Josh Paschal and Jacquez Jones earn multiple weekly awards

Two Kentucky Wildcats defenders have been honored for their performance in a 20-13 win over the 10th-ranked Florida Gators.

On Sunday, senior linebacker Jacquez Jones was named the Football Bowl Subdivision National Defensive Player of the Week by the Walter Camp Football Foundation.

Today, Jones was named SEC co-Defensive Player of the Week, sharing the honor with Alabama Crimson Tide linebacker Will Anderson.

Senior defensive end Josh Paschal was named the SEC co-Special Teams Player of the Week, sharing the honor with Vanderbilt Commodores kicker Joseph Bulovas. Paschal was also named the Reese’s Senior Bowl Defensive Player of the Week.

Jones, hailing from Tuscaloosa (AL), had nine tackles in the game, one tackle for loss, a QB hurry, and the game-saving pass breakup on Florida’s final play. The Ole Miss Rebels transfer also had an interception in Kentucky’s 35-28 win over Missouri and a touchdown-saving breakup in the 28-23 win over Chattanooga, so he’s developing a knack of making game-winning plays on defense.

For the season, Jones is second on the team in tackles (33) and pass breakups (4).

Paschal, the only three-time team captain in Kentucky football history, finished with seven tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and blocked a field goal that was returned for a touchdown, a 10-point swing that put Kentucky ahead 13-10 instead of down 13-7 in the third quarter. He was a major reason why Kentucky ended Florida’s streak of 14-straight games of 400+ yards of total offense, the nation’s longest active streak.

A native of Prince George’s County (MD), Paschal now has three career blocked kicks and the most recent blocked field goal and punt vs. Tennessee in 2019. For the season, he has 22 tackles, a team-high 6.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and six QB hurries.

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