South Carolina Football’s GOAT Series: Top-15 greatest cornerbacks of all-time
By Kevin Miller
South Carolina Football’s No. 7 Cornerback of All-Time:
Johnathan Joseph
A bit of a “what if” story as he only played for one season in Columbia, Johnathan Joseph (2004-2005) was dominant after coming over from Coffeyville Community College. He immediately earned the starting job across from Fred Bennett in 2004, but a broken foot ended his season almost as soon as it began. Joseph spent the year rehabbing and came back better and faster than he was before his injury.
In 2005, #9 was incredible as he shut down virtually every receiver he faced off against. The only pass catcher that gave him trouble that season was UCF’s Brandon Marshall who, like Joseph, went on to become a borderline NFL Hall of Famer. Joseph was an obvious All-SEC performer in his one season playing at Carolina, and he went in the first round of the NFL Draft. An All-Pro career followed, and Joseph went on to have deflected more passes than any other NFL player since the year 2000. Had he played longer in garnet and black, he would certainly be toward the top of this list.