Vince Marrow tells heartwarming story about Josh Paschal's journey

Josh Paschal’s journey from beating cancer to hearing his name called as a second-round NFL Draft pick is one of the more inspiring feats any University of Kentucky athlete has ever accomplished. And every new detail we learn makes it even more incredible.

Kentucky associate head coach Vince Marrow joined the KSR crew Friday morning to sit down and talk some football (and other various unrelated topics). Of course, he was asked about the Wildcats’ success in the 2022 NFL Draft, which saw four former UK players selected: Wan’Dale Robinson, Luke Fortner, Darian Kinnard, and Paschal, who went with the 46th overall pick to the Detroit Lions.

For those unaware, Paschal was diagnosed with malignant melanoma in July 2018. A former four-star recruit of Good Counsel (MD) High School, the 6-foot-3 defensive end wasn’t sure if he’d ever play football again. But through extensive, year-long immunotherapy, Paschal was able to overcome his diagnosis and eventually returned to the field for the 2019 season. He’s been a team captain ever since, soon becoming one of the most feared pass rushers in the country before solidifying himself as a clear day two draft pick.

But before the success, there were plenty of tough times. Marrow gave us an inside look at one of those moments.

“Let me tell a 20-second story about (Josh) Paschal,” Marrow said on KSR Friday morning. “When Paschal was diagnosed with cancer — this is a true story, we was talking about this the night he got drafted. We went to consolidate a church and our whole football team was there. He had just had his surgery and he was in a lot of pain. So he asked me ‘Coach, can you take me back to the facility?’ So we kind of like snuck out and we drivin’ and I’m watching this young man cry — like literally cry, because he was so much pain and he’s on crutches.

“We in the facility and we just sitting there and we talking, we just started talking. I don’t know if it was God telling me to say this, but I was like, you will remember this day, three years from now. You’re gonna get drafted. I said three, four years from now you’re gonna get drafted. We gonna remember this day, we gonna thank God for it and we gonna laugh and be like wow, that was you going through that, and he told a reporter that. That honestly really happened. That was dark — not a dark time, but it was, I didn’t know what to say to the kid because the kid was a high four-star recruit, gets hit with that. And nobody thought he was gonna play football. We wasn’t even thinking about that. And to see where he’s at now and really almost went in the first round. Man, them guys all graduate but that one was so special to me.”

That conversation from years ago would prove prophetic. Paschal fought to achieve his dreams after the tragedies of life tried their best to take them away. There was a point where he wasn’t sure if football would be a part of the future. Now, football is his future.

During his senior season at Kentucky, Paschal was named a Fourth-Team All-American and First-Team All-SEC performer. He sat out the Citrus Bowl victory due to an injury, but played in all 12 regular-season games, totaling 53 tackles, a team-high 15.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, a team-high eight quarterback hurries, one forced fumble, and a blocked kick. Paschal graduated in May 2021 with a degree in family science and a minor in health promotion.