The senior one of 20 student-athletes recognized for exceptional leadership on and off field
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky senior Josh Paschal has been named one of 20 semifinalists for the fifth annual Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award, it was announced on Wednesday. The award honors a student-athlete who has demonstrated a record of leadership by exhibiting exceptional courage, integrity and sportsmanship both on and off the field.
Paschal, a defensive end from Prince George’s County, Maryland, is the only three-time team captain in Kentucky football history and is revered by his teammates for his leadership. Since learning he had cancer in the summer of 2018, Paschal has made a significant impact on those of us in the Kentucky Football program and thousands of others.
He was diagnosed with malignant melanoma that appeared on the bottom of his foot just before training camp was to open in July of 2018. After undergoing three surgeries and monthly immunotherapy treatments for more than a year he was cleared to play in the final three games of UK’s historic 10-win season. Even on the day of his final treatment, most patients ring the bell to mark the end of treatments and we wanted to send cameras and photographers to document the moment. “No way,” Paschal said. He never wanted the attention to be on himself because so many patients around him were far worse and he “didn’t want to rub it in that he was finished already.”
He has never used cancer as an excuse to not attend practice, a media session, a community service event, but instead he has used it as a platform talk to people about his faith and how going through cancer has helped him become stronger as both a person and a player. He has spoken to countless churches, school groups, cancer groups and media entities on his faith and how he beat cancer. He kept his grades up through it all, earning a spot on the Dean’s List and the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll. He also appeared on NBC’s Today Show! in May 2019 as a guest on a panel discussing the seriousness of melanoma. He continues to be deeply involved in the community as an advocate for cancer awareness, as well as social justice.
In 2020, he was elected one of three representatives for UK Football on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and the SEC Football Leadership Council. He took the lead on social justice initiatives over the summer of 2020, helping lead a peaceful walk for racial and social justice in the city of Lexington, as well as a players’ movement during training camp to raise awareness for those issues. Each time was one of only a few players selected to speak on behalf of the team. He also recorded videos encouraging fellow students and fans to wear their masks during Covid-19 pandemic, #MaskUpCats.
In 2019, he once again excelled in the classroom and for the second straight season was named to the Dean’s List and the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll. Because of his tenacity on and off the field, he was a nominee for the FWAA-Orange Bowl Courage Award, was one of six named honorable mention for CoSIDA’s 2019 Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year Award, and he was named to the inaugural 2019 Uplifting Athletes Rare Disease Champion Team.
Paschal is having one of his best seasons yet in 2021: leading the team with 11.0 tackles for loss. He has 1.5 sacks, six quarterback hurries, a forced fumble and a blocked field goal that is arguably the most important play of the season thus far. On that play, he blocked Florida’s FG attempt, which a teammate returned for the go-ahead touchdown and ended a long losing streak in Lexington to the Gators. For his efforts he was named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week.
The award, presented by Albertsons and Tom Thumb, is the first college football honor to focus primarily on a player’s leadership, both on and off the field. Leadership is a term synonymous with Jason Witten, who, in addition to becoming one of the best tight ends in the history of the sport, served as one of football’s most prominent role models during his 16-year pro career. In addition to winning the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award in 2012, Witten also received the Bart Starr Award, Pro Football Weekly’sHumanitarian of the Year Award, Home Depot NFL Neighborhood MVP and the Bob Lilly Award, among many others. All of those honors have recognized his work in the community, achievements on the field and dedication to his teammates and family.
The winner of the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year will also receive a $10,000 contribution in his name to his school’s athletic scholarship fund. The contribution will be made by Jason Witten’s SCORE Foundation, the official charity of Jason and his wife Michelle. The SCORE Foundation, founded in 2007, has positively impacted tens of thousands of children and families in Texas and Tennessee over the last 14 years. The foundation operates its nationally-recognized SCOREkeepers program, which places trained male mentors on staff to work with children at family violence shelters, at nine shelters in the two states.
Three finalists will be named for the award on Wednesday, December 15. The winner will be announced at the award ceremony in Frisco, Texas, on February 17, 2022.