The Will Stein era hasn't even played a game yet, but the roster churn is officially underway.
Austin Ramsey, a 6-foot-4, 303-pound defensive lineman, has announced he will enter the transfer portal. This marks the fourth official exit since Stein took the reins, joining edges Landyn Watson and Steven Soles Jr., and quarterback Stone Saunders.
Kentucky DL Austin Ramsey plans to enter the transfer portal, his rep @LMcCoy1788 of Legacy NIL tells @PeteNakos.
— Transfer Portal (@TransferPortal) December 30, 2025
The 6-foot-4, 303-pound DL had 5 tackles and a sack in 2025.https://t.co/kSYG7dYADj pic.twitter.com/57a9CTni8j
The Mark Stoops experiment did not produce the intended results
Ramsey was a mountain of a man who arrived in Lexington as a 3-star recruit out of Pennsylvania. What made him intriguing was his profile: ESPN ranked him as the No. 46 offensive tackle in the country. He had the frame and the feet to play on the edge of the offensive line.
However, Mark Stoops and his staff decided to convert him to the defensive line in a move that requires a completely different mindset and technical skillset. While Ramsey had the physicality to play either side, the transition never fully translated to Saturday production. Going from protecting to attacking is not always as easy as it sounds:
- 2024 Season: He played in five games as a redshirt freshman, seeing action against Auburn, Tennessee, Murray State, Texas, and Louisville.
- The Stats: In 2025 he got in and had 5 tackles with 1 sack. That is not a huge number, but it did show that movement was being made in the right direction. The sack was also in the Auburn game, a game that Kentucky won 10-3.
It seemed as if he was gaining more momentum as the season went on as he worked his way up the depth chart into starting territory, but that upward trajectory will now continue at a new school.
Why This Matters
Converting an offensive lineman to defense is a long-term project. It takes years to un-learn pass protection sets and learn how to shed blocks. Will Stein is coming in to win now, and he likely looked at the defensive line room and decided he needed proven production rather than projects. Or it may have been Ramsey thinking he just didn't fit what this new staff is doing.
Bateman is going to be way more attack minded than Stoops and Brad White were, when they often sat back in zones.
The bottom line is that Ramsey is a massive human being who will likely find a home at a Group of 5 school or an FCS program where he can develop at his own pace. But for Kentucky, they will be looking for more ready to perform guys now, and projects they can develop themselves. Expect this list to grow as the January 2nd portal window approaches.