NORFOLK — Ryan Joyce rolls out of bed in the morning, lets out the plaintive groan of a man who dreads what the day holds and fumbles in the dark for his spectacles and his false teeth.
He slips into his smoking jacket, lights a corncob pipe and screams out the window to frighten the neighborhood punks out of his yard.
Well, at least that’s what some of his teammates might have people believe.
In reality, Joyce is an unyielding 6-foot-4, 304-pound human bulldozer who marshals Old Dominion’s veteran offensive line from the center position, armed with the knowledge of nearly two college football careers’ worth of experience.
Never mind that Joyce is the old man of the group; that just means he knows what he’s doing.
A rare seventh-year senior from New Jersey, Joyce enters Saturday’s home opener against North Carolina Central with 47 starts under his belt. Forty-six of them, including several against FBS opponents, came at Fordham, where a series of redshirt seasons conspired with an international health crisis to extend his career into what some might argue is the realm of the ridiculous.
Consider that by the time Joyce, 24, was a freshman at Fordham, many of his teammates were sixth-graders awaiting puberty.
“We call him ‘Grandpa’ all the time,” said left tackle Zach Barlev, a 22-year-old more traditional fourth-year senior transfer from Illinois. “It’s always funny. He’s like, ‘Oh, my joints,’ or, ‘Oh, my bones,’ or, ‘Oh, my eye.’ ”
So how does a college football player reach his seventh season? It’s complicated.
Joyce started three games as a freshman in 2019 before suffering a season-ending injury, amounting to a redshirt year.
The 2020 season was universally truncated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to a forgiven year of eligibility for all players.
Joyce started a combined 23 games in 2021 and ’22. An injury after five starts in ’23 led to a medical redshirt.
Joyce started 12 games for the Rams last season before electing to transfer. He chose ODU, in part, because he had worked with current Monarchs offensive coordinator Kevin Decker and some other assistants at Fordham who offered a familiar offensive system.
“It gave me a little bit of a leg up compared to anywhere else, where it would’ve been more of a fresh start,” Joyce said.
As the center, Joyce is tasked with recognizing defensive fronts and essentially coaching his fellow linemen on how to handle them in real time.
Joyce, ODU head coach Ricky Rahne said, dives into film like few players he’s had. The results speak for themselves on the field.
“Me back there giving him the play call, I can trust him knowing he’s going to know exactly what to do against each front,” Monarchs quarterback Colton Joseph said. “Whatever the defense brings at us, I’m confident in knowing that he’s super-smart, and he knows exactly what to do on every play. It’s really comforting.”
Old Dominion center Ryan Joyce has made 47 career starts. “He presents like a 13th-year player,” head coach Ricky Rahne said. (Kendall Warner/Staff)
On a recent Monday, Joyce and Rahne had a 20-minute conversation about the nuances of running an offense.
Rahne came away impressed with how well versed his super-senior was with ODU’s scheme after just a few months of immersion.
Days later, Rahne spoke with reverence about how Joyce not only watches film, but how he digests it as an example to younger teammates.
“He presents like a 13th-year player,” Rahne said. “He’s so mature, and I just love talking ball with him.
“You don’t play for that long if you don’t love ball. And the way Ryan manifests his love of ball is preparation — how much tape he’s already watched.”
Decker, who recalls coaching a seventh-year transfer running back during his four seasons at Fordham, said Joyce’s considerable experience could only help an offensive line that returned four starters.
“I think there’s really probably nothing he hasn’t seen, which is huge for us,” Decker said.
When the aches and pains of relative old age inevitably present themselves, Joyce’s teammates are there to remind him of their own youth.
“It’s like, ‘Whatever, Grandpa. Calm down over there,’ ” Barlev said. “He’s like, ‘Play two more seasons of college football and see how you feel.’ ”
Despite the length of his collegiate tooth, ODU’s ancient forerunner doesn’t answer to “Dr. Joyce.”
He has an undergraduate degree in economics from Fordham as well as a graduate degree in business and media management. He’s working on a graduate degree in maritime trade and supply chain management at ODU.
Alas, Joyce is not likely to ever perform surgery.
“Looking back on it,” he said, “I probably should’ve gone that way if I was going to be in college for this long.”
Barlev, who speaks as frankly as anyone on the team, said Joyce and ODU’s guards could be “a dominant force” on the interior this season.
But Barlev couldn’t resist the opportunity to bust his elder teammate’s chops.
The dentures, the corncob pipe and the grumpy Clint Eastwood schtick might be hyperbole, but all is fair in love and trenches.
“He could probably go to a retirement home in a few years now already,” Barlev said, laughing.
“He gets a little grumpy if he doesn’t get his nap in at night or he doesn’t get a good meal. But he’s still a fun guy to play with. He’s a fun guy to hang around with.”
David Hall, david.hall@pilotonline.com.
Saturday’s game
North Carolina Central (1-1) at Old Dominion (0-1)
When: 6 p.m.
On the air: ESPN+, 94.1 FM
The Eagles: N.C. Central, which will receive $315,000 in guaranteed money to visit Norfolk, made easy work of Southern in a 31-14 victory to open the season. But the Eagles struggled early in a 27-10 home loss to New Hampshire last week. N.C. Central went 27-8 and 12-3 in the MEAC over its previous three seasons. Senior RB Chris Mosley is averaging 144 rushing yards through two games this season.
The Monarchs: A 27-14 loss at No. 20 Indiana last week surprised many in that it was competitive into the second half, but the Monarchs gave up 10 third-quarter points to let it get away. ODU averaged 9.5 yards per rushing attempt, which was somewhat deceiving. Touchdown runs of 75 and 78 yards by QB Colton Joseph accounted for nearly half of the Monarchs’ 314 yards of total offense.
