Will Stein is not just tweaking the offensive playbook; he is looking to totally reinvent the Kentucky football program from the ground up.
He is actively changing the daily practice habits from a comfortable, complacent "country club" environment into a full-fledged, cutthroat competition. The message inside the Joe Craft Center is simple: You earn your spot by showing you are better than the guy beside you. If someone is better than you, it does not matter how many stars they had next to their name in high school; they play.
That is refreshing and guarantees no one will sleepwalk through drills. If all the little things matter, the big things will be easy.
Part of establishing the edge in every player means completely overhauling the wide receiver room. Joe Price III is tasked with just that.
A proven bond forged in Texas
When looking for the right guy to set the tone on the perimeter, Stein turned to a familiar face.
“At UTSA, Will trusted me in his room, hanging out in his room when I was director of player personnel,” Price explained. “We both built a great bond, and when he transitioned into the offensive coordinator role there at UTSA, I became the receivers coach. We created a cool bond from a coaching standpoint.”
Will Stein said he doesn't want to micromanage anyone. And he hired guys to do the work he expects them to do, and he trusts Price to get things done. That takes a lot of your plate as a head coach. But it also means the assistants have to step up; it sounds like Joe is doing that.
“I’m super excited for Stein to have his first opportunity to lead a program, especially in the SEC,” Price said. “And it just made sense at this time of my career to move forward with a guy that trusts me, and I trust him.”
That trust allows both men to focus on what they were hired to do, and if they do it well, this has a chance to be special. When looking for players, Price zeroes in on two traits that he has to see.
What kind of receivers does Joe Price actually want?
If Kentucky is going to light up the scoreboard under Stein, they need an entirely new breed of pass-catchers. They need guys who have bought in and play with a desire to be great.
“A guy who plays with a ton of passion,” Price stated simply. “Receivers come in all shapes and sizes. As you look out there, you see some big guys, you see some not-so-big guys and there’s some guys in between... we try to build that room kind of like a basketball team. Ultimately, we want a ton of speed on the perimeter and want to be able to have the opportunity to take the top off the defense.”
But raw speed and size mean absolutely nothing in this new system if you aren't willing to do the dirty stuff. You may be able to blaze by the defense and throw your hand up, but if you can't set that edge with a block, you aren't playing. If you don't bust your butt on routes when you know you aren't getting the ball, then you will find yourself on the bench real fast.
“Two things we don’t want to coach are energy and effort,” Price emphasized. “So, when I’m out looking for guys, I’m looking for guys who play with a ton of energy, have great effort, a lot of passion, and then the skills, we’ll coach that as we go.”
If a player is not willing to fly around the field and block with absolute passion, they are going to find themselves glued to the bench in 2026. Stein and Price are building a program of "Paper Chasers," looking to get guys who "want to chase a degree as well."
All the right things are being said, we will see what it looks like on the field after Saturday's scrimmage.