Stein time in the Bluegrass: UK Football Spring Game 2026

LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC 36 News Now) – The first spring game under head coach Will Stein drew quite the crowd. There was a lot of excitement as the Wildcats put on nearly three quarters of play for Big Blue Nation before the spring rain rolled in Saturday afternoon.

“The goal of spring, is to improve fundamentals and technique, learn how to practice, learn what winning edges that we need throughout spring to go into summer and fall and prepare the team for play.”

Kentucky’s offense wore blue, while the defense wore white. There was good action on both sides of the ball as we finally got a peek at quarterback Kenny Minchey in this explosive Stein offense. Defense started the day scoring thanks to a forced three-and-out, but offense won the day, 23-18.

The connection between Minchey and tight end Willie Rodriguez seemed strong. Post-scrimmage Micnchey said there are a lot of explosive guys throughout the offense, but he and Willie have been “stacking days” so there’s a lot of good connection.

“Through the last half of spring ball, we’ve been on fire.”

Defensive Coordinator Jay Bateman led with plenty of energy and loved the fact that his guys had the opportunity to score points in Saturday’s scrimmage.