JJ Weaver confirmed he would be back for one more year at Kentucky. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Kentucky’s defense is losing a lot of key pieces off this year’s team that was the strength of coach Mark Stoops’ team.
Cornerbacks Keidron Smith (graduation) and Carrington Valentine (pro draft entry) are gone. So is defensive lineman Justin Rogers via transfer. Linebackers DeAndre Square, Jacquez Jones and Jordan Wright all graduated.
However, the Cats figure to have talented replacements at each spot and got two more reasons to feel optimistic over the weekend.
First, linebacker JJ Weaver officially announced he was returning for another season. There had been some speculation he might opt to try his luck in the NFL draft but he was projected as a free-agent possibility and not a draft pick.
He announced on Twitter that he would be back for the 2023 season.
Weaver was seventh on the team with 47 total tackles last season and second with six tackles for loss. He led the team in quarterback sacks with three and also Hs forced two fumbles, three quarterback hurries and one pass breakup despite missing two games with an elbow injury.
Weaver was a team captain — an obvious sign of his leadership — and a third team all-SEC pick by Phil Steele again — an obvious sign of his talent.
With Trevin Wallace and Keaten Wade projected as rising stars at linebacker D’Eryk Jackson also back, Weaver’s experience will be invaluable for them and others. He has 120 tackles, 24 tackles for loss and 10 sacks in his career along with two interceptions in his four-year career.
He came back from a torn ACL at the end of the 2020 season and missed two games last season with an elbow injury.
Weaver’s return was expected by those close to the team. However, the addition of North Carolina defensive lineman transfer Keeshawn Silver was a pleasant surprise.
Silver played for two years at North Carolina. He was an Under Armour All-American Game pick coming out of high school where he also played basketball and ran track. He was ranked as the nation’s No. 6 defensive lineman by 247Sports in his recruiting class and No. 28 prospect overall because of his size, athleticism and explosiveness.
He had scholarship offers from Alabama, Georgia, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon and many others despite not having a senior season because of COVID. He was clocked in 4.96 seconds in the 40-yard dash in high school when he was 6-5, 236 pounds.
Even better news for Kentucky is that he has three seasons of eligibility remaining and that’s important because UK could lose Josaih Hayes and Octavious Oxendine after the 2023 season.
