FIU Football: After Almost Giving Up, RB Lexington Joseph Is Back On The Field

MIAMI - On Tuesday, FIU kicked off spring practices. Fifth-year running back Lexington Joseph wore a yellow no-contact jersey, but was doing all the drills with his team. Joseph is continuing to work his way back after tearing his ACL in 2023's spring practices.

As nice of a story as it is to have "Flex" back on the field, it wasn't all sunshine and flowers for Joseph throughout his recovery. He frequently thought of stepping away from the game that brought him to FIU. 

"On a scale of 1-10, I was about like an 8.5," said Joseph when asked how close he was to calling it a career. "I already graduated, had different internships and jobs lined up and it was a very bad injury, so a lot was weighing on me, but my teammates, my family and my coaches, they kept going at my ear, like you got this. All the hard work in rehab and the trust, I'm back."

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In 2022, the last time Joseph took the field in a regular season game, he ran for 536 yards, five touchdowns and averaged 5.0 yards per carry. He played in all 12 games for FIU that season.

As Joseph mentioned, he had jobs lined up and he earned his bachelor's in public policy as he looks to one day make a difference in his community through local government.

"I want to be mayor of Miami one day," said Joseph. "I had different internships at the City of Miami."

The expectation for Joseph is to, at some point, have his no-contact jersey removed. For now, however, Mike Macintyre and the coaching staff are easing Joseph back into the swing of things. They expect Joseph to be a full-contact participant in practices later this spring. 

FIU's spring game is scheduled for April 13.