Based on the title of this post, you’re probably imagining many photos of yoked-up Kentucky football players. Sorry, Big Click Nick is at it again. When Will Stein gave an update to Tom Leach about the progress of his Kentucky football team, he wasn’t talking about tangible growth. Instead, he’s happy to see how his team has grown together since they all first met in January.
There are plenty of cliches about how games are won in the offseason. Before we get to some nice coach-speaky type stuff from Stein, let’s just think about this as humans for a second.
Including walk-ons, Kentucky has 53 returning players. All but six of those guys have only known one head coach, Mark Stoops. There was probably plenty of anxiety around the change. After all, everything is new, right down to their daily routines, such as how they lift weights and when they show up for meetings, and more. In addition to the new routine, they also have 34 new teammates they need to get to know. That presents a challenge, albeit an exciting one that this group has embraced.
“I’m excited about where they are right now. I think every one of these players in our program right now is yearning for growth, and that’s really cool,” Stein said on The Leach Report. “We’ve been getting together outside of the football white lines, per se, and just learning each other as players, and trying to build that connection piece that’s number one in our DNA traits, which is connection.”
Stein opened his first meeting with the Wildcats this winter by sharing his four DNA traits of the program: Connection, Accountability, Toughness, and Sacrifice. Connection ties all of them together.
“To me, the most connected team plays the hardest for the longest. In this league, it’s really won in the fourth quarter. This is a fourth-quarter league. It’s as close to the NFL as we’re going to get. And it’s going to come down to those one or two plays every single Saturday for us to come out on top.
“When you know the guy next to you, when you actually have sweat equity with the guy next to you, and bloodshed with the guy next to you, it just matters more. So that’s what we’re really trying to build right now — besides the football piece — is the connection piece within our group, and then bleeding into accountability and toughness and just what it means to sacrifice for the K. I’m excited, really excited about where we’re at, but we’re nowhere near where we need to be.”
Stein Describes Kenny Minchey in One Word
Spring practice kicks off next week. He will not provide any updates on how specific players are performing until he gets a chance to see them in action. However, people are still going to ask Stein about his quarterback. Kenny Minchey is an unknown to many around Big Blue Nation, but one thing has stood out to Stein during the winter meetings.
“He’s tough on the field, and then when you look at him actually playing the game, I think he just operates,” said Stein. “I think that’s a great word for him. He’s an operator, and we’ve been getting into the deep end of our offense, and he seems to have picked it up extremely well so far, almost seamlessly, which is really cool.”
Kentucky fans are yearning for top-notch quarterback play in Lexington. Stein has done it time and time again throughout his career. To be a successful head coach, it all starts with the signal-caller.
“It’s a tale that’s stood the test of time in football. At Kentucky, when we’re at our best, we have elite quarterback play, so that’s vital to our success, not just offensively, but as an entire team. Because as our quarterback goes, our team goes,” said Stein.
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