Over the summer, Kentucky defensive lineman Josh Paschal was diagnosed with malignant melanoma (cancer) on the bottom of his foot.
Obviously, there are no guarantees with a cancer diagnosis and melanoma can be particularly bad, but Paschal was recently released by doctors to do light running.
Now, head coach Mark Stoops says Paschal is working his way back to the field:
Mark Stoops wasn’t ready to make any announcements about Paschal on Monday at his news conference to preview Missouri, but the head coach had some good news about the sophomore.
“He’s working his way back to the field,” Stoops said on his coaches’ radio show late Monday.
The wound on the bottom of Paschal’s foot from the surgeries to remove the malignant melanoma has healed. Paschal has been doing strength training regularly as he’s continued to improve.
“Then there’s the matter of just getting in shape, in football shape and just controlling the foot,” Stoops said. “There’s a lot of factors that go into it, not just the wound itself. So he’s working his way back into shape.”
Under new NCAA rules, a play can appear in up to four games and still be permitted to take a redshirt season. The bowl game would count as one of the four games. At this time, the Wildcats have at least six games remaining.
