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JJ Weaver’s recovery from a torn ACL has been seemingly impressive just eight months after he suffered the injury in Kentucky’s loss at Florida.
At a practice open to the media Saturday, Weaver worked with Kentucky’s second-team defense and was described as looking “spry.”
UK isn’t doing anything other than agility drills right now, but JJ Weaver looks pretty spry for a guy some eight months removed from surgery to repair a torn ACL
— Mark Story (@markcstory) August 7, 2021
The Louisville native also drew high praise from his defensive coordinator Brad White Friday who called the outside linebacker “dominant” when watching tape of his performances at Alabama and Florida before tearing his ACL last season.
Brad White had some pretty serious praise for sophomore OLB JJ Weaver. When turning on the tape against Alabama and Florida, White said Weaver was as dominant as any player on the field.
— Derek Terry (@DerekSTerry) August 6, 2021
As a redshirt freshman, Weaver made 33 total tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, half a sack, and a pass defense.
Weaver tied a career-high with six tackles at Florida in the same game he tore his ACL in his first career college start. He earned SEC Freshman of the Week after totaling six tackles with two tackles for loss in Kentucky’s 34-7 win in Knoxville over Tennessee.
With Jamin Davis and Boogie Watson gone, Weaver is expected to be among the stars of the Kentucky Wildcats’ defense when healthy.