Kenny Minchey was Nebraska-bound, but a phone call from Will Stein changed everything. “At the end of the day, it was just making the best decision for me,” Minchey said after Kentucky’s spring practice.
Early reports from Lexington suggest the Wildcats may have landed a real difference maker. Minchey’s elite accuracy immediately jumps out, but that’s only half the story. The trait that has coaches and teammates buzzing right now is his poise.
Minchey confirmed things did get weird after his flip after a Kentucky Spring practice session, "Obviously, it got a little weird… committing to another school." But the allure of Will Stein’s offense and the development track of Joe Sloan was too much to pass up. He wants to join the QB70 club.
The 'accuracy' standard
If you have an accurate QB who can process defenses, you have the recipe for a special year in college football. Too often under Mark Stoops, Kentucky left a lot to be desired under center. There were some good years with Will Levis and Devin Leary, but it was just wildly inconsistent.
Through two days of drills, Minchey is the opposite of inconsistent. The QB is delivering on the 77% completion rate he flashed at Notre Dame in limited action.
“I think he’s had a really good two days. We saw his accuracy on tape, and he’s extremely accurate," Offensive Coordinator Joe Sloan told the media. "He’s been able to really handle everything from an intellectual standpoint... Everything that we thought showed up."
That's pretty good praise. If what you saw on tape is what you see in person that's half the battle. Unless the staff just whiffed on their eval, Minchey may be in for a special year. But it's more than just numbers that make up a QB.
Building the foundation
For a QB to really be successful, they have to know how to lead and then go out and do it. That sounds like it is already happening for Kenny Minchey and Kentucky football.
While Stein is busy "tearing down walls" and rebuilding the roster, Minchey and company are busy building a foundation designed to last long after this year. The junior quarterback emphasized that the "standard of excellence" is something Stein enforces every single day. And coming from programs like Notre Dame and Ohio State, Minchey noted they are guys who can speak to what it looks like in successful locker rooms.
"I feel like having that experience of what perfection or excellence looks like makes it easier to also come into a new environment and try to, you know, instill that in the guys.”
For a program that has struggled with passing efficiency and leadership in recent years, Minchey’s pinpoint delivery is a breath of fresh air.
"I’d like to say I’m pretty accurate... I feel like I’m, for the most part, pretty smart with the football," Minchey noted.
You have to have a little gunslinger in there just to keep things interesting, no?
Will Stein and Joe Sloan look to continue the magic with Minchey
The pairing of Stein and Sloan, who helped turn quarterbacks into Heisman finalists at Oregon and LSU, is exactly why Minchey is in Lexington.
A former teammate, Jadarian Price, said he was definitely "that dude."
If the first few Spring practice hours are any indication, Kentucky has its most important piece in place, the foundation.