COVINGTON, Ga. — Jean Claude Joseph III’s name will already be synonymous with Eastside’s football program. But now, Joseph has made his name known for something else — he’s the first to sign a college scholarship while attending the new Eastside High School, and the program's first ever early enrollee into a college because of a football scholarship.
Knowing those two feats going in added a little something extra to the already momentous occasion.
“When I was walking into the auditorium, I was thinking about last year and all the other years, players signed at the old school,” Joseph said. “So I was like, ‘Oh, I’m the first one at the new school on Early National Signing day. That was pretty special.”
On Wednesday morning, as part of Early Signing Day, Joseph inked his national letter of intent with Tulane.
Joseph’s signing comes almost two months after he originally committed to the Green Wave. He selected Tulane above schools like Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, Eastern Michigan and others.
At the end of his college search, Tulane seemed to pop out as the obvious choice.
“Tulane feels like the right fit for me. Everybody from the coaches, the academic team and players seemed like a perfect fit,” Joseph said. “I feel like I can thrive on and off the field.”
When Joseph arrives in New Orleans after the New Year, he plans to major in finance with a plethora of ideas he wants to explore while in college.
The 3-star linebacker recently concluded his Eastside career by putting together a noteworthy senior resume.
Joseph finished third on his team with 80 tackles, fourth with seven tackles for loss and added a sack with two interceptions, which was the most for the Eagles.
Throughout his Eagle career, Joseph hasn’t focused on what his final stat line would be. Instead, as head coach Jay Cawton alluded in his remarks on Wednesday, Joseph held himself to a certain standard.
‘“Every day, we go in the weight room going 100%,” Joseph said. “No skipping reps or doing anything halfway, but do it the right way.”
All of the statistics gave Joseph a boost to be voted by Region 8-AAAAA’s coaches to be First Team All-Region.
Now, the 6-foot-4, 214-pound Eagle will join the Green Wave in January as an early enrollee. He’s played football since he was nine years old and began his earlier career at Veterans Memorial.
And, even though he’s been playing for a long time, Joseph was adamant that he doesn’t plan on letting off the gas pedal heading into college.
“It’s not over with and there’s still work to be done,” Joseph said. “But this gets me one step closer. I’ll be ready when I get on campus.”
