https://wildcatfaithful.net/ Join Wildcat football fans on the road to Gridiron Glory. en Sun, 08 Mar 2026 14:29:54 GMT vBulletin 60 https://wildcatfaithful.net/images/misc/rss.png https://wildcatfaithful.net/ https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/410711-seneca-driver Sun, 08 Mar 2026 13:36:16 GMT Man I thought he was a lock for UK. Didnt see the Oklahoma commitment coming. Hopefully they can still flip him. Man I thought he was a lock for UK. Didnt see the Oklahoma commitment coming. Hopefully they can still flip him. Kentucky Football BIG BLUE GURU https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/410711-seneca-driver https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/410593-stein-using-spring-practice-to-adapt-kentucky-scheme Fri, 06 Mar 2026 22:09:37 GMT Kentucky football spring practice kicks off Tuesday. After six weeks of winter workouts, Will Stein... Will Stein is excited to see what his team can accomplish once they put the pads on and roll through practices.

“It’s really exciting for our players, for our coaches, for everybody in this building, just to really put the pads on and to see that all their hard work throughout Phase One of the offseason — which is winter strength and conditioning — pay off, and just watch them play some football,” Stein told Maggie Davis on BBN Tonight.

Stein Using Spring Practice to Adapt Kentucky Scheme - On3]]> Kentucky Football Matt Dillon https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/410593-stein-using-spring-practice-to-adapt-kentucky-scheme https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/410577-spring-practice Fri, 06 Mar 2026 10:32:33 GMT Begins Tuesday. Begins Tuesday.]]> Kentucky Football Matt Dillon https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/410577-spring-practice https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/410576-spring-spotlight-kentucky-s-rebuilt-offensive-line-comes-into-focus Fri, 06 Mar 2026 10:30:26 GMT Preparations for the 2026 college football season are underway at the Joe Craft Football Training Facility. In a few short weeks, cleats will be... Will Stein gets set to begin his first spring practice as the leader of a program. There will be a lot of new for the Wildcats in 2026. Things will be brand new in the offensive line room.

Cutter Leftwich has followed Will Stein from Oregon to Kentucky and will be this program’s fifth new offensive line coach since the 2020 season. This program needs some offensive line stability and must find some long-term answers after consistently going to the transfer portal in the offseason. However, that will take some time. Now is about building the best unit possible for 2026. Kentucky needs multiple transfer portal additions to hit. Perhaps no position needs to good spring practice more than the offensive line.

Spring Spotlight: Kentucky's rebuilt offensive line comes into focus - On3]]> Kentucky Football Matt Dillon https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/410576-spring-spotlight-kentucky-s-rebuilt-offensive-line-comes-into-focus https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/410528-spring-spotlight-tight-end Thu, 05 Mar 2026 10:25:51 GMT Preparations for the 2026 college football season are underway at the Joe Craft Football Training Facility. In a few short weeks, cleats will be... Will Stein gets set to begin his first spring practice as the leader of a program. There will be a lot of new for the Wildcats in 2026 but the tight end room stayed mostly the same.

UTSA offensive coordinator Justin Burke replaces tight ends coach Derek Shay after he bolted for Texas A&M following the season. The former Louisville quarterback inherits a room that did not add a transfer this offseason. UK is rolling with personnel continuity at tight end in 2026.

Spring Spotlight: Tight End - On3]]> Kentucky Football Matt Dillon https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/410528-spring-spotlight-tight-end https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/410522-rip-coach-holtz Wed, 04 Mar 2026 22:45:35 GMT Coach Lou Holtz. Has passed away. He was 89. Good man good coach. Coach Lou Holtz. Has passed away. He was 89. Good man good coach. Kentucky Football South jones https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/410522-rip-coach-holtz https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/410370-mark-stoops-to-join-staff-at-texas Tue, 03 Mar 2026 03:39:02 GMT
https://www.on3.com/news/report-stev...ial-assistant/]]> Kentucky Football Los Gatos https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/410370-mark-stoops-to-join-staff-at-texas https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/410351-spring-spotlight-kentucky-s-wide-receiver-room-is-brand-new-yet-again Mon, 02 Mar 2026 16:48:14 GMT Preparations for the 2026 college football season are underway at the Joe Craft Football Training Facility. In a few short weeks, cleats will be... Will Stein gets set to begin his first spring practice as the leader of a program. There will be a lot of new for the Wildcats in 2026. That is certainly true at wide receiver.

Kentucky will have a new wide receivers coach for the fourth season in a row as Joe Price III takes over in Lexington after a long stint at UTSA. The Wildcats added five transfers to the wide receiver room this offseason and signed four high school prospects. This position group once again went through a massive change in the offseason. Will that lead to better results when the games begin?

