The last two years of the Mark Stoops era didn’t work.
Stoops brought a consistent, respectable product to Lexington which was exactly what the job required when he took it in 2013. He won 10 games in 2018 and 2021. The Wildcats played physical defense and ran the ball with a purpose.
The moment he got on that airplane to College Station, it was over. As he took off, the Texas Twitter mob revolted, and Stoops returned to Lexington with his hat in his hand. Two years later, he was out of a job.
Kentucky is a really tough place to win. They’re going to spend heavily on basketball have a wandering eye for the hardwood the moment things wobble on the gridiron.
LSU makes its first trip to the Bluegrass since 2021 this fall. The was probably the beginning of the end for Ed Orgeron. Losing 42-21 to Kentucky will rattle some cages.
No more Orgeron (as the head coach) or Stoops. It’s a new era in both Lexington and Baton Rouge.
STEIN TIME
Kentucky has been awful on offense for four years.
The Wildcats have ranked 13th, 16th, 8th and 14th amongst SEC teams in scoring. That’s two last place finishes. In total offense, they’ve ranked 14th, 15th, 11th and 14th. Only one last, but not much better.
Will Stein has been brought in to fix that. He was born and raised on the Bluegrass, but he’s a Louisville guy. He’s traded that red in for blue and will control the offense in Lexington. His last three offenses at Oregon ranked 10th, 17th and 2nd nationally in scoring. He directed Bo Nix to New York as a Heisman finalist.
Many LSU fans will point to the Joe Sloan hire at offensive coordinator in a negative light, but Stein is in charge of the Wildcat offense. He’ll almost certainly inject new life into a unit that has been among the worst in the SEC.
KENNY THE QB
Stein’s first offense is in the hands of Kenny Minchey, the Notre Dame transfer. Minchey was a four-star recruit by every service and was an Elite 11 finalist out of high school. He never found his way to the field at Notre Dame, so he’s transferred to Kentucky.
Minchey has played in 10 games and attempted 29 passes. Now he’s in charge of the Wildcat offense.
The former Irish signal caller is a talented passer with good athleticism. He doesn’t have a “wow” trait, but Stein is in charge of creating that with his scheme. Any signs of life from the offense will be a welcome sight in Lexington.
FAMILIAR FACES
Sloan is not the only former Tiger at Kentucky.
Former LSU wide receiver Nic Anderson joined him from the transfer market. So did one-time Tiger turned Tennessee Volunteer Lance Heard. On the defensive side, Ahmad Breaux made the move from Baton Rouge to the Bluegrass, too.
Those three had mixed results at LSU but should factor in heavily to the Kentucky roster this fall.
Heard has two years of starting experience at Tennessee. Breaux played in 25 games over two years on the Tiger defensive line. Anderson is still chasing the production he enjoyed as a redshirt freshman at Oklahoma. Injuries have slowed him down for two years.
