Former Arundel football player Paschal to Kentucky
Travaughn Paschal's path to a Division I scholarship was far more circuitous than the former Arundel football player would have liked.
But after committing to Kentucky last month and preparing to enroll for this fall semester, the 6-foot-4, 245-pound defensive end/linebacker is surely not going to take his opportunity for granted.
Paschal played sparingly his junior year at Arundel, and he only made it through two games his senior season (2008) before breaking his arm at a team dinner.
The players were hanging out in a backyard the day before the third game of the season when one teammate threw a pass into the air. Paschal went up to grab it, not seeing another intended target sprinting in his direction. The other player unintentionally clipped Paschal's legs out from under him, and Paschal landed awkwardly on his arm, ending his season.
"At the time I didn't even want to talk about it," Paschal said. "I hated every time I had to walk past everybody [on the team] with their jerseys on. It was just real frustrating to me."
That left Paschal with limited game experience, and needing to get his grades up, he enrolled at Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia, where he spent the past two seasons.
In that time, Paschal had 15 sacks, showing versatility on the Blue Devils' defense.
"He played a little linebacker, but we liked him at defensive end," Fork Union coach John Shuman said. "He's one of those hybrid guys that can play up or down."
Paschal's combination of speed and size should help him fit in on a Kentucky defensive he compares to the ones run by the Ravens and New York Jets. (Paschal likens his prospective role to that of Terrell Suggs.)
Paschal -- who also received an offer from Pittsburgh -- said he wanted to play in the SEC because of its level of competition, and he felt that coach Joker Phillips and his staff would be around for a while.
He plans to study electrical engineering, and along with gaining weight and lowering his 40 time, Paschal says his other primary goal is to make sure he stays ahead of his classwork.
After taking so long to reach the collegiate level, Paschal wants to make sure nothing forces him off the field.
"He's worked hard," Shuman said. "His dream was to go 1-A, BCS, and he got it done."
