Junior Joseph will be back at his familiar linebacking spot for today's rare Sunday matinee at Rentschler Field, something that seemed rather unlikely after he was knocked out of the season opener with a shoulder injury.

The way his teammates were reacting as Joseph was on the field being evaluated and seeing him being in obvious pain as he headed to the locker room with UConn medical staff in the 27-20 win over Holy Cross, there was a fear of it being the end of Joseph's impressive career with the Huskies.

"That injury never happened to me so I didn't know what it was," Joseph said. "I was (hoping) for the best and glad it was for the best so I could continue to play this season. It was something that I rehabbed all week and I was ready go for South Florida, it just happened that the hurricane (postponed the game), it gave me another week to heal it so I was really ready to go for Virginia, there was no excuse at all, at this point there are no excuses, I can walk, I can hit, I can play so it is just about me playing better, moving faster and making plays."

Joseph had no idea at the time whether his UConn career came to an end during that August 31 game.

"At the moment it felt really bad," said Joseph, who is UConn's top active tackler with 223 career stops. ""I didn't know what it was. I went back to the locker room and they were able to pop it back in, it was something I got lucky with and I am able to play with, A lot of people get season-ending injuries or injuries like that and they can't play the rest of the season. I am able to rehab it, get better and am able to play."