J.J. Weaver prepares to Complete Comeback at Florida
Most players won’t admit it, but J.J. Weaver can’t hide it. The Florida game means more. It’s not because of a long losing streak or the Head Ball Coach’s antics. Sure, he’d love to play well against his home state school, but that’s not it either. During Weaver’s last trip to Florida his life changed forever. It could have begun a downward spiral. Instead, his fateful day at The Swamp serves as the starting point for an epic comeback story.
Weaver was born and raised in Broward County, Fl. During his adolescent years he moved to Louisville with his mother and completed his prep career at Moore High School. It did not take long for the rising star to shine at Kentucky.
In his first trip back to Florida in 2020, Weaver had the tall task of containing Kyle Pitts. With dozens of Florida family members in the stands, he rose to the challenge. Weaver went toe-to-toe with Pitts, as the All-American and future Top 5 pick exchanged blows with the redshirt freshman. Pitts burned Kelvin Joseph for a 55-yard touchdown, but Weaver did not give the tight end anything easy over the middle. You could see the two exchanging words over the ESPN broadcast.
Despite the emotional back-and-forth, the UK outside linebacker held his own, totaling a career-high eight tackles, including two for loss to earn SEC Freshman of the Week honors. Weaver was transforming into a superstar when his knee gave out. Pitts taunted Weaver while he clinched his knee, agonizing in pain from a torn ACL.
“I got a huge chip on my shoulder coming back there,” Weaver said this week. “It’s Kyle Pitts, that’s who I really want. It still hits home a lot.”
Not the Only Setback for Weaver
Weaver was able to overcome the physical injury quicker than most. The mental anguish he suffered was far more suffocating. Ahead of the 2020 season his father was gunned down during a home invasion. Weaver knew only one way to cope with the loss.
“I was taking all of my anger out on the field. Then working out heavy, I wasn’t taking care of my body so I ended up tearing my ACL midseason. That’s when life really hit me,” Weaver shared this summer. “Everything was overwhelming. I didn’t know what to do, I was losing focus. I lost faith in God.”
Weaver lost his only outlet for anguish, then lost another father-figure in his life. Rob Reader, JJ’s high school coach, passed away in 2021 after a long battle with cancer.
Weaver’s Award-Worthy Comeback
During this destructive part of Weaver’s life, he tried to distance himself from others. Mark Stoops wouldn’t let him. The Kentucky head coach shared how he lost his father when he was in college. Stoops helped J.J. find the right therapist and a new place to live to help him press restart.
Finally able refocus on football, Kentucky needed J.J. Weaver to be at his best. He delivered.
With Jordan Wright sidelined by an early season injury, Weaver was forced to play a significant amount of snaps right away, despite not being 100 percent healthy. When the Gators came to Kroger Field, he provided one of the biggest plays of the night. In the fourth quarter J.J. Weaver picked off an Emory Jones pass and returned the interception down to the Gators’ 30-yard line, setting up a touchdown that gave the Wildcats a decisive 10-point lead.
“This game meant the world to me,” he said shortly after the Wildcats’ win. “I tore my ACL, then my father passed. I had to show off for my team tonight. I told them, ‘Believe in me. This is a game I really need.’ I’ve been down the last year, so this game was more than a football game to me. This game was like the world, for real.”
It was just the beginning of a stellar season. At its conclusion he was named Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year.
Homecoming against a Running Quarterback
J.J. Weaver did not shy away from Florida superstar Kyle Pitts. He is embracing the challenge of slowing down Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson.
“He’s a great quarterback. We just need to contain him. He’s going to run, he’s going to do things with his feet, but we just gotta contain him, have a QB spy and he’s not going to be able to do none of that against us,” said Weaver. “It’s a big week for me. It’s a big week for all of us but with him playing, we’re going to have to stop him. That’s the goal.”
Weaver will not be slowed by a weak knee in pursuit of Richardson. In week one we got a small sample of what a healthy J.J. Weaver looks like on the Kentucky defense. He blocked a punt and recorded a strip-sack. Now the pressure has been amplified. He’s ready to deliver his best performance in his home state.
“This is a homecoming too for me. I tore my ACL down there in 2020. I’m coming back down there without no knee brace, without nothing, 100 percent healthy. It feels amazing to be back.”
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