Will Stein has injected life into the Kentucky football program. You can feel it in the fanbase and see it on the recruiting trail.

“Kentucky football recruiting is rocking and rolling, ripping and roaring as Will Stein and this coaching staff have cast a wide net nationally in building this program into a College Football Playoff contender, sooner rather than later,” Rivals’ Steve Wiltfong told KSR’s 11 Personnel.

That all sounds great. You and I would love to see Kentucky compete for a spot in the College Football Playoff, but how exactly is he going to do it? It starts by being active on the recruiting trail.

“From Kentucky’s perspective, Coach Stein is a younger, more engaged recruiter from the corner office than the previous regime,” said Wiltfong. “So with that, he’s been more hands-on with all of the top targets and quickly connecting with them. Certainly, you have the transfer portal now, where he was able to kind of flex and showcase his ability to go out there and land some top guys in the portal.”

Stein Can Sell his Resume

Indiana’s run to a National Championship changed the calculus for college football programs. The traditional have-nots can become haves if they do it the right way. It’s obviously much easier said than done, but Curt Cignetti proved it’s possible with the right scheme and the right players.

“Kentucky, I think they’re going to have one of the more exciting offenses in college football with Will Stein at the helm of this program, based on his history. I think that Kentucky is getting resources in position to make moves to get the roster in place. Indiana did that as well. Cignetti rallied the support to go out there and hit big at quarterback in the transfer portal a couple of times. You don’t win a National Championship if you don’t hit big in the portal,” said Wiltfong.

Kentucky hit dingers during Stein’s first transfer portal haul. The class ranked No. 8 nationally and featured plenty of players with proven production, particularly in the trenches. They also flipped quarterback Kenny Minchey from Nebraska. While there isn’t a lot of tape on the former Notre Dame quarterback, there are reasons to believe he can become a star for Stein.

“Kenny Minchey, he’s got a couple years too. He’s very talented, damn near won the starting quarterback job at Notre Dame. Notre Dame’s starting quarterback comes back as one of the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy, and Notre Dame is one of the favorites, if not the favorite to win the National Championship this year.

“Kenny Minchey, who comes into Kentucky’s program — Notre Dame would take him back. They loved him, just didn’t win the starting job. He leaves there on good standing and was a good teammate, really competitive guy that has the talent and the tools. He was the most accurate guy at the Elite 11 Finals competition, had a tremendous junior year of high school, and got hurt his senior year of high school. He was committed to Pitt, which has kind of become a farm system for major college football teams across the country, with the guys that Narduzzi develops at a high level. Minchey’s now at Kentucky, they flip him from Nebraska, and you’ve got multiple years with a transfer portal quarterback. That is very exciting. It starts there, and you build from there.”

The Quarterback to Watch

So where does Stein build from there? Matt Ponatoski has signed to play football and baseball for the Cats in the fall of 2026. As for the future, Kentucky needs to use this momentum to reel in another big fish at quarterback. Stein and Joe Sloan have the Cats in contention for a handful of Top 10 passers, but Wiltfong believes one candidate stands out above the rest.

“Andre Adams is target numero uno, in my opinion, right now. He had a fantastic junior season. Out of the state of Tennessee, he’s someone who I think is tailor-made to come into Will Stein’s offense and make quick decisions and be accurate with the football, and also have dual-threat ability,” said Wiltfong.

“I think if Andre Adams looks at some of the quarterbacks that Stein has mentored and some of the offenses that he’s called, from UTSA to Oregon, it’s an exciting opportunity for him, and I know he’s pumped to get to Kentucky. Auburn and Mississippi State are his top two. Izzy Abrams is another quarterback that Kentucky is recruiting. He’s got a couple visits set for Kentucky. I have Auburn trending there. This is a quarterback domino type deal, which could help with Kentucky and Andre Adams.”

Adams is the third-ranked quarterback and No. 61 overall player in the 2027 recruiting class, according to Rivals. Stein has Kentucky in a prime position, forecasting a bright future for the program.