Delvin Joyce

Delvin Lemar Joyce (born September 21, 1978) is an American financial advisor and former American football running back and return specialist. He played college football at James Madison. Joyce rose from a walk-on to become an honorable mention All-American and the first player in Division I-AA history to reach 1,000 career yards in rushing, receiving, punt returns, and kickoff returns.

Delvin Joyce
No. 33
Position:Running back/return specialist
Personal information
Born: (1978-09-21) September 21, 1978
Martinsville, Virginia
Career information
High school:Fieldale-Collinsville (Collinsville, Virginia)
College:James Madison
Undrafted:2001
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
  • Football Weekly honorable mention All-American (2000)
  • First Division I-AA player with 1,000 career yards each in rushing, receiving, punt returns, and kick returns (2000)
Career NFL statistics
Kick return yards:1,085
Kick return average:22.6
Punt return yards:219
Punt return average:8.1
Rushing yards:41
Rushing average:3.2
Receiving yards:12
Player stats at NFL.com

Joyce then entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent. He played from 2002 to 2004 for the New York Giants mainly as a return specialist. After retiring from football, Joyce became a financial advisor with Prudential Financial.

Early life and college career

Born in Martinsville, Virginia, Joyce graduated from Fieldale-Collinsville High School in Collinsville, Virginia in 1996 and walked on the James Madison Dukes football team at James Madison University.[1] Joyce then played at tailback for James Madison from 1997 to 2000.[1] At James Madison, Joyce became the first player in Division I-AA and second in all of Division I to reach 1,000 career yards in all four statistical categories of rushing (1,260), receiving (1,009), punt returns (1,488), and kickoff returns (1,902).[2] Football Weekly named Joyce an honorable mention All-American return specialist.[2]

Pro football career

Joyce was not selected in the 2001 NFL Draft, and no team signed him as a free agent. He worked as a financial planner during the 2001 NFL season before signing with the New York Giants on January 15, 2002.[3][4]

Playing 28 games in 2002 and 2003, Joyce had 27 punt returns for 219 yards, 48 kickoff returns for 1,085 yards, 13 rushing attempts for 41 yards, four receptions for 12 yards, and five tackles.[5]

In 2004, Joyce sat out the season due to a hip injury.[6] On April 26, 2005, Joyce signed with the New York Jets.[7] The Jets cut Joyce on August 8.[8]

Post-football career

Joyce moved to Charlotte, North Carolina after retiring from football. In October 2006, Joyce became a financial services associate at Prudential Financial in North Carolina. He was promoted to manager in December 2007; by 2009 he was ranked among Prudential's top 30 financial services manager.[6] In 2012, Joyce moved to Wellington, Florida after becoming a managing director at Prudential Advisors.[6] Joyce returned to Charlotte to work as a financial planner at Prudential's Charlotte office in 2017.[9]

References
  1. "James Madison University Football: Athlete Profiles (Annon through Loftus)". James Madison University. Archived from the original on February 13, 2001. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  2. "Delvin Joyce". New York Jets. Archived from the original on May 1, 2005. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  3. Zinser, Lynn (August 20, 2003). "Old Guy, Young Guy, Giants' Two Return Guys". The New York Times. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  4. "Delvin Joyce". New York Giants. Archived from the original on September 11, 2004. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  5. "Delvin Joyce". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved November 8, 2014.
  6. "Delvin Joyce". Black Enterprise. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  7. "Two former Dukes sign with NFL teams". James Madison University. April 26, 2005. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  8. https://football.realgm.com/nfl/transactions/2005/8
  9. "Delvin Joyce". Prudential. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
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