After beating cancer, Kentucky’s Paschal back on field playing Saturday

The seniors weren’t the only feel-good story for Kentucky football on Saturday as the Cats faced Middle Tennessee at Kroger Field.

Sophomore Josh Paschal, who was diagnosed with malignant melanoma on his foot nearly four months ago, was back out with his team on the field in full uniform on Senior Day.

The 6-foot-3, 278-pound sophomore from Olney, Md., beat cancer and was back on the field Saturday as a starter for the Kentucky defense as they faced the Blue Raiders.

As a true freshman last season, Paschal played in 13 games for Kentucky and finished with 17 tackles, including 4.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks.

The former outside linebacker was projected as a starter on the Cats’ defensive line this season after switching positions and then the cancer diagnosis happened.

New NCAA redshirt guidelines allow Paschal to play in up to four games this season and still qualify for a redshirt season. So he can play in these final two regular-season games and the bowl game and still have a redshirt option.

This story was originally published November 17, 2018 at 12:08 PM.