Will Stein masters the 105-man roster with latest smart sign-and-develop moves

In the old world of college football, you had 85 scholarships. Every single one was precious, often forcing coaches to make impossible choices between a "project" player with high upside and a transfer who could play right now.

In the new world, with the NCAA moving to a 105-player roster limit, the game has changed. The scholarship cap is effectively gone (replaced by the roster cap), which means those "developmental" guys who weren't seen as roster-worthy before can now be signed, scholarship'd, and developed in your system.

Will Stein clearly understands the assignment. His last two additions aren't just depth pieces; they are proof that Kentucky is embracing the sign and develop model.

The Oklahoma sleeper

First up is Tyler Wright, a safety from Bixby High School in Oklahoma.

If you look for his rankings on the major services, you might not find much. He isn't a 5-star recruit. In the old 85-man era, he might have been a preferred walk-on or overlooked entirely.

But under the new model? He is exactly the kind of athlete you bring in, redshirt, and let loose in the weight room for two years. He comes from a winning culture at Bixby, and now he gets to develop in Kentucky's system without the pressure of needing to start Day 1.

Flipping a Louisville player

The second name is one that will taste a little sweeter for Big Blue Nation: Isaiah Jackson.

Hailing from Rockcastle County, Jackson is a homegrown talent who was previously committed to the Louisville Cardinals.

Flipping a recruit from your arch-rival is always good business, but keeping a 3-star in-state talent home is even better. It’s about putting a fence around the Commonwealth and ensuring that if a Kentucky kid is going to develop into a star, he does it in Lexington, not Louisville.

The new Kentucky strategy: Culture over quick fixes

This is the new "Moneyball" of college football. The goal with guys like Wright and Jackson is simple: Get them on campus. Redshirt them. Teach them the playbook. Mold them in your weight room.

By the time they are redshirt sophomores, you have 21-year-old veterans who know your culture inside and out, rather than 21-year-old mercenaries from the portal who are just learning the names of their teammates.

The counter-argument

Now, I know what the cynics are thinking: "But what about the Transfer Portal? You are just developing them for someone else to steal!" And sure, that is a risk. It could happen.

But you cannot build a program out of fear. The health of a college football program depends on your ability to identify and develop talent. If you stop developing high schoolers because you are scared they might leave, you have already lost. That is where Mark Stoops found himself as he tried to retool in the portal the last 2 years. It doesn't work; it is used as a supplementary tool, not the main goal.

Will Stein is betting that once these guys get in the building, see the culture, and feel the love from BBN, they won't want to go anywhere else. And that is a bet worth making every single time.