not losing just a starter. It’s losing one of the defensive backs who had emerged as a stabilizing presence in a group that has dealt with position shuffling for much of the season. His absence comes on the heels of arguably the defense’s best performance of the year at Vanderbilt, when the Rebels forced four turnovers and looked far more aggressive and disruptive than they had in previous weeks.
Now they’ll have to maintain that momentum without one of their most experienced players on the back end.
Student-Athlete Availability Report
Missouri
Out
- S #18 JaDon Blair
- RB #21 Malae Fonoti
- RB #29 Ahmad Hardy
- OL #54 Josh Atkins
- TE #88 Gavin Hoffman
Questionable
- LB #0 Robert Woodyard Jr.
- WR #4 Shaun Terry II
- LB #6 Jeremiah Beasley
- S #15 Santana Banner
- WR #19 Cayden Lee
- EDG #19 Darris Smith
- CB #20 Cameron Keys
- OL #58 Khalief Canty Jr.
- OL #70 Cayden Green
- TE #87 Brett Norfleet
- DT #90 Sterling Webb
Probable
- WR #3 DaMarion Fowlkes
- LB #5 Nicholas Rodriguez
- S #7 Kensley Louidor-Faustin
- EDG #10 Daeden Hopkins
- EDG #11 Langden Kitchen
- QB #13 Austin Simmons
- S #28 Jayden McGregory
- TE #86 Jordon Harris
Ole Miss
Out
- WR #12 Izaiah Hartrup
- S #14 Edwin Joseph
- LB #26 Ant Davis Jr.
- WR #27 Kervin Johnson Jr.
- RB #36 Ja’Michael Jones
- S #46 Nascar McCoy
- OL #70 Jalan Chapman
- OL #71 Emanuel Faulkner
Questionable
- S #19 MJ Preston
- OL #77 Enoch Wangoy
- TE #80 Hayden Bradley
Probable
- CB #8 Antonio Kite
- S #31 Ladarian Clardy
