Tomiwa Durojaiye is on Josh Paschal blueprint at Kentucky

As a redshirt senior, Josh Paschal earned all All-SEC honors as the defensive end logged 52 tackles and 15 tackles for loss in 12 games. The former four-star recruit is now being mocked into the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft. However, development was a key part of his success at Kentucky.

The DMV product was not always a defensive end. Paschal began his career as a stand-up outside linebacker playing the Jack position in Kentucky’s defense to the weakside of the formation. However, his body quickly outgrew that spot in Kentucky’s strength and conditioning program. Paschal would then make the move to field defensive end and would shine for the Wildcats.

That plan could be in place for another tweener on defense.

Tomiwa Durojaiye was a northeast recruiting win for Kentucky as the Middletown (Del.) High product picked the Wildcats over Arkansas and South Carolina. A somewhat late bloomer, Durojaiye recorded 45 tackles for loss over his last two years of high school while pulling in All-State honors both seasons. However, Durojaiye still has some growing to do.

Standing at 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds, Durojaiye has a good frame with length, but there is some clear growing to do. Therefore, Kentucky is giving him some development time before throwing the early enrollee into the trenches.

“Not really,” Durojaiye told KSR when asked if the plan was to play outside linebacker full time. “We’re just seeing how my body grows. Taking it day by day. I kind of joke about it like with Josh Paschal as the blueprint when he played Jack and then moved him to d-end.”

“Just kind of playing outside ‘backer seeing how my body grows over the summer.”

Currently, Kentucky is very thin at outside linebacker. J.J. Weaver and Jordan Wright were the only two returning scholarship players on the roster this spring. The program signed three high school prospects — Tyreese Fearbry, Noah Matthews, and Keaten Wade — in the class of 2022 who will arrive in the summer. However, Durojaiye is providing help in the short term as the young player grows.

Tomiwa Durojaiye is a developmental prospect, but some physical traits point to a potential impact performer after some growth off the field. Expect another positional switch down the road.