DeAndre Square joined Kentucky's 300 Tackle Club on Senior Day

The 2022 edition of the Governor’s Cup was a special one for Kentucky’s DeAndre Square.

A fifth-year linebacker for the Wildcats, Square was honored with 27 of his classmates, including Chris Oats, prior to the start of the game during the Senior Day festivities. The team captain from Detroit played in 58 games over the course of his career and Saturday’s home finale was his last time in front of Kroger Field and his last time playing the Louisville Cardinals. He walked away with an undefeated record in the rivalry in four Governor’s Cup appearances.

Another reason to remember his Senior Day, Square’s three tackles against the Cardinals put him over 300 tackles for his college career. After missing the last three games with an ankle injury, Square returned to the lineup one tackle shy of 300 and he secured his place in the club on Kentucky’s first defensive stand.

He is the 20th player in program history to reach the 300-tackle milestone.

After the game, Mark Stoops said, “He’s just one of those guys. He loves football, loves the game. Easy to coach because he cares, so he’s come a long way and he’s meant an awful lot to this program and myself and our staff and he’s just been amazing.”

Welcoming Square to Kentucky’s 300 Tackle Club are Jim Kovach (1974-78), Chris Chenault (1985-88), Jeff Kremer (1984-87), Marty Moore (1990-93), John Grimsley (1980-83), Kevin McClellan (1980-83), Wesley Woodyard (2004-07), Jerry Blanton (1974-77), Randy Holleran (1987-90), Danny Trevathan (2008-11), Richard Jaffe (1976-79), Brian Williams (1982-85), Tom Ehlers (1972-74), Darryl Bishop (1971-73), Larry Smith (1983-86), Tom Ranieri (1972-74), Art Still (1974-77), Doug Martin (1974-77) and Mike Edwards (2015-18).

Jacquez Jones also hit 300 career tackles versus Louisville

Next to Square at linebacker, fellow fifth-year senior Jacquez Jones also recorded his 300th career tackle versus Louisville. Jones made 182 of those tackles at Ole Miss, where he played his first three seasons of football, but transferred to Kentucky in 2021. He isn’t in Kentucky’s 300 Club but still shares the triple-century mark with Square in the middle of Kentucky’s defense.

And like Square, Jones spent some of his final season on the sideline recovering from an ankle injury, only to return for Senior Day.

Man I Wasn’t Even Supposed To be Out There , But God 🤞🏽… Thank You BBN 💙

— Jacquez Jones (@ESPN_Jac) November 27, 2022

“It means something to our team,” Stoops said of his two veteran linebackers coming back for one more game and to reach the 300 milestone. “Them being out there and coaching the guys when they weren’t able to play and, you know, coming back and fighting through it today means a lot. It’s just who they are to the character and that needs to carry on with the younger guys on our program.”