Mississippi State Bulldogs quarterback K.J. Costello (3) got off the pass under pressure from Kentucky Wildcats defensive end Joshua Paschal (4) as Kentucky played Mississippi State on October 10, 2020. Photo by Mark Cornelison
Jacob Tamme was an all-SEC tight end at Kentucky and then played nine years with three different teams in the NFL. So obviously he knows a little bit about football. That’s why when he tweets during a Kentucky football game, I pay attention.
“Josh Paschal is that guy who impacts games in ways that don’t always show up on the stat sheet,” Tamme tweeted in the first half of UK’s 24-2 win over Mississippi State Saturday night.
By then Paschal already had returned his first UK interception 76 yards to set up Chris Rodriguez for a 2-year scoring run. But he also was a big force with his pass rush even though he did not get a sack before spraining his knee and missing the second half.
“Hopefully it’s nothing major,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said when asked about the injury after the game. “So we’ll see how it goes. But obviously it was enough to where he couldn’t go back in the game.”
Paschal has six solo tackles and six assists in three game. He’s sixth on the team with his 12 stops. He’s second on the team with two tackles for loss.
Stoops said the pressure Paschal got on Mississippi State was something the redshirt junior has done every game this year.
“The first two games he was our defensive player of the week, so that tells you what we think of him and the way he’s playing,” Stoops said. “He’s done some really good things. He’s been disruptive all year.
“So just happy for him and I hope this is nothing that will keep him out. I just saw him in the locker room. He felt like he’ll be back. But Josh is always optimistic.”
Kentucky plays at Tennessee Saturday with a chance to even its record at 2-2.
