The defensive tackle from Austin Peay State University was living his best life on and off the field when 2020 started. The Governors had just won their conference championship for the first time since 1977. Off the field he and his wife, Shermiria, were expecting their second daughter later in the year.
All the work it takes for Josephus to be successful on the field as a grinder up front would look like a stroll in the park compared to the storm that was about to rock his family. Their daughter Madison was born with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH), a rare abnormality that happens to 1 in 2500 babies. Plus, Shermiria was suffering from severe preeclampsia, a pregnancy complication characterized by high blood pressure and potential damage to other organ systems, most often the liver and kidneys.
In the middle of the pandemic, with his wife suffering from severe preeclampsia, Josephus and his wife risked everything to travel to Florida for a specialist they thought would give Madison the best chance of survival with CDH. Madison is a fighter and the battle continues, but she is alive and nothing else matters to Josephus and Shermiria.
A first-team All-Conference selection in 2019, Josephus played in both contests APSU played this season.
