"More than a football game," JJ Weaver receives redemption in Florida win
After an agonizing year that was filled with heartbreak on and off the field, J.J. Weaver received redemption in the Wildcats’ 20-13 win over Florida.
In his third season as a Wildcat, Weaver has made playmaking the norm. He’s had success even though Mark Stoops believes he’s still not 100% healthy. Physically, the road to recovery may still be ongoing, but mentally, Weaver appears to have found peace.
A 2020 Year to Forget
Before Weaver could play a down of his redshirt season, tragedy struck. His father, Terrance, was murdered in a June home invasion. He channeled all of his anger onto the football field and it appeared to be paying off, recording 33 tackles as a burgeoning star on the edge of the UK defense. In the middle of the best game of his career, he suffered another excruciating setback. While covering Florida’s Kyle Pitts, Weaver fell to the ground with a knee injury. His season was over.
“With my father passing before that, I was already dealing with stuff,” Weaver told The Cats Pause’ Derek Terry in the preseason. “I was still trying to deal with my father. With me going down, I wasn’t really — I would say I was still more focused on my father. I didn’t really care about my injury or playing, for real, because I was still trying to cope with my father. That’s why I had a great season, because of my father, because of his death. I was trying to take all my anger out on the field and then I got hurt.”
Weaver’s Silver Lining
The second significant setback in a year forced Weaver to self-reflect. He would continue to channel his anger and emotion onto the football field. This time he would not do it alone.
“Last year I took so many losses,” Weaver said following Saturday night’s win. “They (White, Stoops and his teammates) came in together as a family, so that made me open up more, made me mature a lot. It made me believe in the system. That helped me deliver my game, my communications, my teammates, being more friendly, more open, respecting the coaches. It helped a lot.”
Finally, Florida Redemption
Entering Saturday night’s game against the Gators, Weaver did not downplay the game’s significance.
“This game meant the world to me. 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.”
Weaver played like his life depended on a win. Before a fourth quarter snap, he recognized a Florida play from film study. Instead of playing zone, Weaver told cornerback Carrington Valentine he was matching up man-to-man on the tight end.
“I watched film all week. The tight end’s going to go straight up to a vert. I under-cut it and took off from there.” He added, “Kyle Pitts did me dirty last year, tore my ACL, so y’all know what’s up.”
It wasn’t Kyle Pitts, but Weaver proved his point.
Weaver faced more turmoil in one year than some will experience in a lifetime. Saturday night his hard work manifested in redemption against the team that nearly derailed his dreams. Now he’s living one.
“This is most definitely a dream,” Weaver said. “I’m still living in it now.”
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