• Enters ninth season as Mississippi College head football coach.
Since becoming the 17th head coach in Mississippi College football history in 2005, Norman Joseph has built the Choctaws into a championship program, winning the American Southwest Conference in 2009 and reaching the NCAA Playoffs for the first time since 1991. Joseph was honored as the AFCA South Region Coach of the Year in the 2009 season.
The two previous seasons before Joseph's arrival the Choctaws went 3-7 and 2-8 in the tough Division III league, and had only one winning season in the previous five seasons. But under Joseph's direction MC has used a high octane offense to climb to the top of the ASC standings.
Coach Joseph has used a multiple offense designed to use available talent, a trait he developed as a successful Division I offensive coordinator at the University of Southern Mississippi and San Jose State University. Twice a Choctaw quarterback has led the league in passing yardage and touchdowns during his tenure and two different running backs have led the league in rushing. The Choctaws have rewritten the offensive record books under Joseph's direction.
Quarterback Adam Shaffer broke virtually all MC passing records under Joseph and was a finalist for the Gagliardi Trophy in 2009, given to the most outstanding Division III player in the country. In three full seasons, Shaffer set new records for passing yardage, touchdowns and completions. As a senior, Shaffer passed for 33 touchdowns and just nine interceptions. Tailbacks Steven Knight and Desmond Mays both led the ASC in rushing. Mays set the mark in 2008 with over 1,100 yards, and Knight followed with a great season in 2009 with over 1,300 yards.
Head Coaching Records
2012 - Mississippi College (2-8, 1-6 ASC)
2011 - Mississippi College (3-7, 2-6 ASC)
2010 - Mississippi College (4-6, 2-6 ASC)
2009 - Mississippi College (9-3, 7-1 ASC)
2008 - Mississippi College (5-5, 5-3 ASC)
2007 - Mississippi College (8-2, 6-2 ASC)
2006 - Mississippi College (5-5, 3-5 ASC)
2005 - Mississippi College (2-8, 1-8 ASC)
2004 - Louisiana College (5-5, 4-5 ASC)
1998-2000 - Belhaven (16-15, 3 Seasons)
Overall Record: 59-64
In 2012, the Choctaws opened the season with a 23-17 loss in the “Backyard Brawl” to Millsaps, but bounced back with a thrilling 31-24 win over Webber International in the home opener. The injuries began to mount and the young MC team struggled to a 2-8 record. Seven Choctaws earned All-ASC honors, led by junior defensive back Keith Villafranco, who became the second straight D3Football.com First Team All-American, following in the footsteps of Jarrad Craine.
The 2011 season saw the Choctaws get off to a hot start with an overtime victory over Millsaps in the "Backyard Brawl" and a 45-28 win over #8 Hardin-Simmons. The young MC team would hit the road and struggle, dropping six of their final seven games to finish 3-7.
Defensive back Jarrad Craine had an outstanding senior season, earning D3Football.com First Team All-American honors after leading all of Division III with 21 pass breakups. Craine would join punter Jacob Chancellor, running back Steven Knight, and linebacker Blake Rowell as representatives in the D3Senior Classic, a game showcasing the top DIII seniors in the country. MC had more players in the game than any other school in the country. The Choctaws had 11 players earn All-ASC honors, led by four First Team selections. MC also had 14 student-athletes named to the ASC All-Academic Team.
In 2010, the Choctaws opened the season 2-0 before injuries took over and MC finished 4-6 overall. The Choctaws had several highlights as Tommy Reyer set school records for single game pass attempts (64) and pass completions (39). MC landed six players on the All-ASC teams with offensive linemen Jonathan Shaw, Terrence Taylor and Chris Williams, running back Austin Divinity, defensive end Nolan Willisson, and defensive back Dustin Retherford.
The 2009 season saw the Choctaws win their first ASC Championship since 1997 and advancing to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time in school history. MC averaged 37.2 points per game and set school records for points scored, touchdowns scored, first downs, pass attempts, pass completions, and touchdown passes. The Choctaws opened the playoffs with a 56-35 win over Huntingdon before falling to national semi-finalists Wesley in the round of 16. MC also had three players named D3Football.com All-Americans in tight end Renard Ellis, offensive lineman Josh Lankford, and linebacker Quartez Ashmore.
In 2008, the Choctaws went 5-5 utilizing a dominating rushing attack after quarterback Adam Shaffer suffered a season ending injury early in the year. After ranking among the nation's leaders in passing during the 2008 season, Joseph reworked his offense to use the tools at hand. What resulted was an ASC rushing title for tailback Desmond Mays who ended the season with over 1,100 yards on the ground and 13 rushing touchdowns. Freshman quarterback Tommy Reyer earned ASC Offensive Freshman of the Year honors as well.
In 2007, the 8-2 team rewrote the record books behind Coach Joseph and sophomore quarterback Adam Shaffer. Shaffer ranked third in the nation with 3,500 passing yards as the team broke school records for scoring offense, total yards, first downs, passing yards, pass completions, pass attempts, touchdown passes and overall touchdowns. The Choctaws also featured two receivers who each went over 1,000 yards receiving led by Jake Allen, a First Team All-American. Allen has gone on to play for the Green Bay Packers and Cleveland Browns.
Joseph led the Choctaws to a .500 record in the tough American Southwest Conference in 2006 despite the loss of quarterback Adam Shaffer in the first game of the season. The Choctaws did not miss a beat offensively as the team went on to rank 11th in the nation in total offense (420.3) and passing yardage (276.6). All-American wide receiver Jake Allen produced the best statistical season for an MC wide receiver finishing with a school record 1,024 yards. Quarterback Brad Madden passed for 2,025 yards, the 5th highest total in school history.
In his first season in 2005, freshman quarterback Adam Shaffer set all of MC’s freshman passing records including passing yards, completions and touchdowns. Shaffer also set a school record in the season finale with seven touchdowns against Belhaven College. After just one rebuilding season, Joseph returns a team poised for a breakout season with ten returning starters on defense and seven returning starters on offense.
In 2004 as the head coach of Louisiana College, Joseph quickly turned around a struggling Wildcat program. The Wildcats enjoyed their best season since 1962 (5-5) and set 38 team and 41 individual LC records. Under Joseph's tutelage the Wildcat offense ranked among the best in the country finishing seventh in passing offense, 15th in total offense and 28th in scoring offense. His team led the American Southwest Conference in total receptions, total receiving yards and all-purpose yards. Three of their five losses were by a combined eight points including two overtime losses.
Prior to his year at Louisiana College, Joseph spent the 2003 season as the offensive coordinator at Midwestern State University. There he built his offense around a punishing ground attack finishing second in the Lone Star Conference in rushing and leading the league with the fewest sacks allowed. Their 5.3 yards per carry average set a new school record.
During the 2001 and 2002 seasons Joseph served as the offensive coordinator at San Jose State University of the Western Athletic Conference. During his first season in 2001 his Spartan offense helped set a new Western Athletic Conference record for total offense in a single game with 849 yards. They also helped set a new NCAA record for combined total offense in a game with 1,640 yards. The Spartans ranked 18th in the country that season in passing offense.
The Spartan offense followed that season with another breakout year in which they ranked 24th in the country in passing offense and total offense, second in the WAC in individual passing efficiency and third in the WAC in team passing efficiency and scoring offense.
Before coaching at San Jose State, Joseph took on the task of starting the football program at Belhaven College in 1997 where he spent three seasons as the head coach of the Blazers. In his first two seasons he was the only NAIA coach in the nation to produce a 1,000 yard rusher and 1,000 yard receiver in back to back seasons. In his second season (1999) he led the Blazers to a Top 25 national ranking for six consecutive weeks. That season his team had ten First Team All-Conference players and ten Second Team All Conference players. His teams combined to go 16-15 in three years playing against teams who had been in competition for several years.
During the 1994-1996 seasons Joseph served as the offensive coordinator at the University of Southern Mississippi. In 1996 his Golden Eagle offense ranked second in the conference in scoring and led the nation in turnover margin. He also coached a quarterback to a #4 NCAA ranking in passing efficiency. He helped USM go 20-13 over his three years with most of the losses against nationally ranked SEC and ACC teams.
Prior to his coaching job at USM he was the offensive coordinator at Northeast Louisiana University. His NLU offense became the first NCAA offense in history to produce a 2,000 yard passer, two 1,000 yard rushers and a 1,000 yard receiver in one year. He helped NLU to four straight winning seasons ranking #1 in the conference in scoring, passing and total offense. His offense ranked eighth in the country in scoring offense in 1992 and third in the country in 1993. NLU won conference championships in 1990 and 1992. They also received Division IAA playoff berths in 1990, 1992 and 1993.
Before Northeast Louisiana University, Joseph was the passing game and recruiting coordinator at Northwestern State University in 1988 and 1989 where he won a conference championship and earned a #8 NCAA national ranking. They also led the conference in scoring, total offense and rushing offense. In 1987 he was the passing and recruiting coordinator at Louisiana Tech University. He was a position coach at Northeast Louisiana University from 1978-1986. He also served as a volunteer coach at Vanderbilt University in 1977.
Joseph played college football for the Mississippi State Bulldogs and gained Churchman All-American honors in 1976. He earned his Master of Education Degree from Northeast Louisiana University in 1979 and his Bachelor of Science Degree from Mississippi State in 1977.
Joseph is married to wife Jane and has three daughters, Elizabeth, Grace Anne and Sara Catherine. Elizabeth just earned her Master's degree at the University of Texas, while Grace Anne finished a Master's at Ole Miss, and Sara Catherine is a senior at Clinton High School.
