{"id":418684,"date":"2026-01-20T12:27:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T12:27:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/418684\/"},"modified":"2026-01-20T12:27:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T12:27:08","slug":"11-things-you-need-to-know-from-a-long-conversation-with-the-uk-head-coach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/418684\/","title":{"rendered":"11 Things You Need to Know From a Long Conversation with the UK Head Coach"},"content":{"rendered":"

The transfer portal closed on Friday, ending the most hectic six weeks of Will Stein<\/a>\u2018s professional career. After juggling two jobs and adding 30+ players, the new Kentucky head coach spent 40 minutes discussing a wide range of topics. He gave us plenty of content to work with over the next few days, but here are all of the highlights you need to know. <\/p>\n

Transfer Portal Additions are (Mostly) Done<\/p>\n

Kentucky acquired two more players from the transfer portal on Monday, wide receiver Shane Carr<\/a> (Southern Utah) and defensive lineman Tyler Thomas<\/a> (South Alabama). The news dropped just before Stein stepped up to the podium. Some Ts have to be dotted and Is need to be crossed to make the transfer portal additions official. After that, you shouldn\u2019t be expecting any more groundbreaking transfer portal news. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re finishing up the roster,\u201d Stein said. \u201cFeel really good where we\u2019re at, and we\u2019ll continue to track that over the next couple months to see if there is any future additions. But right now, feel they feel really good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stein Bullish on the Quarterbacks<\/p>\n

Stein felt like Kentucky put a good offer on the table for Cutter Boley<\/a>, but things didn\u2019t work out. Such is life in modern college football. He wished him well, then pivoted to Kenny Minchey<\/a>. Even though the former Notre Dame quarterback doesn\u2019t have a lot of reps on tape, he believes Minchey has a bright future at Kentucky. <\/p>\n

\u201cExtremely accurate. He\u2019s got great athleticism. I think when you talk to him, when you guys meet him, he is a phenomenal person, very smart,\u201d Stein said<\/a>. \u201cWe did our background on him, everybody we talked to,\u00a0even guys on that (Notre Dame) staff felt like they still would have won 10 games with Kenny out there playing quarterback.\u201d<\/p>\n

Offensive Line was a \u201cMajor\u201d Priority for Kentucky<\/p>\n

Three of Kentucky\u2019s highest-ranked signees from the transfer portal are on the offensive line: Lance Heard<\/a> (Tennessee), Coleton Price<\/a> (Baylor), and Tegra Tshabola<\/a> (Ohio State). <\/p>\n

\u201cThe teams that win in November, December, and January win the trenches. So making sure that we\u2019re solidifying that offensive line was a major piece of this puzzle,\u201d said Stein. <\/p>\n

Kentucky didn\u2019t just add a bunch of players. There are four assistant coaches for that position, and the goal is to get that number to five. The rationale makes sense. It\u2019s hard for one guy to keep eyes on all five players. Each position deserves to have a coach. <\/p>\n

Stein and Bryant\u2019s Parents Played Together<\/p>\n

One of Stein\u2019s first tasks was evaluating the Kentucky football roster. There were a few players who quickly became top priorities. Kentucky locked up Mi\u2019Quise Humphrey-Grace<\/a>, Willie Rodriguez<\/a>, and Ty Bryant<\/a>, just to name a few. <\/p>\n

Bryant was Kentucky\u2019s only All-SEC selection last fall. Stein described him as a \u201cprogram builder.\u201d He also connected a couple of dots that previously evaded me. Their fathers, Matt Stein and Cisco Bryant, played together for Jerry Claiborne. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Sign up for the KSR Newsletter to receive Kentucky Wildcats news in the most ridiculous manner possible.<\/a><\/p>\n

Kentucky has a Shark at Defensive Coordinator<\/p>\n

Will Stein was looking for a veteran to lead his defense. Jay Bateman<\/a> checked all of the right boxes. Stein described his style as \u201caggressive\u201d and \u201ccreative,\u201d and also commended him as a great communicator with young people. Even though he\u2019s older, he creates lasting connections with players. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis guy hunts in recruiting. He is a shark. He\u2019s a pit bull. He\u2019ll go up against anybody,\u201d said the new Kentucky head coach. \u201cAnd there\u2019s no real trick tricks with Jay. He\u2019s straight up, but he creates real bonds with these players.\u201d<\/p>\n

Deep, Young Kentucky Coaching Roster<\/p>\n

Bateman has decades of experience at multiple levels of football. It will serve as a counterbalance to a young coaching staff. Like Stein, Tony Washington Jr.<\/a> and Cutter Leftwich<\/a> are in their 30s. There are a handful of other assistants who aren\u2019t too far removed from playing on the field. They may not have a ton of years under their belt, but they know how to successfully operate in modern college football. <\/p>\n

