TAMPA, Fla. – It has been one thing after another on the injury front for USF running back Kelley Joiner the past two years. A toe injury sustained last September at Navy cost him a month. A broken foot incurred during 2022 preseason camp limited the Clermont native to four games that season.
“It’s frustrating, but I look at it as everybody has their time and I feel like my time has yet to come,” he said. “I am staying patient and let God do the rest.”
Joiner, who ran for a career-high 480 yards in 2021 while averaging a hefty 6.2 per rush, is preparing for his sixth year with the Bulls. He had the NCAA freebie from the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and was granted a medical redshirt as a result of the foot injury in 2022. Now healthy and enjoying a productive spring, Joiner is looking forward his final season at USF.
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“Unfinished business as a team,” he said of returning to a team that capped its first winning season (7-6) since 2018 with a bowl win. “We have one goal, which is to be the best in the country as an offense. A team goal is to win a (conference) championship and I feel like I can help contribute to those goals.”
The versatile Joiner can tote the pigskin, line up in the slot and contribute on special teams. He averaged 39 total yards per game in 2023 and caught a career-high 12 passes, including a 62-yard TD on a bit of trickery from receiver Sean Atkins in a Thanksgiving weekend win against visiting Charlotte that clinched bowl eligibility. He would like to return more kicks in 2024.
“I have been telling him I want to return kicks,” said the 5-foot-9 Joiner, referring to coach Alex Golesh. “They have me at kick return this spring and I am ready to see where that takes me.”
Joiner returned two kicks (18.0 avg.) early last season before injuring his toe. Matt Hill, whose eligibility expired, took over the duties and remained the primary kick returner. Frankly, Joiner will do whatever it takes to get the ball in his hands.
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“I like the slot,” he said, which is where he lined up at times last season. “You get the ball in space most of the time and that lets me be me. I just like the ball in my hands.”
First-year running backs coach Micah James is impressed by what he has seen in Joiner, who switched from No. 3 to No. 8, which is worn by his favorite player, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.
“He has been running the ball extremely well this spring,” said James, an offensive lineman at Middle Tennessee and whose coaching resume includes a season at UCF. “He’s trying to push himself to be a better leader. I am excited to see what he looks like this fall. He’s lightning in the bottle with real speed and real juice in one-on-one situations.”
Joiner, who received his degree in public health in December and who would like to help train athletes, is pleased with how everything has gone this spring, which will conclude with Saturday afternoon’s (2 p.m.) game at Corbett Stadium.
“This spring has been good with high energy in practice every day and making plays on both sides of the ball,” he said. “We have leadership and communication during practice, which we have not had in a while. I feel like we are ready to take the next step as a team.”
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