Signee: Morven Joseph, WDE
Height/Weight: 6-foot-3, 220 pounds
School: Lake Gibson (Florida)
Home Town: Lakeland, FL
Rankings
247Sports Composite: No. 352 overall, No. 18 WDE
247Sports: No. 380 overall, No. 18 WDE
Rivals: 5.8 rating, No. 16 WDE
Notable Offers: Florida, Florida State, Auburn
What we like:
If you want speed off the edge, Morven Joseph is your guy. He’s an athletic freak, in my opinion. He’s quick, strong, and smart all at the same time. He’s capable of playing as a traditional outside linebacker, and he can play with his hand in the dirt, too. He’s a violent tackler who consistently terrorizes quarterbacks, but he’s not just a one-trick pony; Joseph is just as impressive stopping the run as he is rushing the passer, in my opinion. He can even hold his own in pass coverage and shows good patience when it’s needed of him. He’s not just always running full speed ahead; he can sit and dissect a play and make the correct reads. Joseph is just a really good linebacker, and I’m surprised he’s not rated higher than he is.
Places to improve:
The biggest area Joseph needs to improve is just putting on more weight. He already has a lot of lean muscle, but he could do with adding another 10-15 pounds to stand up to the rigors of the SEC. Otherwise, I don’t see a ton of flaws in his game with my novice eye. He tackles pretty securely, and he has really good instincts to go along with long arms and great athleticism. I think Tennessee stole away a very good athlete from the state of Florida.
Analysis:
Even if he doesn’t find a role on defense immediately — which I think he will, somehow — Joseph should be a special teams contributor right away at the very least. He’s quick, has great pursuit, and just wreaks havoc. If he’s not big enough to withstand a lot of playing time on defense, I see him being a very active member of Tennessee’s special teams in 2020. But I do think he finds a way to at least play in a sub role on defense. The Vols simply don’t have enough pass rushers, and Joseph gives them athleticism off the edge they don’t currently have on the roster.
