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Will Stein became the talk of Tampa at SEC Media Days. His confidence was startling, yet not totally unfounded.
Kentucky fans are dreaming of big upsets. Are those just pipe dreams? On3’s Andy Staples knows the roster Will Stein built can handle the rigors of SEC play.
“You’re not crazy for thinking Kentucky can be competitive because they built this team to be competitive,” Staples told KSR.
A year ago, Staples was confident that Mark Stoops was not on the hottest seat because of his cost-prohibitive buyout. Even though he was willing to negotiate a settlement to spread out the payments, it was still a big chunk of change.
“They could’ve said, ‘We spent all this firing Mark Stoops, sorry Will. We don’t really have a lot to put in the roster.’ Instead, they said, ‘Will, what do you need?’ And he said, ‘Build from the inside out, and those offensive linemen are expensive.’ They gave him what they needed,” said Staples.
“He goes and gets Lance Heard. He goes and gets Baylor’s three-year starting center, guys who could go plug in and play right away. They will be old up front. I think the Big Blue Wall, you don’t want to say it’s back, but it feels like this is going to be one of the better offensive lines they’ve had in a long time.”
Kentucky has top-notch players in the trenches to set the tone for the new-look offense, giving Big Blue Nation enough reasons to dream big in 2026.
KSR’s coverage at SEC Media Days is fueled by Friends of Coal. Friends of Coal is a volunteer organization. All are invited to be a part of our organization, which consists of proud Kentuckians as well as residents from beyond our borders. Head to friendsofcoalkentucky.org to learn more.
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