The Oakland Raiders have selected West Virginia safety Karl Joseph in the first round (No. 14 overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft.
**
2015 (Sr.)**
- Team Captain
- CBSSports All-American (second team)
- SI.com All-American Honorable-Mention
- All-Big 12 Honorable-Mention (Coaches)
- Sustained season-ending right knee injury on Oct. 6 in a non-contact drill during practice
- Started all 42 games of his career
- At the time of his injury, ranked No. 1 nationally with 1.3 interceptions per game, No. 27 nationally with one fumble recovered and was No. 23 in the NCAA, No. 1 in the Big 12 with 1.5 passes defended per game
- Had an interception and a sack with five tackles at Oklahoma
- Finished with four tackles, had an interception and on tackle for loss vs. Maryland
- Recorded three solo tackles against Liberty
- Named FWAA National Player of the Week for performance against Georgia Southern; also Jim Thorpe National and Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week
- Had a career-best three interceptions and led the team with eight tackles, seven solo vs. Georgia Southern
- First WVU player since 1994 to have three interceptions in a game and third all-time to have three in a quarter
**[
](http://www.raiderimage.com/category-draft.html)2014 (Jr.)**
- 2014 WVU Team Captain
- All-Big 12 Conference First Team selection by coaches and ESPN.com
- All-Big 12 Conference Second Team selection by Phil Steele and The Associated Press
- Started all 13 games
- WVU's second-leading tackler with 92 tackles, including 62 solo stops, 4.5 tackles for loss, three pass breakups, three forced fumbles and an interception
- Used on 1,053 plays, including 947 defensive snaps, most of any player on defense
- Season-high 91 plays at Iowa State
- Tied for No. 4 in the Big 12 in forced fumbles
- Tied for No. 9 in the Big 12 in solo tackles
- Tied for No. 16 in the Big 12 in total tackles
- Holds school record for career forced fumbles
- No. 13 on the WVU career solo tackles list (194)
- Finished with 10 tackles, including seven solo stops and assisted on a tackle for loss and forced a fumble against Texas A&M in the Liberty Bowl
- Had eight tackles, including four solo stops at Iowa State
- Also had an interception and two pass breakup at ISU
- Registered four tackles against Kansas State, including three solo stops, two tackles for loss and a PB
- Finished with four tackles at Texas; including three solo stops
- Had six solo tackles and forced a fumble against TCU
- Finished with a team-high eight tackles, including four solo stops at Oklahoma State
- Had five solo tackles, including one for loss against Baylor
- Registered seven solo stops at Texas Tech
- Finished with a game-high 13 tackles against Oklahoma
- Season-high 10 solo stops against the Sooners
- Had a forced fumble against OU
- Registered a career-high 18 total tackles and 11 assisted tackles against Alabama
**
2013 (So.)**
- All-Big 12 Conference Honorable Mention
- Started all 12 games at free safety
- Led the team with four fumble recoveries and was No. 1 in the Big 12 and No. 2 nationally
- Third on the team with four pass breakups
- Fourth on the team with 68 tackles
- Finished with five or more tackles in seven games
- Registered five or more solo tackles in six games
- Third on the team in tackles (9) and recovered a fumble for a touchdown against Iowa State
- Fourth on the team with six tackles vs. Texas and forced a fumble
- Second on the team with nine tackles at TCU
- Led the team with 12 tackles at Kansas State
- Tied career highs in solo tackles (12), tackles for loss (2), forced fumbles (1) and fumble recoveries (1) at Kansas State
- Three solo tackles at Baylor and recovered a fumble for a touchdown
- Made a career-high two pass breakups vs. Oklahoma State
- Led the Mountaineers with nine tackles vs. Maryland
- Recovered a fumble vs. Georgia State
- Had his third career interception at Oklahoma
2012 (Fr.)
- WVU Defensive Player of the Year
- Freshman All-America (Phil Steele, collegefootballnews.com, FoxSports.com)
- All-Big 12 Conference Honorable-Mention Team (AP)
- Started all 13 games at free safety
- First true freshman to start at safety since Robert Sands (2008)
- Tied nationally for No. 14 in solo tackles, No. 59 in forced fumbles and No. 85 in total tackles
- Tied for fifth in the Big 12 in total tackles and fifth in forced fumbles
- Led WVU in solo tackles (76) and in total tackles (104) and tied for the team lead in forced fumbles (3) and interceptions (2); also was second in pass breakups (6) and third in tackles for loss (7)
- Recovered a fumble in the end zone that was forced by Darwin Cook to help seal the victory at Iowa State
- At Iowa State, set or tied career highs in total tackles (13), solo stops (12), tackles for loss (1) and fumbles recovered (1)
- Against Oklahoma, had 10 total tackles and one tackle for loss
- Had nine tackles, including eight solo stops vs. TCU, while also recording one tackle for loss and forcing a fumble
- At Texas Tech, had nine solo tackles, first interception of his career and one pass breakup
- Forced first fumble of his career and notched eight total tackles, six solo stops and one pass breakup at Texas
- Against Maryland, established a career high with one sack and had 1.5 tackles for loss; also collected seven total tackles and five solo stops
- Tied a game high with two tackles for loss against Marshall; also collected seven total tackles, including five solo stops
High School
- Coached by Zac Yarbrough at Edgewater High
- Finished 2011 with 126 tackles (97 solo), three sacks, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, four blocked punts and two blocked field goals
- Two-time Orlando Sentinel Defensive Player of the Year
Personal
- Birthday is September 8
- Son of Marie Joseph
- One of two children
- Graduated in December 2015 with a bachelor's degree in multidisciplinary studies
- Garrett Ford Academic Honor Roll
- Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll
