WR RayRay Joseph kickstarted Miami’s 2023 class when he flipped from Clemson. As he enters his second year, he hopes to take the next step as a playmaker and leader. He spoke to the CanesInSight Podcast about his progress, his mindset and more:
On his work ethic: With my parents, it was always, “Hard work pays off.” Being my size, I always felt like I had to outwork everybody. When you work so hard and you see it paying off for you, nothing feels better.
When your teammates see you working that hard, it makes them want to join. Now you're getting the whole team better. It's just building great habits for life after football. Just becoming a man, being a husband, being a great role model in the community and being that great father figure.
On staying home for college: That's a dream come true. Growing up, being a Miami Hurricane fan and my whole family being Miami Hurricane fans. It was really a no-brainer staying home and being close to the family. Bringing my family close to a team they always watched on TV and the team they always rooted for. It’s really a dream come true for the whole family.
I'm just a fan that's on the team. I'm a fan that's in the huddle, getting the plays. Honestly, it brings out more in me because I'm not just a player on the team. I'm a fan and I'm a player. It's the best of both worlds.
I remember growing up watching the games. I'm screaming at the TV and getting hyped when things happen. Getting mad when things go wrong. Now I’m able to be on the team and make plays and miss plays. I want everyone to be better because I want my team to be good. I want my city to be turned up.
So now I gotta push it out of everybody. I'm fitting to get it out of everybody from down here. I'm fitting to get it out of everybody who comes from out of state. We’re fitting to get it out of everybody because this is my hometown. I want my hometown to be good. So now everybody’s got to work just like I'm working.
On his athletic background: Growing up it was just, “football, football, football.” I had cousins who really laid the pipeline. My uncles and my dad all played football. My cousins grew up playing football.
We grew up playing backyard football. We’re back there hitting each other, knocking each other over, just making each other tough. In little league football, I always played an age up. I always played with older guys. It really got the best out of us. It was always football.
When I got to high school, I played around with volleyball a little bit. But it was really more of a fun thing. It’s really just all been football because that's really what my family comes from. It was instilled in us growing up. It was always the University of Miami and the Dallas Cowboys.
On the transition from running back to wide receiver: In little league, I played running back. It wasn't a simple transition. I got to high school and dabbled more in playing a slot position and wide receiver and just being moved around playing everywhere.
Honestly, it's a lot of terminology, route depth and just being fluent with your route running. Once you catch the ball, you turn into a running back. So now you're harder to tackle. Now you see holes in the defense that a lot of people who just play wide receiver maybe wouldn't see. Because you have that vision to be able to see them little slight creases and hit it.
It's really a blessing being able to go from playing running back to playing receiver. Because now once I master everything else, once that ball in my hand, it's over with. I’m used to linebackers, who are bigger people, tackling me. Now I’ve got DBs trying to tackle me who really don't want to tackle anyway. So now it's like, “I'm fitting to go score. I'm not fitting to let this guy tackle me.” No matter how big or how small you are, there's no discrimination. I’m fitting to run you over. I'm fitting to try to shake you. I'm fitting to outrun you.
When it come to blocking, at the running back position, you’ve gotta step in there and block. Now I'm blocking these little DBs. I'm fitting to go put my hands on them. It really brings that dog mentality out of you, because that's what you gotta have.
On staying at Edison in high school: I grew up on loyalty. Loyalty is something that runs deep in our family. A lot of people would say, “Your Little League team isn’t good. Come play for the Ravens or come play for Gwen Cherry or some of these teams.” I always stayed at my park. So being loyal was easy to me.
I get to high school, I'm with Coach Luke, I'm at Miami Edison. I didn't listen to the outside noise. I always said my whole mentality going to Edison was, “I know I could go to Central and play. I know I could go to Northwestern and play. I know I could go to all these big schools and play. But why go over there and just be another guy? I'm fitting to go to Edison and make history. If I win a state championship at Miami Edison, my name is in the history books forever. I want to make that team and the head coach and Miami Edison name be stamped in the books.”
So when all these coaches were trying to talk to me, I was like “Nah, man.” I ain't even text you back. I ain't looking at it. I'm not even feeding into your nonsense. I'm fitting to just stick to my team and win it out with my team.
What would I look like hurting my team by just getting up and leaving? I was a motivation for a lot of kids on that team. I was a light to a lot of kids on that team. I helped a lot of kids get better on that team. I wasn't fitting to just get up and leave. That would have been selfish of me. Let me help these guys. Let me bring some of these colleges out here to see these guys. Let me help them get an opportunity to be able to go places and let their dreams come true. So let me stay here and help these guys instead of trying to go to these stacked teams and just make it more stacked. No, I'm gonna stay somewhere and just put on for my team who I'm with.
On Canes Connection: They’ve helped us so, so much. Just learning things that you don't even learn in school, like financial literacy and taxes and stuff like that. You don't even go over that. That's missing from high school. It should be taught, but it's not taught.
Canes Connection helps us learn that stuff and understand how to pay taxes, how to use your money and how to handle being a grown man. Just stepping into the real world, basically. That’s a blessing that you're able to help your family, you're able to help the community, you're able to help give back. It’s something that really takes your game and your life to the next level.
On what he likes to do off the field: I'm really just a family guy. I take a drive home and just go back to my old roots. I go back to my uncle’s house, sit in the backyard in the patio with my cousins, laugh, talk with my uncle, watch some sports, watch boxing. Barbecue. Get on the grill. I'm not really a go-out type of guy and all that.
If I go back to Edison, I just tell them what I had to do to get where I'm at and in this position to give them guys motivation. That's what I'm about. I'm more about helping other people and just helping the community and being with my family when I'm not here making myself better.
On the WR room: We're just getting each other better. We so dialed in and comfortable with each other. It's to the point where I don't want to let this dude down who's next to me.
I watch X [Restrepo] over and over and over. I go in the film and just watch the things he does, how he's getting open. By him doing the things he does, he helped me get better. And by me doing the things I'm doing, I’m helping some of these other dudes get better.
We’re attacking every day. Because when it comes to practice and one-on-ones, we don't wanna lose. We don't wanna be the guy where everybody else is winning but you’re losing. No, everybody's gotta win. We’re hard on each other and we know how to take it.
Even if you run with the twos or the threes, you’re practicing like you're a one. I know how to talk to Ny Carr or JoJo [Trader] and tell them, “Hey, man, I was in that process, too. This is how you handle it.” We’re all just getting each other better because we all want to see each other succeed.
On his picks for the team’s 4X100 sprint team: Chris Johnson. Me. Ny Carr’s running. Ny Carr is a blazer. And the last one, I probably have to rock with Robby Washington. There are some dudes that can fight for that final spot. You've got Robert Stafford. He can run. The new back we got (Chris Wheatley-Humphrey) can run, too. We got some speed.
On his Top 3 boxers: Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, and Floyd Mayweather.
On the proposed Tyson/Jake Paul fight: If it happened, Mike Tyson got him all the way. I go on Instagram and all I see is this man throwing hits at his trainer. I pray for his trainer, the way he’s getting hit by Mike Tyson. Just the power that he has at that age is insane. So, Paul’s in trouble, that's all I can say.
