Josh Paschal Named Pop Warner College Football Award Finalist
Kentucky senior Josh Paschal has been named one of six finalists for the 12th Annual Pop Warner College Football Award given by the Pop Warner Little Scholars, the nation’s oldest youth football organization. The award was established in 2010 to recognize a senior who has made a difference on the field, in the classroom and in his community, and serves as a role model to Pop Warner’s young student athletes.
The winner will be announced in early January. Previously, Kentucky’s C.J. Conrad was honored as the 2018 winner.
Paschal, a defensive end from Prince George’s County, Maryland, is the only three-time team captain in Kentucky football history and is revered by his teammates for his leadership. Since learning he had cancer in the summer of 2018, Paschal has made a significant impact on those of us in the Kentucky Football program and thousands of others.
He was diagnosed with malignant melanoma that appeared on the bottom of his foot just before training camp was to open in July of 2018. After undergoing three surgeries and monthly immunotherapy treatments for more than a year he was cleared to play in the final three games of UK’s historic 10-win season. Even on the day of his final treatment, most patients ring the bell to mark the end of treatments and UK wanted to send cameras and photographers to document the moment. “No way,” Paschal said. He never wanted the attention to be on himself because so many patients around him were far worse and he “didn’t want to rub it in that he was finished already.”
He has never used cancer as an excuse to not attend practice, a media session, a community service event, but instead he has used it as a platform talk to people about his faith and how going through cancer has helped him become stronger as both a person and a player. He has spoken to countless churches, school groups, cancer groups and media entities on his faith and how he beat cancer. He kept his grades up through it all, earning a spot on the Dean’s List and the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll. He also appeared on NBC’s Today Show! in May 2019 as a guest on a panel discussing the seriousness of melanoma. He continues to be deeply involved in the community as an advocate for cancer awareness, as well as social justice.
In 2020, he was elected one of three representatives for UK Football on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and the SEC Football Leadership Council. He took the lead on social justice initiatives over the summer of 2020, helping lead a peaceful walk for racial and social justice in the city of Lexington, as well as a players’ movement during training camp to raise awareness for those issues. Each time was one of only a few players selected to speak on behalf of the team. He also recorded videos encouraging fellow students and fans to wear their masks during Covid-19 pandemic, #MaskUpCats.
In 2019, he once again excelled in the classroom and for the second straight season was named to the Dean’s List and the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll. Because of his tenacity on and off the field, he was a nominee for the FWAA-Orange Bowl Courage Award, was one of six named honorable mention for CoSIDA’s 2019 Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year Award, and he was named to the inaugural 2019 Uplifting Athletes Rare Disease Champion Team.
Paschal is having his best season yet in 2021, leading the team and ranking second in the SEC with 15.5 tackles for loss. He also has 53 tackles, 5.5 sacks, a team-high eight quarterback hurries, a forced fumble and a blocked field goal.
Paschal has also earned second-team All-America honors this postseason by CBS/247Sports and he was named to the All-SEC first team by the Associated Press and Phil Steele. Continuing strong in the classroom, he has earned Academic All-America honors this season as well.
Founded in 1929 and headquartered in Langhorne, PA, Pop Warner Little Scholars is the nation’s oldest youth football, cheerleading and dance organization and the only youth sports organization that emphasizes academics as a prerequisite for participation. Pop Warner participants enjoy the opportunity to learn and compete in their sports in an atmosphere that emphasizes fun, safety, academics and character. For more information on Pop Warner and its programs visit popwarner.com or follow Pop Warner on Twitter @Pop_Warner, Facebook @PopWarnerLittleScholars, Instagram @popwarnerlittlescholars and Snap @popwarner1929.
