UK Athletics Photo
Kentucky senior tight end Josh Kattus and dance partner Allison Fliehman tied with Whittney Allen for the Judge’s Champion Award at the 2025 Dancing with the Lexington Stars on Saturday at The Carrick House. The event was presented in partnership with the Rotary Club of Lexington and Arthur Murray Dance Studio. This is Kattus’ second straight win and the first with Fliehman. He won last year’s People’s Choice Award with partner Mattie Lewis.
Kattus, a native of Cincinnati, and Fliehman, of Catlettsburg, Kentucky, who leads Clark’s Pump-N-Shop’s marketing and community engagement efforts, joined other local leaders dancing to support Baby Health Services and the Rotary Club of Lexington’s scholarship and service initiatives. The duo raised close to $11K for the causes.
Kattus’ on-field success can be easily measured by statistics and a keen eye by any football aficionado. He is a three-year letter winner who has played in 33 career games with 15 starting assignments. As a tight end, he has 21 catches for 310 yards and five scores.
He’s a leader on and off the field, but it’s what he does off the field that really makes him stand out.
Almost every week since 2022, Kattus has visited the Kentucky Children’s Hospital to provide the children respite from doctors and various treatments.
Last spring with Dancing with the Lexington Stars, he helped raise more than $34K for the Lexington Rotary Club Endowment Fund and Surgery on Sunday, a nonprofit that provides essential outpatient procedures at no cost to income-eligible individuals who are either uninsured or under-insured and do not qualify for federal or state assistance.
Additionally, he has volunteered at Lexington’s Ronald McDonald House, packing meals and writing get well cards for the patients. He also has volunteered with the Scott County Humane Society, helping find foster homes and raising awareness of fostering. Because of his work with the Humane Society, it has doubled their adoption rate since he started volunteering.
Last season, he represented the Wildcats on the Southeastern Conference Community Service Team and was named a finalist for the Pop Warner College Football Award. He also represented the football team on UK’s prestigious Frank G. Ham Society of Character, which recognizes student-athletes who give their best to everything they do.
Academically, Kattus, a communication major, is a three-time Dean’s List honoree, a two-time member of the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll and was named to the First-Year SEC Academic Honor Roll as a freshman. In 2024, he was named to the Division I Academic All-District Team by College Sports Communicators (CSC).
When not playing football or giving back to the community, Kattus represents UK Football on UK’s Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC), is a member of the SEC Football Leadership Council and represents the SEC on the NCAA Football Oversight Committee’s Student-Athlete Connection Group.
2 Responses
I like Kattus because of all the off the field things that he does. He is what a college football player is supposed to do. I just hope he improves and blocks better this year. I was hoping he would have a come out year but that’s impossible when you hardly ever get targeted. Most of the time we did pass the ball last year we would have 5 offensive lineman and 2 tight ends blocking and our quarterback would still get shredded up. Hopefully Bush runs some delayed routes or they could run it 3-4 times then do a play action with one or both tight ends running routes along with the 3 receivers we have going out for passes. Its hard to get open when you only have 3 receivers going out for passes because the defense cam cheat. They can play man to man on the receivers and then have one safety play man to man and the other safety can play a zone or double the best receiver on the field or the can play up and do a safety blitz. I don’t understand the strategy in this you need at the bare minimum 3 receivers and 1 tight end. Or 4 receivers and 1 tight end and spread the field out and then Calzada can find the open man.
Kattus would have a lot of receptions & yards if UK had a real OC. Stoops & the OC may not know it’s OK to pass to a TE on a regular basis. Even Bill Curry knew what to do with a talented TE. UK has refused to use the TE for short effective passes, but when Kattus is called to catch, he delivers!
It’s great to see a well-rounded college athlete with a big heart! Intelligent, socially exceptional & fills I’ll children with love and care! Wow!
May the Lord Jesus infuse more and more of His Divine Attributes into Kattus’ human virtues and protect/keep him in the ways of the Lord!