Kentucky football gets unexpected QB commitment in transfer portal

BBN received some unexpected news on Monday night, getting a commitment from a quarterback, but it's not who fans think. Notre Dame transfer quarterback Kenny Minchey committed to Kentucky, according to 247 Sports, as Will Stein was able to flip the him just one day after previously committing to Nebraska. Minchey has reportedly signed with Kentucky. He is ranked as the #59 overall player in the portal and #12 QB.

Soon before his commitment, literally minutes before the announcement, predictions began rolling in for the former Notre Dame quarterback and Nebraska commit to flip to Kentucky, as On3 insiders began putting in picks. Now, the news is official. Before being the #12 QB in the portal, Minchey was a top 200 recruit in the 2023 class as he signed with Notre Dame out of high school. Following redshirting in his freshman season, the former four-star recruit and played just one game that season, as the Fighting Irish then went on to become runners up in the 2024 National Championship game. In his sophomore season, Minchey then lost a battle with one of the top quarterbacks in college football, CJ Carr. Now, he has found a new home in Lexington.

Notre Dame quarterback Kenny Minchey during the Notre Dame Blue-Gold spring football game at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, April 12, 2025, in South Bend. | MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Things moved very quickly and unexpectedly with Kentucky and Minchey. What does this mean with Kentucky and Sam Leavitt? The Wildcats seemed confident once Texas Tech went a different direction at quarterback, but with LSU now in the mix, Kentucky is going a different route with the #12 QB in the transfer portal. It looks like what happened with Tech is now happening with Kentucky and their pursuit of a quarterback. It makes sense, because Will Stein and company has a lot to compete against with LSU and their massive NIL budget. On3's Steve Wiltfong reported this on Monday in regards to LSU's push for Leavitt: "They've made very clear they're willing to spend what is necessary to get a QB of Sam Leavitt's caliber."

Now, Kentucky has got its backup plan, and a good one as one would expect that now, a move of Leavitt to LSU should be expected, especially with how much they're willing to give. Is Kentucky's move of getting Minchey essentially a sign that they're cooling off on pursuing Leavitt? It sounds like it, but we'll find out officially soon. Kentucky wasted no time switching things up by pursuing Minchey.