Jason Witten handed out his latest Man of the Year award on Thursday night in Dallas, and it was given to Kentucky defensive lineman Josh Paschal.

Paschal was selected among 3 finalists, including Grant Morgan of Arkansas and Patrick Fields of Oklahoma, who all demonstrated a record of leadership by exhibiting exceptional courage, integrity and sportsmanship both on and off the field.

In 2021, Paschal led the team and ranked second in the SEC with 15.5 tackles for loss. He also had 53 tackles, 5.5 sacks, a team-high eight quarterback hurries, a forced fumble and a blocked field goal that a teammate returned for a touchdown. He was named to the All-SEC first team by the Associated Press.

Paschal played in 52 career games with 37 starts and totaled 139 career tackles, 37 tackles for loss, 13.5 sacks, 12 quarterback hurries, 3 forced fumbles and 3 blocked kicks. His 37 tackles for loss in his career, ranks tied for third in UK history.

Paschal is the only three-time full-season team captain in Kentucky football history.

Paschal was diagnosed with malignant melanoma that appeared on the bottom of his foot just before fall camp in July of 2018. The defensive lineman had 3 surgeries and monthly immunotherapy treatments for more than a year, but consistently deflected attention, including on his final day of treatment.