Joeckel was voted a consensus All-American and earned the Outland Trophy, which is given to the nation's best college football interior lineman. NFL evaluators appreciated Joeckel's play against Louisiana State's outstanding defensive line, when he matched up effectively with defensive end Sam Montgomery. Joeckel was named a Football Writers Association of America and Scout.com Freshman All-American. Joeckel started all 13 games as a sophomore in 2011 and was named to the Big 12 second team.