One of the busiest folks in college football has to be Will Stein. Not only is he trying to juggle two jobs at once, the new head coach at Kentucky, while still being the offensive coordinator for an Oregon team that faces Indiana in the College Football Playoff semi-finals. As if that wasn’t enough, he’s trying to sign players through the transfer portal for his first Wildcat squad. The biggest need for UK was a quarterback, as former signal caller Cutter Boley transferred to Arizona State. It took some time, but the Wildcats have their man. Let’s introduce you to him and show how he fits in as Kentucky lands Kenny Minchey.
Cats Flip Former Notre Dame Quarterback
Former Big Time Prospect
Hailing from Pope John Paul II High School in Hendersonville, Tennessee, Minchey was the 170th-best player in the nation coming out of high school in the 2023 class. In addition, he ranked as the third-best player in the Volunteer State and 14th-best quarterback in the nation.
As a junior, he threw for 3,280 yards and 32 touchdowns. Originally, he committed to Pittsburgh during his junior year. However, Notre Dame later offered, and Minchey jumped at the chance to play for the Fighting Irish. He made both the All-American Bowl and Elite 11 Finals roster.
A Limited Sample Size
During his three years in South Bend, Minchey played sparingly. In his freshman year, he completed both his pass attempts for 12 yards. The next season, he was ready to compete for the starting job, but coach Marcus Freeman brought in Riley Leonard of Duke, who won out. As a result, he only threw one pass in 2024, which he completed for four yards.
Fast forward to this past year, and again Minchey was in the race for the starting quarterback job. Ultimately, he lost out to CJ Carr. Minchey played in six games in 2025, completing 20 of 26 passes for 196 yards. In addition, he ran for another 84 and a touchdown.
Following the end of the year, Minchey entered the transfer portal. 247 Sports ranks him as the 12th-best signal caller and 59th-best player. He committed to Nebraska on Sunday, then a day later, Stein got him to pledge to the Cats. He’ll be a junior with two years of eligibility remaining.
Some compare him to a player Stein is very familiar with, Dante Moore. If Minchey finds similar success in Lexington, the Big Blue Nation will be very happy.
Kenny Minchey is going to be a steal in supplementals this year.
Wherever he goes he steps in with real production upside.Former blue-chip, live arm, functional mobility. Wrong early spot, new situation unlocks it kind of like Dante Moore career arc.
— MattyIce❄️ (@DynastyMattyIce) December 29, 2025
Now that we’ve given you his story, let’s show how he fits in as Kentucky lands Kenny Minchey.
Quarterback Of The Future
To say the Wildcats’ QB room is in a state of flux is an understatement. As we mentioned earlier, Cutter Boley is now at Arizona State. Zach Calzada and Beau Allen have used up their eligibility. Highly touted backup Stone Saunders also entered the portal. That leaves Brennen Ward as the only holdover.
UK has one of the top players in Ohio, Matt Ponatoski, coming in as a freshman. The starting job is Minchey’s from day one.
Speaking of the Sun Devils, Kentucky went all in on Sam Leavitt, who visited over the weekend. Many insiders predicted he was going to be a Wildcat. However him ending up at LSU looks more likely. Elon quarterback Landen Clark is also planning a visit. At the end of the day, Stein was able to pivot and get a highly touted, if unproven player.
Thanks for checking out this major transfer portal update as Kentucky lands Kenny Minchey. We’ll be back with a more detailed look at who Stein has brought in so far very soon.
Main Image: Michael Caterina-Imagn Images
