When the Transfer Portal opens and the phone lines start melting, some programs panic.
Kentucky shouldn’t. Not this time.
If Will Stein is going to prove his system works in the SEC, and fast, he needs the right personnel to walk through the door immediately. Fortunately, three names stand out above the rest, and every sign points to Lexington.
Will all three commit? Nothing is guaranteed.
Should Kentucky fans expect it? Yes. Here’s why.
3 players who fit Will Stein's blueprint for Kentucky football
Sources: Oregon quarterback Austin Novosad intends to enter the NCAA transfer portal. Novosad is a redshirt sophomore and will have two years remaining at his next stop. He’s played in seven games at Oregon, where he entered as an ESPN300 recruit. pic.twitter.com/x6BQ5l24XY
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 27, 2025
1. Austin Novosad — QB, Oregon, FanSided portal ranking NR
Why it should happen
Familiarity. Fit. Ceiling. Those three words are 80% of modern quarterback recruiting.
Novosad didn’t transfer from Oregon to find an identical situation somewhere else. He left because the depth chart changed and his timeline changed. That doesn’t mean his talent changed. He’s still the guy 247Sports projected as:
“A high-major prospect and potential multi-year starter with real NFL upside.”
Stein knows him. Novosad knows Stein’s terminology and sequencing. He won’t lose developmental time learning a playbook, he’ll be applying one.
What could get in the way is a pretty big stumbling block wearing number 8:
Boley didn’t transfer. He didn’t waver. He didn’t blink. This won’t be a “come here and it’s yours” pitch. It will be a dogfight. But if you believe you’re a Sunday quarterback, you don’t run from competition, you look for a system that can make you one.
Kentucky is that system now.
Projection: Kentucky leads.
NEW: Missouri WR Marquis Johnson plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal, @MizzouToday reports.
— Transfer Portal (@TransferPortal) December 17, 2025
Johnson has totaled 1,075 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns in his career with the Tigers. https://t.co/5bhK4CAFWi pic.twitter.com/eNdXFEW0QX
2. Marquis Johnson — WR, Missouri, FanSided portal ranking 22nd
Why it fits
The Tigers didn’t know what to do with him. Kentucky does. Johnson flashed what he could be in the season opener for Missouri, 5 catches, 134 yards, and a score, then disappeared into an offense that never figured itself out.
This is where Stein’s scheme matters. He needs separators and motion threats. He needs players who can turn leverage into space and space into explosives.
Johnson is that profile.
Also, don’t discount emotion. Players remember who believed in them and who didn’t. Transfer decisions are rarely spreadsheets, they’re gut checks.
If that name sounds familiar, it should. Remember the fake punt against Kentucky when the Cats were rolling up 14-0 in a game that turned into a crushing loss at home? Johnson caught it.
This could be the most poetic flip of the portal window.
Projection: Trending to Kentucky.
Thank you tiger nation❤️ pic.twitter.com/3olUQw4hSj
— Coen Echols (@CoenEchols) December 23, 2025
3. Coen Echols — OG, LSU, FanSided portal ranking 6th
Why this is the sneaky most important one
You don’t fix an offense without fixing the interior. You can tell by Stein's focus on the offensive line on the recruiting trail he knows this.
If Stein wants to run tempo and put stress on defenses, he needs guards who can recover, redirect, and win reach blocks. Echols isn’t polished yet, but the flashes are real, and LSU trusted him enough to make him a starter during the back half of the season.
Sloan knows him. The SEC doesn’t scare him. And Kentucky offers something LSU couldn’t right now, a clear schematic identity.
Projection: Best fit — Kentucky.
So… will all three actually commit? It’s recruiting. It’s NIL. It’s the Transfer Portal. Certainty is a myth. But these three aren’t pipe dreams. They’re plausible. Justifiable. Trackable. And most importantly:
They’re exactly the kind of players you target if you’re trying to skip the rebuild and go straight to relevance.
What Kentucky needs to do
- Win fast in the portal
- Win a few recruiting battles they’re not “supposed” to
- Show schematic clarity in the spring
If that happens?
Kentucky’s offense stops being a question. It starts being an identity. And if these three names hit the portal tracker as commits this week? Don’t say you weren’t warned.