We’ve hit an unexpected lull in the transfer portal news cycle, so how about some football chatter? Kentucky’s spring football game is just ten days away, meaning that soon, we’ll get our first glimpse of Will Stein’s first squad, including quarterback Kenny Minchey. The former Notre Dame signal caller has been a talking point of spring practice so far, with clips of his throws going viral on social media and pundits raving about his potential.
This week, we’ve gotten a little bit more of that. CBS Sports’ Brad Crawford ranked every power conference starting quarterback. Kenny Minchey is No. 31 out of the 68 QBs, No. 9 in the SEC. That may not sound very impressive, but considering he’s been a backup for three seasons, most recently to CJ Carr, who is now a Heisman candidate, it should be.
To date, Minchey has played in ten games, completing 23 of 29 passes for 212 yards. He also has nine carries for 96 yards and two rushing touchdowns.
“Ask anyone at Notre Dame, and they’ll describe how close the quarterback competition was last season between C.J. Carr and Minchey, who left the Fighting Irish for a starting opportunity in the SEC,” Crawford wrote. “Marcus Freeman went deep into fall camp before he was comfortable calling the race for Carr and now, Minchey gets to showcase his talent with the Wildcats under Will Stein, Oregon’s offensive guru responsible for explosive numbers from Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel and Dante Moore in recent seasons.”
Over at The Athletic, Sam Khan Jr. ranked the 20 best quarterback transfers of the last portal cycle. Minchey is No. 11, two spots ahead of Cutter Boley, who left Kentucky for Arizona State. Like Crawford, Khan is excited to see what Minchey can do under Stein.
“Minchey brings loads of intrigue to Lexington,” Khan wrote. “He’s light on game experience after three years at Notre Dame, but he pushed CJ Carr in the team’s QB competition last offseason and has enticing talent. Minchey is accurate, possesses a quick release, can create outside the pocket and has plenty of arm strength. The pairing with new head coach Will Stein, who has worked with Dante Moore, Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel and Frank Harris, is an attractive one.”
Kenny Minchey. Kentucky football held an open spring practice for the media at the Joe Craft Football Training Facility on April 7, 2026, in Lexington, Kentucky. Photo by Crawford Ifland, Kentucky Sports Radio/On3
“Kenny Minchey, he’s a dude.”
Let’s wrap up with one of our On3 colleagues, Zak Herbstreit. The son of Kirk and a former tight end at Ohio State, Zak now talks ball for On3. He is very intrigued by what he’s hearing around Minchey thus far.
“Kenny Minchey, he’s a dude,” Herbstreit said. “He makes plays. And I feel like whenever I hear Kenny Minchey’s name nowadays or see it written down in an interview or something, the word ‘professional’ is brought up somehow. He throws the ball like a professional. His approach to practice is very professional. I feel like at the college level, in a college kid, that’s one of the biggest compliments you can get in this day and age, which is very reassuring at the quarterback position.
“He’s continuing to improve. By no means has he arrived yet. I’m just saying he’s a talented player. I don’t want to get ahead of myself here, but I think he has the talent that, not at the end of this year, stack a couple of years, he will be one of the better quarterbacks in all of the SEC when it’s all said and done. I just think he has the ability to win games.”
We love to hear that. In just 10 days, we’ll be able to see it for ourselves at Kroger Field.