Chaminade-Madonna’s Edwin Joseph is Broward 2M-1M Football Defensive Player of the Year
At this time a year ago, Edwin Joseph wouldn’t be in this spot — being named the Miami Herald’s Broward Football 2M-1M Defensive Player of the Year. The senior standout from state powerhouse Hollywood Chaminade-Madonna began his career solely as a wide receiver before deciding last summer that he was also going to play defensive back.
It was a move that paid dividends for Joseph individually and ChaminadeMadonna as a whole as the Lions won their fifth state title in the past six years.
“He stepped up,” Chaminade-Madonna coach Dameon Jones said. “It was one of them things we didn’t have to ask him. He wanted to do it.”
And it was needed. Chaminade-Madonna graduated three of its five starting defensive backs from last season and six defensive starters overall.
Couple that with the Lions’ impressive wide receiver depth, and Joseph’s willingness to play defensive back — and do it well — was key for Chaminade-Madonna this season.
Joseph finished the season with two interceptions and nine pass breakups to go along with 19 tackles and two tackles for loss.
Now, Joseph still excelled on offense. His 40 catches and 661 yards receiving yards were the third-most for Chaminade this year. So were his eight touchdown catches. All three of those totals improved on his numbers from a season ago (26 catches, 556 yards, six touchdowns) while also playing a second position.
“I really showed what I can do on both sides of the ball,” Joseph said during the season. “A lot of coaches are opening their eyes for that. It’s really great just playing both sides of the ball, no matter what game, going against the best.”
His production was amplified in the playoffs. In four postseason games — a 48-0 win over Avant Garde, a 49-16 win over West Palm Beach Cardinal Newman, a 56-0 win over True North and a 48-14 win over Clearwater Central Catholic in the Class 1M title game — Joseph recorded six of his nine pass breakups to go along with one of his two tackles for losses.
On offense, he also caught 11 passes for 170 yards and a touchdown in those four games.
“He was big for us all year on both sides of the ball,” Jones said. “That tells you what type of character he has. I’m proud of him.”
Joseph, a three-star prospect who was the No. 74 overall player in the state of Florida in the
2023 recruiting cycle regardless of position according to the 247 Sports composite ranking, showcasing his ability to play defense also proved beneficial on the recruiting
trail. He signed last month with Florida State, one of more than a half-dozen Power 5 schools that offered him a scholarship his senior season after he
added defensive back to his resume. While Joseph has said he is open to playing either wide receiver or in the secondary in college, the Seminoles
listed him as a defensive back when announcing his signing.