Spring Spotlight: Kentucky's wide receiver room is brand new yet again - On3]]> Kentucky Football Matt Dillon https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/410351-spring-spotlight-kentucky-s-wide-receiver-room-is-brand-new-yet-again https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/410250-what-jay-bateman-wants-to-bring-to-the-kentucky-defense Sat, 28 Feb 2026 16:27:44 GMT In two weeks, it will once again be Football Time in the Bluegrass. After undergoing significant structural changes this offseason, the new-look...
We’ve heard from Will Stein and Joe Sloan plenty of times. The “Feed the Studs” mantra and the mountain of statistical evidence on each coach’s resume gives us an idea of what to expect. As for defensive coordinator Jay Bateman, well, there’s a bit more mystery.

A journeyman in the coaching industry, Bateman helped Jeff Monken turn Army into a 10-win team. After a handful of years at West Point, he joined Mack Brown at North Carolina, then Billy Napier at Florida. That’s when he got familiar with Kentucky football in 2023.

“We had beat Tennessee, and we thought we were pretty good,” he recalled in a conversation with UKSN. “We came up here, and Kentucky beat the brakes off us. And I remember thinking, ‘Man, this place is awesome.'”

After a couple of years at Florida, Bateman became the defensive coordinator at Texas A&M. That title did not carry as much weight with Mike Elko, a former defensive play-caller for the Aggies, serving as the head coach. Kentucky offered Bateman a chance at autonomy with a defense while working for an offensive head coach.

So, what exactly will Bateman’s 4-2-5 defense look like? He did not get into the nitty gritty details, but did say what he wants Kentucky fans to feel when they see the unit on the field.

“I think the number one thing you can say to a D-coordinator to make him feel proud about his unit is how hard they play,” said Bateman. “How hard we play, the physicality we play with, I think that’s going to be where we’re going to try to hang our hat, right?

“If you don’t have that, man, I don’t know what you have. So, playing with effort, playing with physicality, and then look, my mindset historically has been a little more aggressive. It’s been a little bit more pressure. It’s been a little bit more man coverage. That’ll be a component of it, too. But I really think it’s going to be how we play more than what we play, and I think how we play, the physicality we play with, and the effort we play with is going to be paramount.”

Instilling that sense of urgency in his players will soon begin. After spending weeks building this Kentucky football roster in the transfer portal, Bateman is excited to finally get to work with the Wildcats.

“That last week of recruiting, it was like, man, let’s get this over with. I want to get back to our guys… I think they’re excited to get going, too.” It sure looks like it.

What Jay Bateman wants to bring to the Kentucky Defense - On3


]]> Kentucky Football Matt Dillon https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/410250-what-jay-bateman-wants-to-bring-to-the-kentucky-defense https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/410220-spring-spotlight-new-faces-take-center-stage-in-kentucky-s-backfield Sat, 28 Feb 2026 10:36:40 GMT Preparations for the 2026 college football season are underway at the Joe Craft Football Training Facility. In a few short weeks, cleats will be... Will Stein gets set to begin his first spring practice as the leader of a program. There will be a lot of new for the Wildcats in 2026. That remains true at tailback.

Kentucky will have six tailbacks in Kolby Smith‘s position room when spring practice begins. Only two were on the roster last season. One is a walk-on. For the fourth year in a row, the starting tailback will be a transfer. Once again, this program double-dipped at the position, but things could look different when it comes to usage and need with a new offensive philosophy in Lexington.

In KSR’s Spring Spotlight series, we will cover every position on Kentucky’s roster before spring practice begins. Next up is running back where UK has a couple returnees joined by a pair of SEC transfers.

Spring Spotlight: New faces take center stage in Kentucky's backfield - On3]]> Kentucky Football Matt Dillon https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/410220-spring-spotlight-new-faces-take-center-stage-in-kentucky-s-backfield https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/410208-spring-game-details-among-3-things-we-learned-from-will-stein-on-friday Fri, 27 Feb 2026 22:37:19 GMT Kentucky is just a few weeks away from kicking off spring football in the Bluegrass. It’s a quiet time in the college football calendar, but that... Will Stein. On Friday morning, the Kentucky head football coach joined the Chuck Oliver Show and shared a few tidbits with the King of College Football.

Kentucky Will Tackle in the Early Spring Game

During his introductory press conference, Will Stein promised to deliver a spring game. Since then, the only detail Big Blue Nation has received is the date, April 18. Today, he shared a few more details.

The Kentucky football spring game has a tentative kickoff time of 11 a.m. The early start gives the Cats a chance to secure an SEC Network broadcast window and allows fans to enjoy the baseball game against Vanderbilt that afternoon at 2 p.m. It won’t be a game of two-hand touch. The early portions of the game will be full contact before they take their foot off the gas and “transition into fun mode.”
“If you want to get good, get 11 versus 11 and play the damn game.” Stein added: “I want our guys to experience Kroger Field, experience our fans, experience an actual game clock, and officials out there.

“Prior, when there was two transfer portal windows, I think every coach was afraid. You go out there, and you play, and it’s on TV, and you’re gonna get your guys poached by other teams, which is, I think, a fair point. I’m a believer in playing the game. So it’s important for me, especially in year one, to show Big Blue Nation what our team is all about, and get those guys out there on the grass and play in front of our fans.”

