Clemson's Kendall Joseph is example of hard work paying off

To Belton-Honea Path football coach Russell Blackston, Kendall Joseph isn’t just a former player.

The Clemson linebacker is an inspiration to Blackston’s current players.

Blackston makes it a point whenever he can to get the former Bears standout to speak to his team about the “trials and tribulations” of growing up in the community and striving to be a better person in every aspect of life, not just on the football field.

Joseph, who’s third on Clemson in tackles (33) and second in tackles for a loss (6) in 2016, represents something that can’t be taught with just words. Joseph is a living, breathing example of how hard work can equal the accomplishment of life goals.

“It came through because of his work ethic,” Blackston said about Joseph going from local kid to playing for one of college football’s best defenses. “Nobody gave Kendall anything. Kendall had to earn every single bit of it.”

Playing at Clemson is what Joseph always dreamed of. He entertained offers from Duke and a “loose third” Louisville, which Clemson played Saturday night, but his dream was always to wear “The Paw” and run down the Hill at Death Valley.

“Kendall and I are living proof that even guys in this area can play at this level and play at Clemson, blossom at this level and make a name for ourselves. It just speak to the young kids in the community that it’s definitely obtainable,” said fellow Clemson linebacker and former T.L. Hanna standout Ben Boulware.

Joseph’s work ethic is a huge reason why he’s the leading Clemson tackler through four games. And it goes back to a time before Joseph’s sixth-grade year.

Joseph was as an offensive lineman when playing ball in fourth and fifth grade.

That all changed when he Joseph’s father, Miguel Joseph, who was bodybuilder, got Joseph up every morning to train the summer before his sixth-grade year.

“He kind of pushed me,” Joseph said. “It was the summer, so I wasn’t doing too much. I really hated it at first and then after I got going I loved it. From then on, training is what I do. I love it.”

The new physique transitioned him from O-line to running back and defensive end, and lifting weights became his new obsession.

That new commitment to training helped Joseph earn some hardware – and an FBS scholarship.

Joseph said by ninth grade he moved to linebacker and was squatting 415 pounds. He went on to win the state title in his weight class as a freshman at the annual weightlifting meet, where athletes compete in various tests for points.

Joseph won it again as a sophomore, a junior and a senior.

Boulware and Joseph worked out together through high school, and once Boulware, who was a year ahead of Joseph, got to Clemson, he made sure defensive coordinator Brent Venables knew about the three-star recruit from BHP.

Once the offer came from the Tigers, Joseph, who’s pastor was already good friends with Clemson strength and conditioning coach Joey Batson, the decision to sign with Clemson was easy, and all that hard work was beginning to pay off.

This story was originally published October 4, 2016 at 10:52 PM with the headline "Clemson's Kendall Joseph is example of hard work paying off."