J.J. Weaver, Kentucky show resiliency vs. Louisville after otherwise disappointing season
When Kentucky football’s 2023 season is remembered, the missed opportunities will surely come up early in the conversation.
Ray Davis’ single-season record 20 touchdowns deserve mention. The struggles of the offense with Liam Coen back in Lexington and top transfer Devin Leary at quarterback cannot be ignored.
But Kentucky’s 38-31 upset of No. 10 Louisville in Saturday’s regular season finale will be a counter to any lingering disappointment. No player understands the importance of that narrative-changing victory than outside linebacker J.J. Weaver.
“We talk about resilience and perseverance,” defensive coordinator Brad White said. “J.J., he’s the model of it. Everything you go through in life, everything you go through in a football season. I was trying to hold back tears in the hallway after the game just because you pour so much into this as a player, as a coach, as a family in that locker room. If you’re not in that locker room, you don’t know.
“… This is a game. We understand the implications of the game, but we use the lessons that we learn out here. Good, bad, it doesn’t matter. And then we try to apply that to our lives. Again, it’s what makes me so proud as a coach, to sit up here next to him. I’ll be your wing man any day, and I’m going to miss him.”
The 2023 season was supposed to be the year Weaver moved past a series of injuries that had prevented him from cashing in on his considerable potential to cement his status as an NFL draft prospect.
Instead, an offseason of work changing his body failed to translate into more statistical production. Entering Saturday’s game, Weaver had totaled just 5 1/2 tackles for loss and four sacks, essentially the same statistics he recorded a year ago.
But playing against his hometown team appeared to bring out the best in the former Moore High School star.
As the game suddenly turned from a defensive showdown to a shootout in the third quarter, it was Weaver who provided the plays needed to flip the momentum in favor of Kentucky.
Kentucky’s offense was on the field for just less than a minute in the third quarter as the Wildcats countered two Louisville touchdown drives with a 100-yard Barion Brown kickoff return for a touchdown and a two-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. As Louisville opened its next drive with gains of 10, 11 and 17 yards, it looked like the UK defense had run out of gas.
But at the end of Jawhar Jordan’s 17-yard run, Weaver knocked the ball loose before recovering the fumble himself at the Louisville 48-yard line. That short field led to a game-tying Kentucky field goal.
Louisville’s next possession ended with another fumble, this one forced by linebacker D’Eryk Jackson, that was recovered by Weaver at the Louisville 26-yard line. Two plays later, Kentucky took its first lead of the game.
Weaver’s big performance came after UK coach Mark Stoops and advisor Jason Cummins sat down with the senior outside linebacker for a heart-to-heart this week. Weaver had clearly been affected by his struggles this season, tweeting recently he felt he was letting his late father down.
In the aftermath of his father’s murder, Weaver has become an advocate for athletes’ mental health issues, helping set up a grief support group for his teammates. Stoops wanted to make sure Weaver had that same support he had provided others. Weaver said he lost another close friend this week.
“I think he felt stress and pressure from numbers and producing, just different things,” Stoops said. “I said, ‘Absolutely not. You will not walk around with your head down or anything else.’ He’s done an awful lot. We’re all proud of him, regardless of whatever happens on the field.
“The things he’s done off the field, he’s been a great person, a great player and great ambassador to our program. I told him to walk around with his head held high and finish strong. And he did. So, very proud of him.”
Weaver’s on-field impact was clear against Louisville. The resiliency he displayed after a disappointing season was evident elsewhere in the locker room as Kentucky silenced some of the criticism of its inability to perform against the best teams on the schedule.
Before Saturday, Kentucky had not beaten a team that had clinched bowl eligibility before the regular season’s final weekend. It left L&N Stadium with the program’s second top-10 victory during the Stoops era.
“That talk, I needed it,” Weaver said. “I was really going through a lot at the time. I’m still going through a lot, but just being consistent with it. Just listening to Coach White, Coach Stoops, just working my butt off.”
One win will not erase all of the disappointment of 2023, but Weaver and the Wildcats finally seized their opportunity to make a statement by extending the Governor’s Cup rivalry win streak to five games despite Louisville’s 10-win season.
“Nobody cares about the schedule you play, nobody worries about that, but I was just happy for our team and finishing like they did,” Stoops said. “They deserve it, and they grinded through the whole year. We had some ups and some downs. You know that. We’ve been far from perfect, but to finish off the regular season against our rivals — it’s a top-10 team — it’s important.
“No gratification in knocking them down, but I just want to win this game because it’s important to our fans and important to our team.”
This story was originally published November 25, 2023 at 6:43 PM.