HERO Sports is counting down the days until the kickoff of the 2018 college football season on Saturday, Aug. 25, by featuring the best player in the FBS at each jersey number, from 99-1. Each day, from May 18 through Aug. 24, we'll publish one article showcasing the best player whose jersey number matches the number of days remaining.
[divider]RANKINGS: Top 100 Teams for 2018
TRIVIA: Daily FBS Trivia Question
MORE: Best FCS Player for Each Jersey Number[divider]
No. 34 Kendall Joseph, LB — Clemson
Kendall Joseph, a three-star linebacker in the 2014 class from Belton, S.C., took an unofficial visit Duke on June 14, 2013. Two days later, he decided that Duke was the right fit and called Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables to share the news. After an hour-long conversation and a night's sleep, Joseph committed to Clemson.
"I just had to realize what a great opportunity I have there," he said after committing. "Coach Venables is a great coach, and he has developed a lot of talent. That lone made me want to come to Clemson."
That phone call paid off for both sides — in a big way. Five years later, Joseph is entering his redshirt senior season as one of the best linebackers in the country.
After a redshirt season in 2014, he played sparingly in 2015 (11 tackles in 63 snaps) and broke out in 2016, ranking second on the team with 124 tackles and tying for the team lead with 13.5 tackles for loss. And last year, after which he passed on an early entrance into the NFL Draft, he was an All-ACC Third-Team selection.
