JJ Weaver Issues Reminder to Louisville Fans: "It's my city"

JJ Weaver has experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows during his time at Kentucky. In his final regular season game, he went out with a bang against his hometown team.

The Kentucky EDGE earned MVP honors in the Governor’s Cup after recovering two second half fumbles to propel Kentucky to a stunning 38-31 comeback victory over Louisville. He forced one of the fumbles, sacked quarterback Jack Plummer and tallied eight tackles in the victory. Weaver is the second defensive player to win the Howard Schnellenberger MVP Award, the first by a Wildcat.

Following his postgame press conference, he shared a reminder to Louisville fans. “This is my city, remember that. I never lost to these guys!”

Weaver is a Big Play Maker in Rivalry Games

There’s something about playing in rivalry games that brings out the best in JJ Weaver. He had six tackles when he suffered a season-ending injury at Florida in 2020. The following year he picked off a pass against the Gators.

He was even better against the Cards. In 2021 Weaver picked off a pass. Last year he had seven tackles, a sack and a forced fumble against his hometown team. Entering today’s game he only had 24 tackles and 3 sacks on the season. He accounted for a quarter of his season’s production in this game alone.

“It’s just something in my blood whenever we play these guys,” Weaver said.

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A Critical Conversation with Mark Stoops

Weaver did not have the productive season he anticipate when he returned for 2023. Consistency was a problem throughout the year as he struggled to get home and create pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Earlier this week Mark Stoops called Weaver into his office with Jason Cummins, a leadership coordinator and student-athlete advocate. An emotional player, the Kentucky head coach encouraged Weaver to take the weight off his shoulders ahead of the season finale.

“You will not walk around with your head down or anything else,” Stoops told Weaver. “He’s done an awful lot, we’re all proud of him, regardless of whatever happens on the field and the things he’s done off the field. He’s been a great person, a great player and a great ambassador to our football program, and I told him to walk around with his head held high and finish strong, and he did. I’m very proud of him.”

Weaver underwent a severe injury and lost his father during his time at Kentucky. Defensive coordinator Brad White was moved to tears when discussing Weaver’s impact on the program, despite experiencing life-changing adversity.

“We knew this was going to be a slugfest. We talk about resilience and perseverance, and JJ — he’s the model of it. Everything you go through in life, everything you go through in a football season, I mean, I was I was trying to hold back tears in the hallway after the game just because you pour so much into this as a player, as a coach, as a family in that locker room. If you’re not in that locker room, you don’t know,” White said while sitting next to Weaver.

“Everything that happens in JJ’s life, the things at Frederick Douglass — that’s real life. This is a game and we understand the implications of the game. But we use the lessons that we learn out here — good, bad, it doesn’t matter — and then we try to apply that to our lives. It’s what makes me so proud as a coach to sit up here next to him. I tell you, I’ll be your wingman any day. I’m gonna miss him.”

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