\u201cExperience is all relative. What we\u2019re doing now in college football is not the same as what we were doing 20 years ago. It\u2019s just not. Everything\u2019s changing. Recruiting has changed, portal has changed. It\u2019s about adaptability, and these guys show me that they\u2019re the best people for these jobs. They relate to players, they connect with players,\u201d said Stein. <\/p>\n

Two Non-Negotiables<\/p>\n

Will Stein is implementing his DNA traits<\/a> during winter meetings and workouts. There are also two rules his players must abide by.<\/p>\n

\u201cBe where you\u2019re supposed to be when you\u2019re supposed to be there, doing what you\u2019re supposed to be doing with great effort.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sounds like a good rule that can apply to many different professions. His other is much more football-specific. Winning on the gridiron requires toughness. <\/p>\n

\u201cMental and physical toughness, that\u2019s huge for a football player. It\u2019s a tough game, played by really tough men, and the spotlight\u2019s on these guys all the time. Can they handle that? And in the fourth quarter, when it\u2019s hardest, can you look to the man to your left and the right and know that they\u2019re going to do their job? Those are two non-negotiables for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stein isn\u2019t Worried about Ponatoski and the MLB Draft<\/p>\n

Matt Ponatoski<\/a> was one of the most sought-after high school quarterbacks in the country. Will Stein recruited him at Oregon before he committed to Kentucky. Even after he signed with UK, many around BBN worried they may never see him in Lexington. <\/p>\n

Ponatoski was Mr. Football and Mr. Baseball in the state of Ohio. He could be a high pick in next year\u2019s MLB Draft. There will be plenty of anxiety around BBN leading into that event, but Stein is not concerned. <\/p>\n

\u201cEverything that he said to me is that he wants to be a big-time college football player. So is it concerning? No.\u201d said Stein. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just really grateful to be able to have the chance to coach Matt, and I think his best years are to come in football. He\u2019s obviously an outstanding baseball player. And you know, we\u2019d love to get him on the diamond here at Kentucky too, and let\u2019s do this thing together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tubby Smith Camp Veteran<\/p>\n

John Calipari and Mark Stoops brought the Basketball vs. Football School debate to Big Blue Nation. You won\u2019t hear any of that from the new Kentucky football coach. Stein has been a Kentucky basketball fan for a long time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went to Tubby Smith Basketball Camp, like four times,\u201d Stein added, as if he was reading off his BBN resume. \u201cI won the hotshot award, I won the free-throw competition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Size Matters<\/p>\n

The new Kentucky roster doesn\u2019t have too many players who are less than 6 feet tall. \u201cI don\u2019t want a lot of Will Steins running out there,\u201d quipped the head coach. <\/p>\n

Want more Kentucky football intel? <\/a>Join KSR Plus for access to bonus content and KSBoard, KSR\u2019s message board, to chat with fellow Cats fans and get exclusive scoop.<\/a><\/p>\n

Stein\u2019s Wildest Moment in the Transfer Portal<\/p>\n

The last six weeks were the most chaotic days of Will Stein\u2019s professional career. Sleep was in short supply. One day in particular was a blitz. Hours after winning the Orange Bowl, he hopped on a flight to Lexington and spent the next day with about a dozen transfer portal prospects. It was a chaotic time for Stein, who was pulled in every different direction at all hours of the day, but he did not feel sorry for himself. <\/p>\n

\u201cI was definitely lying to you guys and everybody that I was focused on one thing at one time. I was not,\u201d Stein admitted. \u201cI was focused on everything at the same time, so you can imagine what that\u2019s like. But somebody told me there\u2019s no crying from a yacht. You know, as offensive coordinator for Oregon, playing in the College Football Playoffs, and the head coach of Kentucky, I think a lot of people would want to be in my shoes. So it\u2019s been really cool.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The transfer portal closed on Friday, ending the most hectic six weeks of Will Stein\u2018s professional career. After…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":331641,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[199003,109824,399,170521,193431,199695,200150,398,396,397,200151,99,194341,200152,200153,109828],"class_list":["post-418684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ncaa-football","tag-coleton-price-22-bowie","tag-cutter-boley-24-lexington-christian-academy","tag-football","tag-kenny-minchey-23-pope-john-paul-ii","tag-lance-heard-23-neville","tag-matt-ponatoski-26-archbishop-moeller","tag-miquise-humphrey-grace-22-princeton","tag-ncaa","tag-ncaa-football","tag-ncaafootball","tag-shane-carr-23-south","tag-sports","tag-tegra-tshabola-22-lakota-west","tag-ty-bryant-23-frederick-douglass","tag-tyler-thomas-23-cottage-hill-christian-academy","tag-willie-rodriguez-24-covington-catholic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=418684"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/418684\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/331641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=418684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=418684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=418684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}