BOCA RATON – FAU kicker Greg Joseph is as excited about the record he’s poised to break as a child who learned he’s getting only socks for Christmas.
Not that there’s anything wrong with socks.
But becoming the school’s all-time leading scorer is kind of a big deal.
“It will be cool to look back on but as of now I’m not worried about all the individual feats,” Joseph said.
Needing only four points to pass Mark Myers on the Owls’ career scoring list, Joseph could break the record on Friday when FAU opens its season against Navy.
Myers scored 231 points as FAU’s first kicker in a career that ended in 2004.
In a remarkable piece of symmetry, should Joseph tie Myers for the career scoring record by kicking a field goal and an extra point, he will also tie Myers for the most field goals and the most extra points in FAU history.
“As long as we win games and get to a bowl game, put the team in a better situation, I’m happy,” Joseph said.
It’s not unusual for kickers to top a school’s career scoring list. Warley Leroy, the Owls’ kicker during their bowl runs, is third on the list with 216 points.
Running back Alfred Morris and his 31 touchdowns is fourth, followed by fellow ball carrier Doug Parker, a teammate of Myers.
Joseph’s ascent would have been difficult to predict. As a walk-on in 2014, Joseph beat out the newly-signed Landon Scheer – the player the Owls’ touted as the best kicker in the nation on Signing Day. Scheer never saw the field and didn’t return to the team for this year’s fall camp.
Former coach Charlie Partridge ultimately awarded Joseph a scholarship.
“Walk-ons are people, too,” Joseph said. “I’m happy I was able to prove my worth and earn everything that I have.”
For three years Joseph has been the player the Owls turned to when they needed a boot. He’s connected on 68.9 percent of his field goals. He hasn’t missed an extra point since September of 2014, nailing 91 consecutively.
He even drilled a 50-yard field goal in last year’s Shula Bowl, three yards shy of the FAU record held by Myers and Mitch Anderson.
Midway through this year’s fall camp Joseph actually nailed a 53-yard field to cap a two-minute drill. He won’t divulge the extent of his range, but that kick would have been good from at least 60.
Joseph credits strength coach Wilson Love with helping to extend his range.
“I definitely feel stronger and my body feels better over the summer,” Joseph said. “Wilson did a great job with that.”
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