When Will Stein accepted the head coaching job at Kentucky in early December, the first thing he wanted to do was shore up the lines on both sides of the ball. That meant rebuilding the Big Blue Wall that had been cracking over the last several years.
It started with a blitz of offers for future recruits, but attention had to quickly shift to the present.
With National Signing Day looming just hours after his introductory press conference, Stein looked at the recruiting board and the returning roster. What he saw was an offensive line room that was losing the bulk of its players: 2 to the portal, 4 to graduation, and returning only one player who had seen significant time, Malachi Wood.
Not really a place you want to be.
Stein immediately hit the transfer portal, and the results of that aggressive scramble are currently dominating spring practice.
Building a wall with grown men
During his Saturday press conference, Stein was asked about the development of the offense. He did not hesitate to point directly to the big guys up front.
"I think if there's a current strength to our offense, it's our offensive line," Stein declared.
He explained the brutal reality of modern college football recruiting. You simply cannot survive the grueling schedule by waiting for high school prospects to physically develop. "You got to build it with grown men," Stein explained.
He praised the rapid development and toughness of his current unit. Max Anderson was singled out as being "tough as (expletive)" with great position flexibility. Jordan Knox is flashing the ability to play all three interior spots. Jaden Clark is getting healthy and competing at a high level, while Malachi is using his massive length to impress the coaching staff during walkthroughs.
But the guys he brought in from the portal are legit.
Embracing the chaos of the transfer portal
The reason Stein was able to completely flip the offensive line room in a matter of months is because he refuses to complain about the transfer portal.
While many old-school coaches constantly gripe about roster turnover, I get it. It is a pain to have to worry about recruiting your own guys every year.
But Stein views the modern era of free agency as a massive competitive advantage for the Wildcats. He understands that every single year could be a different team. Last year's results are not going to be predictive for this year's team. But he also knows it is not an approach that can, or should, last.
"Do you want it to be like that forever? No. But that's the world we live in," Stein admitted. "I see it as an advantage for us, man. We got a great product to sell, got a great fan base, got a great administration... I think it's an opportunity for us to bring in the best of the best."
Sounds as if those cutthroat practices are really working.