Kerry Joseph, arguably the greatest quarterback in McNeese State history, has been selected to the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame it was announced Wednesday morning.

Joseph joins a Class of 2024 that includes New Orleans Saints legendary quarterback Drew Brees. Also in the group to be enshrined next summer are LSU women’s basketball great and eight-time WNBA All-Star Seimone Augustus and mixed martial arts icon Daniel Cormier of Lafayette in a star-studded nine-member 2024 Hall of Fame Class.

“This is a special honor for me, especially with it being my home state,” said Joseph, a New Iberia native. “This has been just a special journey I had to go down. It has been amazing.

“First, I want to thank God for blessing me with the talent and ability to play the game of football. A big thank you to the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Committee for selecting me into the 2024 class.

 “This is a great honor to be able to represent my home state. I want to thank my dad, Donald “Duck” Joseph, and my mom, Geraldine Joseph, for providing me with the opportunity to find and chase my dream as an athlete. I want to thank my brothers, Kevin, and Kendall for the competitive brotherhood, that helped me to find a competitive edge to compete at the highest level. Also, thanks to a group of cousins that pushed me to compete when I was the smallest of the group.”

Joseph also talked about the Class he was going into the Hall with, which includes Brees. When he was a coaching intern for the Saints in 2014 he worked with Brees.

“I learned so much from him and going through the camp with him and the Saints,” Joseph said. “It is great to go in with him and the others of such high character.”

Joseph is currently a quarterbacks coach with the Seattle Seahawks but he keeps his eyes always on the Cowboys.

“I love the NFL and working with the best in the world, but I’m always looking in on McNeese,” Joseph said. “If I can’t watch the game I’m checking in on the scores.”

He is also happy to share this moment with McNeese fans as well.

“My years at McNeese were some of the most fun I ever had,” Joseph said. “We turned things around when I was there and to be a part of that excitement in the community and on campus, I want to share this with them.”

Joseph posted a 43-10 record while quarterbacking the Cowboys from 1992-1995. He helped McNeese win a pair of Southland Conference and the program’s first playoff victory in 1992. Under his leadership, the Cowboys made their first appearance in the Division I-AA national championship game in 1995.

Joseph gives credit to all his coaches and fellow Cowboys.

“Thanks to all the coaches that have played a part in my career and journey. God truly blessed me with great men that taught me how to play the game of football and how to be a great teammate.

“Big thanks to all my teammates that I have shared the field with at all levels of my career. Football is such a great team sport that has provided me with a lifetime of friends.”

Joseph threw for 7,874 yards and 67 touchdowns as a Cowboy. He finished his career with 9,674 yards of total offense. He remains the all-time leader at McNeese in scoring tosses and is second in passing yards and total offense.

Joseph was named both the SLC and Louisiana Player of the Year in 1995 as the Cowboys finished 13-1 and entered the postseason ranked on the I-AA level, now known as FBS.

As a professional, Joseph played for both the Cincinnati Bengals and Washington Redskins in the NFL. He won a World Bowl Championship in 1998 with the Rhein Fire while playing in NFL Europe.

He then played safety for the Seahawks before moving back to quarterback in Canada in 2003 where he hit his stride. He won a Grey Cup while playing for the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2007.

During that season Joseph was named the Canadian Football League’s Most Outstanding Player. He became just one of three CFL players to exceed 4,000 yards passing (4,466) and 1,000 yards rushing (1,006) in a single season in 2005.

Joseph was inducted into the McNeese Sports Hall of Fame in 2006, the Southland Hall of Honor in 2012, the Roughriders Hall of Honour in 2019, and was named to McNeese State’s 75th anniversary team in 2018.

Joseph returned to the McNeese program in 2016 as the Offensive Coordinator. He was the interim head coach for a short time after his former teammate Lance Guirdy was let go.

Joseph will become the eighth person to represent McNeese in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, joining Bill Reigel (1988), Ralph O. Ward (1991), Louis Bonnette (2001), Dr. Jack Doland (2002), Joe Dumars (2003), Buford Jordan (2011), and Leonard Smith (2015).

“This is an accomplishment that I could not have achieved alone,” said Joseph. “Championships are won with the people around you, and I was blessed with some great teammates and coaches. My dream as a kid was wanting to be the best kid on the block. It didn’t matter what sport or what game.

“I was a kid that wanted to win and help my teammates be the best they could be. I will share this induction with so many because this individual honor comes with the great people that God brought into my life. It’s an honor to represent so many people and organizations. It’s a bigger honor to represent my family name.

“The Joseph family name will now always be a part of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.”