DeAndre Square saves the day vs. Iowa after being ruled out with injury

In what could end up being his last game as a Wildcat, DeAndre Square saved the day with a game-sealing interception to give No. 22 Kentucky a 20-17 VRBO Citrus Bowl win over the No. 15 Iowa Hawkeyes.

After the defense gave Will Levis, Wan’Dale Robinson and Chris Rodriguez one last opportunity to push the Wildcats ahead, they had to stifle the Hawkeyes offense one more time. After Spencer Petras led his offense to UK’s 40-yard line, a key pressure from Yusuf Corker forced an errant throw that allowed Square to dive underneath it for the takeaway.

Square had missed a portion of the game with an injury sustained in the third quarter. He was reportedly ruled out of the game when the injury happened, but he and the staff decided to send him back out there due to the Wildcats’ depth issues with the game on the line. He even came to his postgame press conference on crutches.

It’s the second straight year that a UK linebacker has made a game-sealing interception, as Jamin Davis picked off NC State’s Bailey Hockman in last year’s TaxSlayer Gator Bowl win. That played immediately led to a touchdown from Rodriguez that put the game just out of reach for the victory.

There’s no clear decision yet on whether or not Square will return for another season. He’s loved by the staff, as linebackers coach Jon Sumrall decided to coach for UK one last time before he takes over as head coach at Troy in order to coach Square again.

It’s obvious how much he loves this program in return as well, as his emotions were on full display after the winning pick.

No matter the decision, that’s one heck of a way to wrap up a college career if this is the end of his time at UK.