At the age of one, Joplo moved from Seattle, Washington to Prairie View, Texas, located just outside the Houston area.

At the age of 8, his mother registered Joplo and his older brother, Wellington, to play Pop Warner Football.

During the summer of his freshmen year, Joplo grew over six inches, becoming a standout hybrid wide receiver while playing free-safety for the Waller Bulldogs varsity squad.

In his senior year, he helped lead the team to the Texas State Playoffs where they made Waller History by advancing past the 3rd round, previously set by his brother's 2004 class.

Being recruited by many Division I schools across the U.S, Bartu opted to follow his brother footsteps by committing to Texas State University.

[2] [3] At Texas State, Bartu was a four-year starter that was recruited as a free safety out of high school.

He was nicknamed "High Top Jop" by Sean Weatherspoon on the 1st episode of "D-Block" in 2013, because of his Kid 'n Play style haircut.

Had his first career start in the NFL against the dolphins and posted 6 tackles (1 solo), one quarterback hit, one pass break up and teamed up with Akeem Dent for a sack in the fourth quarter at Miami (9/22).

Bartu and DE Jonathan Massaquoi combined for a five-yard sack on QB Mike Glennon against Tampa Bay (10/20).

DT Peria Jerry and Bartu combined to bring down QB Carson Palmer for a nine-yard loss, giving the Falcons their third consecutive game with three-or-more sacks.

Finished the game with six tackles (one solo), including an eight-yard sack of QB Russell Wilson against Seattle (11/10).

[6] [7] At the conclusion of the 2013 season, Bartu was ranked as the #1 undrafted free agent rookie of the 2013 Draft Class by Bleacher Report.