Will Stein sounds like a man selling a message like his life depends on it. The man has been on the job just 3 months, but he is already instilling the culture he wants on a team that has been playing a completely different style for the last decade.
Mark Stoops was a players' coach, the guy who would go out to the bars and have a good time. He liked to enjoy himself, and he allowed his players freedom to do the same.
He expected toughness and adherence to the rigid roles he laid out on the field, though. He wanted games in the teens, scoring-wise. And that's totally a valid way to play. I don't think it is conducive to wins in today's climate, but he does. And ultimately, he is the head coach.
Will Stein is on the opposite side of that divide, though. His offense at Oregon had the 6th most first downs last year, with the 17th most total yards. He has told us he wants to "score points" by throwing the ball. He wants to use trick plays and dial up fun formations. He is ready to have Lexington be a place where teams fear to come.
Will Stein is aggressive on the field and the recruiting trail
His style is as aggressive as you can get. He isn't waiting for the other team to make a mistake; he wants to force it. He also wants to go get the top talent in the country. He is in the top 10 for the top 2 quarterbacks in the country next season. He is not afraid to go toe to toe with anyone on the recruiting trail or on the field.
And this all starts by building a culture of sacrifice.
Recently, Kentucky's head coach spoke on Tom Leach's podcast about that very thing.
"To me, the most connected team plays the hardest for the longest. In this league, it’s really won in the fourth quarter. This is a fourth-quarter league. It’s as close to the NFL as we’re going to get. And it’s going to come down to those one or two plays every single Saturday for us to come out on top. When you know the guy next to you, when you actually have sweat equity with the guy next to you, and bloodshed with the guy next to you, it just matters more."Will Stein
That should have you ready to run outside and put some pads on. Stein knows that in the final moments of a close game, the team that is the most together mentally and physically often wins. He is trying to instill that culture of aggressive play mixed with a strong sense of sacrifice for your brothers.
"So that’s what we’re really trying to build right now, besides the football piece, is the connection piece within our group, and then bleeding into accountability and toughness and just what it means to sacrifice for the K."Will Stein
As a player, when you line up across from an opponent, you have to look across the line and know you worked harder than he did. You will do all you can to outplay him, not for you, but for your teammate and for the "K". When you want to quit, you don't. You aren't chasing individual glory, but team success.
That is how special teams are made in football. These guys have to build up faith in each other, and they have to sacrifice individual glory, so their teammate can get it. There can not be jealousy in that. That sounds easy, but getting a room full of 20-year-olds with NFL hopes to buy in is not easy.
Stein is starting early, but knows he has a long way to go. "I’m excited, really excited about where we’re at, but we’re nowhere near where we need to be."