Will Stein is excited to work with his new quarterback, Kenny Minchey.
Minchey chose Kentucky in the transfer portal after opting to leave Notre Dame. He initially committed to Nebraska, but about 24 hours later, flipped to Kentucky after Will Stein and Co. pivoted from Sam Leavitt.
Minchey battled CJ Carr at Notre Dame for the starting QB spot for the Irish, but Carr ultimately earned the starting nod and was successful, throwing for over 2,700 yards and 24 touchdowns. Minchey saw limited action throughout the season, but it seems like Will Stein liked what he saw on tape as well as what scouts and coaches had to say about him.
“Extremely accurate. He’s got great athleticism. I think when you talk to him, when you guys meet him, he is a phenomenal person, very smart,” Stein said during his press conference Monday. “We did our background on him, everybody we talked to, even guys on that (Notre Dame) staff felt like they still would have won 10 games with Kenny out there playing quarterback.
“I talked to NFL scouts on him; feel like he’s got a really high upside in this game, and he’s somebody that I was really excited to get.”
Of course, it wasn’t that long ago Stein was being asked about former Kentucky QB Cutter Boley, who announced his intent to enter the transfer portal the day before it opened and landed at Arizona State. Many thought Boley would return to Lexington to play for Stein, but those plans didn’t work out.
“Wish him nothing but the best, number one. Great person. Obviously, recruited him prior at Oregon,” Stein said on Monday. “You know, there’s some things that are out of our control, and it felt like we put a really good plan together in place, and it just didn’t work out. And there’s nothing wrong with that.”
With Stein’s recent success with quarterbacks at Oregon, he’s earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to choosing who will be Kentucky’s signal-caller in 2026. It’s too early to say how Minchey will pan out in Lexington, but he certainly has potential, and Stein has shown he has the ability to unlock that in talented quarterbacks.
