Chris Joines holds the FS · Starter spot in Rutgers Scarlet Knights’s safety room. Where he sits among the room’s front-line roles:

Chris Joines is a 6'2", 200-pound safety from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, who transferred to Rutgers as a senior in 2026. He previously played three seasons at Mercer, where he started all 14 games in 2024 and recorded 70 tackles, four for loss, two pass breakups, an interception, and a fumble recovery for a touchdown. With Mercer, he earned selection to the National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society. In his 2025 debut season with the Scarlet Knights, Joines appeared in seven games and totaled six tackles, including three stops against Norfolk State on September 13.

Mercerthrough 2024

Rutgers2025 — present