Kentucky’s victory over Florida is a comeback win for Josh Paschal

The last time Kentucky beat Florida, Josh Paschal wasn’t celebrating on the field with his brothers in blue and white. In fact, Paschal wasn’t on the field at all.

After being diagnosed with malignant melanoma the summer before his sophomore year, Paschal missed out on most of Kentucky’s historic 2018 season. It’s safe to say Paschal made some history of his own Saturday night.

In Kentucky’s rousing 20-13 victory over the Florida Gators on Saturday evening, Paschal was an absolute menace on the field. Recording seven total tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss, Paschal was seemingly everywhere. Despite all of Paschal’s defensive highlights, his spotlight moment came on special teams.

With 6:54 left in the third quarter and the game’s momentum hanging in the balance, Paschal made the play of his life. If you somehow missed it, do yourself a favor and check this out.

FG BLOCK TD 🔥

78-yard house call for Trevin Wallace!

(📍 @NavyFederal) pic.twitter.com/HN99zmmnMw

— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) October 3, 2021

Typing this now, I still think my hearing hasn’t fully returned from the crowd’s reaction to the play; a fair trade in my book.

Though there was still certainly a lot of game left to play after this moment, it was clear ‘Cats fans had felt history and would do anything to get another taste. After another grueling 22 minutes of play, the fan’s cravings were satisfied.

Though fans may have tasted history, Paschal had lived it. Here was his reaction to this long-awaited, historic victory.

Josh Paschal on the crowd rushing the field afterward: pic.twitter.com/H1kTMykVCx

— Barkley Truax (@BarkleyTruax) October 3, 2021

“It was like a dream. You’re only going to play in so many games where you’re gonna have a crowd rush the stadium and that was my first time,” Paschal said after the win. “And they come in fast, too. 30 seconds into it you could barely walk. So I was like I love this.”

LETS GOOOOOO!!! KROGER FIELD WAS LIT TONIGHT

— Joshua Paschal (@JPaschalx) October 3, 2021

Josh Paschal’s brother’s reaction to the victory

While Paschal was still floating through his dream come true, his brother was grounded by the reality of the situation. Josh Paschal had overcome unimaginable adversity and delivered unbelievable results.

Caught up with Josh Paschal’s brother on the way out. He talked to me about his brother’s monster game and what this win meant to his family! Dude was a beast tonight and dominated. pic.twitter.com/WBq12xTIYc

— Big Blue Drew (@BigBlueDrew33) October 3, 2021

Mark Stoops on Paschal

Paschal’s brother wasn’t the only one stirred by the star defensive end’s performance. Mark Stoops has raved time and time again about the dedication of Paschal. Last night’s postgame press conference was no exception.

“Josh is just — as I’ve mentioned to you many times in these press conferences — it’s amazing the way he empties the tank every day,” Stoops said. “He just plays exceptionally hard and he’s amazing.”

Special words from Stoops about an even more special player.

Final thoughts

Kentucky’s victory over Florida felt like getting over a hump that had long been insurmountable. While that hump may have felt like the slowest crawl imaginable to many long-time UK fans, it likely felt even slower for Paschal. Although Kentucky may have been in control for most of the game on Saturday night, the victory was a massive comeback for Paschal.