Reasons for excitement — and concern — on Will Stein’s first UK football roster
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Stein prioritized power-conference starters on offensive line to secure trenches
- Staff retained core 2025 players and added 33 transfers to rebuild depth
- Injury histories at key skill spots and shaky cornerback room raise concerns
Will Stein’s first Kentucky football roster is essentially complete.
Perhaps UK’s new coach adds a late-committing high school recruit or two in the February signing period. Maybe he tries to further supplement depth at any positions of concern by adding a player currently in the transfer portal who still has not found a new school after spring practice. A handful of walk-ons could join the team to fill the few remaining spaces on the 105-man roster.
But it would be a major surprise if any player who will fill a featured role in 2026 is not already on the roster.
So, what should we make of Stein’s first roster build? Here are two reasons to be optimistic and two reasons to be concerned.
Why fans should be excited about 2026 Kentucky football roster
1. The new-look offensive line has proven veterans
A year ago, Mark Stoops and offensive line coach Eric Wolford rebuilt the Wildcat offensive line by relying heavily on veteran transfers from smaller programs. The strategy proved to be a mixed bag. Yes, the offensive line was significantly improved from the year before with the starting tackles coming from New Mexico State and Bowling Green. However, the center the staff signed from Western Kentucky barely played, and the strength of the group ended up being the three interior linemen with SEC experience.
Faced with the daunting task of replacing all five starting linemen, Stein placed a clear emphasis on power-conference experience. Left tackle Lance Heard (Tennessee), center Coleton Price (Baylor) and right guard Tegra Tshabola (Ohio State) have all spent multiple seasons as starters at that level.
“The teams that win in November, December, January, win in the trenches,” Stein said. “So making sure that we are solidifying the offensive line was a major piece to this puzzle.”
The starting jobs at left guard and right tackle remain up for grabs, but Alabama transfer Olaus Alinen brings multiple years of experience as an SEC rotation piece and special-teams contributor to the competition. Junior-college transfer Jordan Knox started multiple games as a freshman at Northwestern. Returning tackle Malachi Wood was forced into action as an injury replacement starter for UK in 2024.
2. The staff was able to retain several of the 2025 roster’s best players
To be sure, there were defections to the transfer portal this month whom the new staff could have used next season. Quarterback Cutter Boley, wide receivers Cam Miller and Hardley Gilmore, running back Dante Dowdell, edge rushers Steven Soles and Jerod Smith, safety Cam Dooley, nickel back Quay’sheed Scott and cornerback DJ Waller all could have at least competed for starting jobs had they remained in Lexington.
But Stein and his staff deserve credit for avoiding the type of mass exodus that was commonplace after an unprecedented coaching carousel.
Tight end Willie Rodriguez, wide receiver DJ Miller, defensive lineman Tavion Gadson and Mi’Quise Humphrey Grace, outside linebackers Sam Greene and Cedric Works, safety Ty Bryant and kicker Jacob Kauwe almost certainly would have received interest from powerhouse programs had they entered the portal. Instead, they form a strong nucleus for the new staff to build around with its 33 transfer additions.
“The first thing we did was to look at this current roster and who we really needed to dive in to make sure that stayed on this roster in the 2026 season,” Stein said. “I feel really good about the returners coming back.”
Why fans might be concerned about the 2026 Kentucky football roster
1. Several of the key transfers bring worrisome injury records
Both running backs Kentucky added and its top wide receiver transfer could end up being home-run additions if they stay healthy. The problem is running backs CJ Baxter and Jovantae Barnes and wide receiver Nic Anderson have rarely been healthy over the past two seasons.
Baxter, the No. 1-ranked running back in the high school class of 2023, missed the entire 2024 season with a knee injury. He missed four games with a hamstring injury last season and failed to rediscover the form of his impressive freshman season when he was available.
Barnes missed five games due to injury in 2023, four in 2024 and was sidelined by another undisclosed injury early in 2025 after opening the season as Oklahoma’s starter. It is unclear how long that injury sidelined him, because Barnes eventually decided to limit himself to four games played in order to preserve a redshirt and remain eligible to play college football in 2026.
Anderson looked like a future star as a redshirt freshman at Oklahoma in 2023 but missed all but one game in 2024 due to a quad injury. After transferring to LSU, he was limited to just 12 receptions. He did not catch a pass in the final four games after suffering a knee injury.
Past injuries are not necessarily an accurate predictor of future issues, but even if all three transfers are healthy in 2026 there will be questions about whether the injuries have had any long-term effects on their skills.
“I think it starts in our strength and conditioning program, “Stein said. “...I think that is really going to be a big difference for us going into this next season: our strength and conditioning and pairing that with great nutrition and in the training room just being really more aligned in that aspect of our program. And it will be huge in working along with sports science to make sure these guys are at their very best.”
2. The cornerback room needs major steps forward from multiple players
Kentucky’s previous coaching staff raved about the potential of cornerback Terhyon Nichols, but he missed eight games across the past two seasons due to injury, including the final five games of 2025. Now, Nichols looks like the roster’s top player at a position with lots of questions.
There are three returning cornerbacks (Nichols, Nasir Addison and Grant Grayton) who started games last season, but the group struggled as injuries forced players onto the field who were not ready for SEC competition. Getting back Addison, who briefly entered the transfer portal, at least solidifies the depth. He did impress while starting wins over Auburn and Florida before electing to limit himself to four games and a redshirt season, so perhaps he is ready to seize a featured role.
The biggest addition at the position was former Western Carolina cornerback Hasaan Sykes. He totaled three interceptions last season but will face a difficult jump in competition after moving from FCS football to the SEC. The most likely scenario is the two starters come from the group of Nichols, Addison, Sykes and Grayton, but junior-college transfer Braxton Urquhart could factor in the competition as well.
This feels like a position where a young player could carve out an unexpected role. Former Michigan signee Andre Clarke leads that group after the consensus four-star recruit flipped his commitment to the new UK staff. Redshirt freshman Andrew Purcell barely played in his first season at UK but is a former four-star recruit.