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The Kentucky Wildcats have secured the signature of their biggest defensive target in 2017.
Josh Paschal has officially signed with UK, despite a late push from Penn State to try and flip the four-star linebacker.
Paschal, who hails from Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Maryland, picked UK over the likes of Oklahoma and Notre Dame. Paschal may very well be the best player Stoops lands in the 2017 class, as 247 ranks him 191st overall in addition to being the eighth-best defensive end prospect in 2017.
Here is his official UK bio:
Josh Paschal, Outside Linebacker, 6-3, 270, Fr-HS, Olney, Md. (Our Lady of Good Counsel) – A four-star defensive end prospect by all the major recruiting services … Scout ranks him the No. 28 defensive end nationally and No. 2 defensive end from the state of Maryland in the 2017 class … 247Sports classifies him as the No. 11 strongside defensive end in the country … ESPN scouting report says, “A high-motored DL with good, straight-line speed. Shows good initial burst and quickness to get up-field and make plays in the opponent's backfield. Works well to maintain his point and shows good overall leverage vs. the run” … Recorded 64 tackles as a senior, including nine tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks … Also had four quarterback hurries … Named first-team All-Conference defense by the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) … Earned first-team All-Sentinel by The Sentinel Newspapers … Coached by Bill Milloy … Older brother, TraVaughn, played for the Wildcats from 2012-14 … Picked Kentucky over Notre Dame, Penn State and Oklahoma.
Coach Stoops says: “Josh is a disruptive force with great quickness off the snap. We believe Josh has the ability to be an impact player at a young age.”