Kentucky star J.J. Weaver nominated for Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year
University of Kentucky football player J.J. Weaver has exceeded expectations less than a year after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL in his right knee. He leads the team in sacks (3.5), is second on the team with six tackles for loss and is one of three Wildcats who has recorded an interception in 2021.
It’s fitting, then, that Weaver on Tuesday became the latest Wildcat to be named a Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year nominee. The sophomore linebacker joined current teammates Kenneth Horsey and Josh Paschal, who were nominated in 2020 and 2019, respectively.
Horsey was recognized as one of three national winners at the end of the 2020 season, and Paschal in 2019 was recognized as one of six year-end honorable mentions. The Mayo Clinic annually donates $30,000 to the general scholarship fund of the schools of winners and honorable mentions; those donations are made in the name of those respective honorees.
Terrance Weaver, J.J.’s father, was murdered in a Georgia shooting in June 2020. Rob Reader, Weaver’s coach at Moore High School, died in August from liver cancer. Weaver has undergone grief counseling for both deaths in coordination with his physical rehab, which started soon after he tore his ACL during UK’s game at Florida on Nov. 28, 2020.
Weaver was a four-star recruit out of Moore who signed with Kentucky as part of the 2019 class. He committed to UK over Louisville, Miami and Purdue. He appeared in three games as a true freshman in 2019 before a breakout campaign in 2020; prior to his injury, Weaver accumulated 33 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, half a sack, two quarterback hurries and a pass breakup. He was named to the coaches’ All-SEC Freshman Team last season.
A total of 30 players are nominated for Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year by the College Sports Information Directors of America in association with The Associated Press and the Fiesta Bowl. Weaver was named this week along with Florida State quarterback McKenzie Milton and Wyoming quarterback Sean Chambers.
This story was originally published October 5, 2021 at 12:26 PM.
