Kentucky has reportedly found its first addition to the staff under Will Stein

After Brad White's departure to Florida on the defensive side, new Kentucky head coach Will Stein is making moves on the offensive side. According to Mike Craven of Texasfootball.com, Stein is set to bring in Justin Burke, who moved over to the Offensive Coordinator role at UTSA after Stein left for Oregon in 2023.

Now, the two are back together again. The two were also former quarterbacks at Louisville, so Stein seems to be looking to hire plenty of familiar faces for him. Burke has been at UTSA since 2020, which was when Stein also got there. Burke seems like a brilliant offensive mind, at UTSA's offensive stats back that up, as they were top 25 in scoring offense this season, but that isn't just all. Since he began his tenure at UTSA, the Roadrunners have seen their best five-year run in program history.

Both Stein and Burke seem to be really smart offensive minds, and that's the brand of football many of the successful teams play, especially in the SEC. But it isn't just his relationship with Stein that reeks of familiarity, it's also his past background as player. Believe it or not, Burke was a standout at Lexington Catholic High School, while Stein played at Trinity High School just down the road at Louisville. As for his coaching role at Kentucky, it's unclear what his duties will be as an offensive coordinator, but it seems like he'll most likely have a non-play calling role under Stein. It's always good to have multiple impressive offensive minds on the staff, and that's exactly what Stein is working at accomplishing.

Kentucky fans have certainly seen a boost of optimism in the last 24 hours since the hire of Stein, who is very, very highly-respected nationally as a playcaller and quarterback developer, as he turned three quarterbacks into Heisman candidates at Oregon. Yesterday, UK officially announced the hire of Stein. "Growing up in Kentucky and sitting in the stands at UK games as a kid, I could only dream of one day leading the Wildcats. This is truly a dream come true," Stein said in a press release. "My goal is to lead with purpose and help young men grow on and off the field."

Familiarity on the staff is never a bad thing, and when you're Will Stein and know a number of creative minds, it makes it even better. We'll see what else Stein has up his sleeve.