Joe Golden - Relentless

by Cody Zeeb

Joe Golden (21) of the Southwest Kansas Storm celebrates after a big play

Joe Golden is a 6-4, 285 lbs defensive lineman for the Southwest Kansas Storm. Golden has been a key cog in a strong Storm defense that’s helped lead them to the AF1 playoffs. They’ll play Sunday, June 22nd, with kickoff set for 5:30 p.m. ET on VICETV. A win and they’ll be in the first-ever Arena Crown championship game. 


Best Game in the World


Joe Golden grew up in a football family. From a young age, the Colorado Springs, Colorado native had it instilled in him how great the game was. He was always a bigger kid, and it led to early success when he started playing football, and he was in love with the game from day one. “Football is the best game in the world.” “There’s no sport where you need all 11 guys, or in this case, eight guys to all do their job, and if one guy messes up, it can ruin everything.” “I think it’s a beautiful thing that you have to have all these people come together and play,” Golden said. 


As a youngster, the Doherty High School graduate played both tight end on offense and defensive line. He was a Colorado All-State Honorable mention for both sides of the ball as a senior. He also played basketball, where he lettered for three years. “I thought I was better at basketball than football," Golden laughed, “but that probably wasn’t true.” 


College Years


He received a ton of Division II offers coming out of high school. He wanted to play Division I ball and got an offer from the in-state school, the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colorado. He started as a tight end there, shifted over to the defensive side after his first season, and became an instant starter. In total at Northern Colorado, he played 28 games, totaling 81 tackles, six sacks, and 11.5 tackles for loss. In his final season at Northern Colorado, he racked up 42 tackles, three sacks, and seven tackles for loss.


After graduating with a degree in communications and two seasons of eligibility left, and the transfer portal business booming, Joe decided to drop his name in the hat. He had a ton of interest from some notable FBS teams. Ultimately, Oregon State won his services, and he finished out his final two years as a Beaver.  “I fell in love with the town, the coaching staff and the players,” Golden was quoted as saying on his decision to choose the Corvallis, Oregon school. “I grew a bunch as a football player and a man at Oregon State.” “I learned a lot from a lot of different people, and I made lifelong friends, which is the beauty of this game.” He eased into playing time as a Redshirt Junior and broke out as a Redshirt Senior. Playing in all 13 games, he tallied 42 tackles, 3.5 sacks, four tackles for loss, and recovered a fumble. 


An Exceptional Player


After school, Golden participated in pro days and ended up with a rookie minicamp invitation to try out for the hometown Denver Broncos. Even though he grew up just down the road in Colorado Springs, Golden was born in Denver, and his family are huge Bronco fans. His father has been a season ticket holder for almost 30 years. I asked Joe what it was like for the local team to give him an opportunity. “It was amazing, it was an unbelievable opportunity that I’m still grateful for.” “I remember telling my dad, who is a lifelong Denver Broncos super fan.” “We used to go to a ton of games when I was a kid, we used to go to training camp during the summer, and it was kind of wild to be on the field from where I used to watch.” 


After that, “I was just working and praying for any opportunity to play football.” It turns out his agent played for Gary Thomas, now the Head Coach for the Southwest Kansas Storm, back in college some 20 years ago. The connection was made, and the rest, as they say, is history. It’s been a transition to the indoor game from the traditional outdoor game. “The whole game is much faster. They say in the outdoor game, you have 2-2.5 seconds to get to the quarterback. I would say it’s 5-1 second less in this game. Everything just happens so much quicker in this game. You have to make decisions quicker.” “The nice part is the field is smaller, so sideline to sideline is easier.

Storm Head Coach Gary Thomas shared his thoughts on Golden. “Joe’s a solid dude. Really really good player, great team guy, great everything.” Thomas said he was a little hesitant about Golden at first, as the team was looking for a little bit of a different style of lineman. But as he continued to watch the film, “this guy's growing on me.” Thomas said. “Within the first couple of days of camp, we’re like, that guy can play. He’s better than what we saw on film; he’s the perfect guy for this league.” “He plays a million miles an hour, he’s a great teammate and great captain for the team.” “He’s an exceptional player and even better dude.” 


He has made sure Coach Thomas knows about his offensive background, and he’s been in on a few offensive snaps already this season for the Storm. He’s hoping that an offensive touchdown comes his way soon. “Maybe a goal line fade.” He’s been happy with his performance this season, but says there’s always room to improve. “I just try to be relentless. I’m going to rush the passer relentlessly on every play.” “Hunt down the quarterback.” Golden has 23 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, two forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and a defensive touchdown this season for the Storm. 

Off the Field 

Joe likes to be a “creature of habit” on game days, doing a lot of the same things to get himself prepared. Rice and brown turkey are his pregame meals. He does a short yoga session on the field before the game, something he enjoys and says has greatly helped his game and balance over the years. Right before he goes on the field, he puts a towel over his head and sings the whole song “Statement” by G Herbo to himself to set the tone and get himself ready. 


Off the field, Golden likes to keep it simple and chill. He’s really gotten into golf over the past few years. On the day I spoke with him, he had a tee time set for that evening with teammate Storm kicker Dillon Burkhard. Golf is his hobby right now and a great way to just unwind. When he gets time to go back home, he loves to snowboard, play basketball, and hike with his dog.