Randall Joyner - Football Coach - Ole Miss Athletics

Arkansas

Sep 13 (Sat)

6:00 PM

Randall Joyner

Title:
Assistant Coach/Defensive Line
Year at Ole Miss:
Fifth
E-mail:
rebelfootball@olemiss.edu
Phone:
662-915-7890
Alma Mater:
SMU (2014), Hawaii (2017)

Randall Joyner enters his fifth season as defensive line coach with the Rebels in 2025.

Joyner's defensive line unit ranked among the most feared in the nation in 2024, helping anchor one of the best all-around defenses in Ole Miss history. The Rebels led the nation in both sacks (52) and tackles for loss (120), both of which were new program records, and most of that came from the dominant rotating cast of Jared Ivey, Walter Nolen, JJ Pegues, Suntarine Perkins and Princely Umanmielen.

Those five Rebels combined for an absurd 65.5 TFL and 38.0 sacks, led by 10.5 sacks each by Perkins and Umanmielen -- tied for the second-most in Ole Miss single-season history.

The Ole Miss defense stifled opponents to just 80.5 rushing yards per game, which ended the season ranked second in the FBS and was the fewest allowed by a Rebel defense since 1966. Ole Miss held nine of its 13 opponents to fewer than 100 yards rushing, six below 50 yards -- including a Gator Bowl record 44 yards allowed to Duke to close the season. Only two Rebel opponents broke 400 yards of total offense, while the Rebels held five to fewer than 300.

Nolen became only the 14th consensus All-American in Ole Miss history, while Umanmielen was a second-teamer in his own right. Of Ole Miss' seven-round era record eight NFL Draft selections, three came from Joyner's 2024 defensive line unit: Nolen (Round 1, Arizona Cardinals), Umanmielen (Round 3, Carolina Panthers) and Pegues (Round 6, Las Vegas Raiders).

Joyner’s defensive line group in 2023 helped push Ole Miss to its first 11-win season in program history and toward the top of the statistical rankings as one of the more well-rounded defenses in college football. The Rebels led the SEC and ranked fifth in the FBS in turnover margin at +11 and stifled SEC defenses, holding Arkansas (288), Auburn (275) and Vanderbilt (229) to fewer than 300 total yards in consecutive games -- the first such streak at Ole Miss within the same season since 1993.

Joyner’s group helped wreak some havoc in the backfield, ranking 19th nationally in sacks and 29th in tackles for loss. Leading the charge were defensive ends Cedric Johnson and Jared Ivey, who each had 5.5 sacks to tie for the team lead while also adding 18.0 combined TFL and 17 QB hurries. Johnson was a sixth-round NFL Draft selection of the Cincinnati Bengals, while Ivey earned Peach Bowl Defensive MVP honors after causing mayhem against the Penn State offense.

Joyner coached a strong defensive line unit in 2022 that helped push the Rebels to No. 3 in the SEC in sacks -- led by a dominant trio on the line of Jared Ivey, Cedric Johnson and Tavius Robinson. Those three Rebels combined for 12.0 of Ole Miss’ 35.0 sacks on the year. Robinson, who was drafted in the fourth round by the Baltimore Ravens in the 2023 NFl Draft, tied for the national lead with five forced fumbles.

Joyner’s first season in Oxford was highlighted by a record-breaking campaign by All-American senior defensive end Sam Williams, who tied the Ole Miss single-season sacks record with 10.5. Overall, Williams tallied 16.0 tackles for loss, forced four fumbles, recovered one for a 33-yard touchdown vs. Austin Peay, and had eight QB hurries. His 57 total tackles were the most by a Rebel defensive lineman since 2018. Williams was ultimately the top draft pick for Ole Miss in the 2022 NFL Draft, going 56th overall to the Dallas Cowboys in the second round.

Joyner, who was named to 247Sports’ 30under30 list in 2018 and 2019, spent three seasons mentoring defensive linemen at SMU. In 2019, Joyner’s line was part of a defense that ranked No. 1 in the FBS for sacks per game at 3.92 and in the top three in tackles for loss at 8.5.

That season, Joyner mentored Second Team All-AAC selection Delontae Scott, who ranked second in the league (16th NCAA) in tackles for loss with 1.4 per game. Scott finished the season with 18.0 TFLs, ranking him second all-time in a season at SMU. His 10.0 sacks placed him fourth on the Mustangs’ single-season list and his career total (18.0) tied him for sixth all-time by a Mustang.

During the 2016 and 2017 seasons, Joyner was as a defensive graduate assistant with the Buckeyes, working primarily with the team’s defensive line. Ohio State went 23-4 during his two seasons with a trip to the CFP Semifinals in 2016 and a Big Ten Championship and win in the Cotton Bowl in 2017.

He served in the same capacity during the 2015 season at Hawaii. Joyner’s coaching career began as a volunteer assistant with the Mustangs.

A four-year letterwinner at SMU, Joyner played in 50 games registering 240 total tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, six forced fumbles and four interceptions. As a senior, Joyner was a semifinalist for the Campbell Trophy.

He and his wife, Trimiesha, have one daughter, Aniyah. Joyner has a bachelor’s in sport management from SMU in 2014, and a master’s in kinesiology from Hawaii in 2017.