2022 NFL Draft tracker: Which Kentucky football players are going pro?
.JPG "Wan’Dale Robinson (1) finished with single-season records for receptions and yardage in his only year at Kentucky.")
The 2022 NFL Draft is around the corner, and it should again include quite a few Wildcats.
Kentucky’s football program since Mark Stoops’ first season in 2013 has had 17 players selected in the NFL Draft, including six last year, its most in a single draft since 1979. This year’s wave could match or exceed that number, depending on how many Wildcats declare.
Below you’ll find a list of Kentucky football players who have formally declared for the 2022 NFL Draft and notable players who could have declared but decided to return for another season of college football.
Ty Ajian
Position: Safety
Notes: Ajian announced Jan. 15 that he would opt into an additional year of eligibility under the NCAA’s COVID-19 waiver. A starter the last two seasons, Ajian in 2021 returned an interception 95 yards for a decisive touchdown in Kentucky’s victory over Chattanooga and was fifth on the team with 46 tackles. He also had four pass break-ups.
Yusuf Corker
Position: Safety.
Notes: Corker could have returned for a “super senior” season under the NCAA’s COVID-19 waiver but moves on as one of the more accomplished defensive backs in Kentucky history. The 6-foot, 197-pound senior led the Wildcats this season with eight pass break-ups (more than 20% of the team’s total) and was second on the team with 81 tackles (including a sack). He started the final 37 of his 50 games played after redshirting his first year on campus (2017). Corker, a former four-star recruit, was part of four UK bowl victories, including two in the Citrus Bowl. Pro Football Focus and Phil Steele both deemed him an All-Southeastern Conference Second Team selection following the 2020 season.
Jacquez Jones
Position: Inside linebacker
Notes: Jones announced, via a humorous Twitter post, on Jan. 9 that he was returning for the 2022 season. A transfer from Ole Miss, Jones immediately became a starter in his first season at UK and finished with 86 tackles to lead the Wildcats. He recorded an interception and four pass break-ups, and had three quarterback hurries.
Darian Kinnard
Position: Offensive lineman.
Notes: Kinnard has not formally said he’s entering the draft but is widely expected to do so; he’s projected as a first-round selection after a senior season that saw him finish as a consensus All-America First Team selection and help lead Kentucky to 10 wins for the second time in four years. Pro Football Focus graded him as the best offensive tackle in the 2021 regular season.
Marquan McCall
Position: Defensive lineman.
Notes: “Bully,” as he’s affectionately called by teammates and coaches, missed part of his senior season because of a leg injury but appeared to be close to full strength by year’s end. The 2021 campaign was his first as a starter, but he’d played consistent snaps since 2018, when he was a true freshman. He has 3.5 tackles for loss and two quarterback hurries from the nose tackle position in nine games played this year. The 6-3, 379-pound prospect will forego a potential fifth season of college eligibility.
Josh Paschal
Position: Defensive end.
Notes: A committed, versatile defender who played in multiple spots on UK’s defense over the course of five seasons, Paschal is perhaps better known around the country for his off-the-field success story. He was forced to redshirt in the 2018 season, his second at UK, after doctors discovered a malignant melanoma on his right foot. Paschal underwent three surgeries and monthly immunotherapy treatments before returning to play in three games at the end of that season. He started 35 of the final 36 games in his career before having to sit out of Kentucky’s Citrus Bowl victory against Iowa because of a groin injury through which he played most of the 2021 season. Paschal finished in a tie for third in school history with 37 tackles for loss. The Associated Press named him to its All-SEC First Team, and he was named to the All-America Second Teams released by CBS Sports and USA Today.
Wan’Dale Robinson
Position: Wide receiver.
Notes: In just one season at Kentucky, Robinson emerged as one of the best to ever play receiver at the school. He broke single-season records for receptions (104) and yardage (1,334) en route to just the sixth 1,000-yard receiving season in program history. The 2018 Kentucky Mr. Football winner had eight 100-yard receiving games over his three seasons, including six as a full-time receiver at Kentucky in 2021, and scored 14 total touchdowns in his career (10 receiving, four rushing).
Chris Rodriguez
Position: Running back
Notes: Rodriguez announced on Jan. 11 that he would play his senior season at Kentucky. He rushed for 1,345 yards and nine rushing touchdowns in 2021. If he puts together a similar campaign in 2022, he’ll have a chance to pass Benny Snell as the school’s all-time leading rusher; Rodriguez sits at 2,738 career yards, meaning he’d need to rush for 1,134 yards next season to eclipse Snell.
Dare Rosenthal
Position: Offensive tackle
Notes: A former starter at LSU, he transferred to UK over the summer and assumed a starting spot at left tackle formerly occupied by Landon Young. Rosenthal was on the fence about returning but declared his intent to enter the draft on Jan. 12. Pro Football Focus projects him as a possible day-two selection (second or third round) and tabbed him as an All-SEC selection.
DeAndre Square
Position: Linebacker
Notes: Square announced on Jan. 11 that he’ll be returning for a “super senior” season under the NCAA’s COVID-19 waiver. In the 2021 season he recorded 80 tackles, third on the team behind Jacquez Jones and Yusuf Corker, and was third on the team with 9.5 tackles for loss behind full-time pass-rushers Josh Paschal and J.J. Weaver. In the Wildcats’ Citrus Bowl win over Iowa, Square recorded a game-sealing interception after earlier exiting the game due to an ankle injury.
Jordan Wright
Position: Outside linebacker
Notes: Wright was the first senior to announce he would return for a fifth year of eligibility. A long, versatile starter for multiple years on UK’s defense, he was sidelined due to an ankle injury for five games but played his best against Iowa in the Cats’ Citrus Bowl win, finishing with 10 tackles and a pass break-up resulting in an interception.
This story was originally published January 7, 2022 at 2:41 PM.
