Brandon Joiner enters his second season as the Red Wolves’ defensive line coach in 2020.
A familiar face in Jonesboro and an Arkansas State University alumnus, Joiner was a two-year letterman for the Red Wolves from 2010-11 and helped lead the program to the 2011 Sun Belt Conference championship while being named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year.
Joiner’s first year as A-State’s defensive line coach saw the program complete the 2019 season with an 8-5 overall record with victories in four of its last five games, including a 36-24 win over Florida International in the Camellia Bowl.
The Joiner-coached defensive line had a pair of all-conference selection in 2020, including first-team choice William Bradley-King and second-team pick Kevin Thurmon. The duo helped A-State post 19 turnovers gained that ranked second in the Sun Belt and 48th in the nation. The defensive unit turned three of those turnovers into touchdowns, which ranked third in the league and 12th in the country. The Red Wolves’ recorded 12 interceptions that ranked second in the conference and 31st in FBS, while they also added seven fumble recoveries.
Joiner helped mold a defense that thrived when backed up near its own end zone, ranking second in the Sun Belt and 24th in the nation in red zone defense. The Red Wolves also ranked fourth in the Sun Belt in third-down defense (.379), and they compiled a 134.3 pass efficiency defense rating that was good for third in the league.
Playing defensive end, Bradley-King led the team in both sacks (8.5) and tackles for loss (13.5), helping A-State rank fourth in the league in both statistical categories.
He spent three seasons at A-State as a graduate assistant coach (2016) and in a defensive line quality control position (2017-18) before being elevated to a full-time coaching role. During that time, Joiner helped lead the program to the 2016 Sun Belt Conference championship, three consecutive winning seasons and a trio of bowl game appearances, including the 2016 Cure Bowl, 2017 Camellia Bowl and 2018 Arizona Bowl.
Joiner worked with the defensive line specifically all three seasons, helping mentor some of the top players in school history. Former defensive end Ja’Von Rolland-Jones was tabbed the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year in both 2016 and 2017 while completing his career as the second all-time sacks leader in NCAA FBS history. Defensive end Ronheen Bingham was tabbed the Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2018.
Joiner also coached players such as defensive end Chris Odom, who was a First Team All-Sun Belt Conference selection in 2016 and signed an NFL free agent contract with the Green Bay Packers. Rolland-Jones, and former defensive tackle Dee Liner also signed free agent contracts with teams in the league following their playing career.
The Red Wolves ranked among the top 13 teams in the country in 2016, 2017 and 2018, actually leading the nation in 2016 with 9.6 per game. The defensive line also ranked among the top 27 teams in the country between 2016-18. Over that span, A-State placed seven different defensive lineman on the All-Sun Belt Conference Team at least once.
Following his stellar playing career, he signed an NFL free agent contract and spent three seasons with Cincinnati Bengals. While with the Bengals, he received the Mentorship Award in 2014 for his work with the “Boys to Men Program.”
The Killeen, Texas, native was also a NJCAA All-America selection at Navarro (Texas) College prior to transferring to Arkansas State. He earned his bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from Arkansas State University in 2012.
Joiner and his wife, April, have a daughter, Joy, and son, Brandon.