A Line from Stein that will Fire You Up

What will the Will Stein offense look like at Kentucky? He’s been asked some form of that question a dozen times by now. The Feed the Studs mantra indicates that he is willing to tailor his scheme to whatever best fits his players. While he offered some of that to the SEC audience once again, he also added a line that I think will get folks fired up for Kentucky football.

“We’re a modern pro-style offense, so we can blend tempos and go super fast. We can huddle, we can speed break. We really dictate the pace of the game. And then, we’ve been really explosive and consistent in terms of gaining first downs and scoring touchdowns, a very efficient offense,” said the Kentucky head coach.

“Obviously, you want to be able to run the ball to win, but throw the ball to score. I like excitement. I like points. I like trick plays. I like making our guys love playing our offense. So it is multiple. It’s never looked completely the same. I think the core fundamentals and the core schemes have shown up every single year with our inside zone, outside zone, be able to throw the ball vertically, and stretch the defense from sideline to sideline.”

Spring Game Details Among 3 Things We Learned from Will Stein on Friday



]]> Kentucky Football Matt Dillon https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/410208-spring-game-details-among-3-things-we-learned-from-will-stein-on-friday https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/410176-spring-spotlight-the-kenny-minchey-era-begins-now-for-kentucky Thu, 26 Feb 2026 21:52:53 GMT Preparations for the 2026 college football season are underway at the Joe Craft Football Training Facility. In a few short weeks, cleats will be... Will Stein gets set to begin his first spring practice as the leader of a program. There will be a lot of new for the Wildcats in 2026. That is 100 percent true at quarterback.

Kentucky will have four quarterbacks on the field when spring practice gets started. Only one was on the roster last season. For the fifth year in a row, UK will enter another season with a brand new starting quarterback. This one was again came from the transfer portal. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

In KSR’s Spring Spotlight series, we will cover every position on Kentucky’s roster before spring practice begins. First up is quarterback where Kentucky has added three transfers to the roster this offseason.

Spring Spotlight: The Kenny Minchey era begins now for Kentucky - On3]]> Kentucky Football Matt Dillon https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/410176-spring-spotlight-the-kenny-minchey-era-begins-now-for-kentucky https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/410132-kentucky-is-a-cfp-sleeper-according-to-greg-mcelroy Wed, 25 Feb 2026 16:02:18 GMT It’s February, which means it’s the perfect time to talk about Kentucky playing in the College Football Playoff. Yes, I know Kentucky only won four...
It’s February, which means it’s the perfect time to talk about Kentucky playing in the College Football Playoff. Yes, I know Kentucky only won four games last season, and the Cats have a first-year head coach facing one of the most difficult schedules in college football. Doesn’t matter. We’re talking about it because one of the biggest voices in college football is saying it’s a possibility.

Former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy is second only to Kirk Herbstreit on ESPN’s college football broadcasting pecking order. He also hosts a daily morning show on JOX-FM in Birmingham with Cole Cubelic, and has his own ESPN podcast, Always College Football.

Kentucky is a CFP "Sleeper," According to Greg McElroy - On3]]> Kentucky Football Matt Dillon https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/410132-kentucky-is-a-cfp-sleeper-according-to-greg-mcelroy https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/410016-what-the-new-kroger-field-entertainment-district-could-look-like Tue, 24 Feb 2026 18:34:49 GMT The revenue-sharing era of college athletics has changed the way the University of Kentucky operates. One of the first courses of action was...
The home of Kentucky football is the university’s biggest money-maker. The creation of an entertainment district not only amplifies earning power on game days but can also attract business year-round, potentially generating revenue for the university’s athletic department.

Entertainment districts are all the rage in college athletics. Mitch Barnhart and the Kentucky fans who attended last year’s NCAA Tournament in Milwaukee were impressed with the Deer District near the Fiserv Forum. Oklahoma finally cleared legal hurdles to build the Rock Creek Entertainment District, a project that will give the Sooners a new basketball arena with a price tag of more than $1 billion. Tennessee is also in the process of constructing an entertainment district near Neyland Stadium.

What the New Kroger Field Entertainment District could look like - On3
]]> Kentucky Football Matt Dillon https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/410016-what-the-new-kroger-field-entertainment-district-could-look-like https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/409913-football-community-mourns-the-sudden-death-of-rondale-moore Sun, 22 Feb 2026 20:31:27 GMT Rondale Moore (https://www.on3.com/rivals/rondale-moore-102238/) is one of the most electric athletes to play high school football in the state of... Rondale Moore is one of the most electric athletes to play high school football in the state of Kentucky. Moore was found dead of a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound in New Albany, Ind., police said Saturday. He was only 25.

The New Albany Police Department is currently investigating the incident. The Floyd County coroner is conducting an autopsy on Sunday.

Football Community Mourns the Sudden Death of Rondale Moore - On3]]> Kentucky Football Matt Dillon https://wildcatfaithful.net/forum/kentucky-football/409913-football-community-mourns-the-sudden-death-of-rondale-moore