It was 16 years in the making but the legacy continued for Keith Joseph Sr. On Friday morning, the former Bulldog defensive lineman saw his son Keith Joseph Jr. follow in his footsteps to play his college career in Starkville at Mississippi State.

"I committed because I loved my visits," Joseph said of his commitment. "Talking to coach Turner and coach Mullen, everything fell into place and I felt comfortable. My dad laid the foundation for me. He transferred me to Pascagoula where he played at and now I'm going to play at MSU following his path. I just feel at home and it's the place for me.

Joseph is a shadow to his father. The elder Joseph is a large figure but is seeing his son grow in stature and become a man of his own. Joseph said that his father has been with him through tough times and good times and he was just happy to see his dreams realized.

"Me and him are real close," Joseph said of his father. "For him to hear it out of my mouth…. He prayed every night I would make the right decision. He was going to be there regardless of which school I chose but I know that he's happy that we kept the tradition alive. It's a great day for our family."

After waking up on Friday morning with the urge to make his commitment, Joseph called the head coach Mullen. While the head man is vacationing, defensive line coach David Turner was the next on the call.

"I called coach Turner. He said Mullen is out of town but he told me congrats and they were happy that I was finally on board. He's proud of me and I'm just excited that I get to play for him now."

"I believe they have a great defense, they really do," Joseph said of MSU. "They fight and never give up. The way they play with a relentless attitude is great, they just want to win and that's every game. I believe the defense rules the game because they want to be great. I can't wait to be a part of that."

There was a lot of speculation on whether Joseph would be a defensive end or linebacker based on his size. Still growing into his body, those worries were put to rest when he worked mostly with defensive line at camp to a solid showing.

"They do want me to keep me at defensive end. They think I'm going to grow another inch and get to 250," Joseph said. "I know that the football camp they played me at the linebackers and they were pleased with my performance so I'm fine either way, but I think they keep me at end."

Joseph has plans to get back to Starkville so his father can see the campus again as he wasn't able to make it up for his camp. Big Dawg Camp is a possibility for the pair as Joseph wants to compete against some great players.

Now that the talented three-star is committed, recruiting is his primary goal.

"Me and my dad were just talking about that actually," Joseph said. "It's time to let everyone know that they need to jump on board. My first target is going to be (Petal four-star guard) Javon Patterson. I'm about to hit him up."

Joseph is the Bulldogs' 18th commit for the class of 2015 and the 10th from the state of Mississippi. He's the second defensive line commit joining Clay Chalkville (Ala.) three-star Kendall Jones.