Will Stein beats out national champion Indiana as Kentucky nets 4-star lineman

Will Stein has actively been at work on a fast-tracked effort to revive Kentucky's football program from a previously stagnant state. Much of Mark Stoops' struggles in his final few years in Lexington have already been effectively washed away in favor of a fresher, much more competitive blue and white image.

Of course, a rebuild starts from the bottom; Stein's first-year team set to kick off this fall, while certainly promising, hasn't picked up all that much national recognition. It'll more likely than not be his ability to lead a team on the sidelines that makes or breaks the 2026-27 group.

But the season after? That's shaping up to be an entirely different story. Kentucky's 2027-28 class is currently ranked No. 16 by 247Sports. That comes in above Georgia, Louisville, and Texas. Who's the real powerhouse here?

Semi-jokes aside, Stein has completely shifted the expectations for this program in a ridiculously short amount of time... and he's not close to being finished this offseason.

Per Hayes Fawcett on X, four-star offensive lineman Dominic Black has committed to Kentucky. In the words of the great DJ Khaled: "Another one."

Dominic Black Changes the Offensive Line

Black, who simply said "Stein Time" upon his pledge - a sentiment cool and cold in equal parts - chose Kentucky over a litany of competitive college football programs.

In addition to inter-SEC rival Tennessee and the newly-James Franklin headed Virginia Tech program, Stein beat out the reigning national champion Indiana Hoosiers for Black. Stein must be handing out the football equivalent of Michael Jordan's secret stuff on recruiting visits.

At 6-foot-5 and just under 300 pounds, Black is described by scouting analyst Gabe Brooks as a player who "Projects as a potential high-major O-line cog who could become a pro prospect."

"Plays with a convicted field demeanor," and "Still developing strength but consistently finishes blocks," were also major notes that outline just what Kentucky is getting here. Put simply, he's Stein's highest rated lineman in the 2027 class, and now leads a group that may usher in the full on revival of Kentucky's Big Blue Wall.

Reviving the Big Blue Wall

That's a group that, with five total commitments in the class after this one, has clearly been prioritized in Stein's long-term plan in Lexington. What's a good quarterback without time to make a decision in the pocket? We've all seen enough of those stories play out on the professional level to know the answer: Ineffective.

This one is worth celebrating, BBN, but don't rest too long; if history continues to repeat itself, we aren't far off from the next Stein "boom" inevitably rising on the horizon.

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