Will Stein's comments on high school recruiting should please Kentucky fans

Will Stein is committed to bringing in high-level recruits at Kentucky.

Kentucky head football coach Will Stein speaks during a news conference before the start of fall camp in Lexington, Ky., on Aug. 3, 2026. Stein discussed the Wildcats' offseason preparation and the start of preseason practice. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Kentucky head coach Will Stein didn't have long to assemble his first roster as the new coach of the Wildcats. He had two weeks in January to work with the transfer portal all while still coaching the Oregon Ducks in their playoff run. Stein did the best he could with the portal along with a few high school signings in the short period he was able to do so.

As we head into the future, it's worth wondering what Will Stein's philosophy now that he actually will have time to recruit and build longstanding relationships with high school prospects, especially the in-state ones in a state that is growing with the number of talented football players. In the debut of his weekly radio show Wednesday night, Stein was asked very specifically about recruiting top defensive lineman and linebacker prospects while going up against top-tier SEC programs and his approach. Kentucky fans will love the answer he gave.

Kentucky head football coach Will Stein speaks during a news conference before the start of fall camp in Lexington, Ky., on Aug. 3, 2026. Stein discussed the Wildcats' offseason preparation and the start of preseason practice. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

I think recruiting is the lifeblood of our organization. It's something that we do every single day, even when we're still playing in the fall," Stein said. "Without great players, it's it's hard to win. We're going to go up against anybody. I'm not really worried about the logos. I'm worried about getting the right people in our organization and guys that love football. I think you have to get big people in our league and that's something we're working on doing."

Jul 20, 2026; Tampa, FL, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Will Stein speaks to the press during SEC Football Kickoff Media Day at the Tampa Marriott. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It didn't stop there, because Stein's message about high school recruiting in particular continued later in his radio show. He was then asked how to keep players around to help with depth in this day and age of the sport with NIL and lucrative deals everywhere.

"I think that's where high school recruiting is so vital to the success of a program long term because those are the guys that come in and you can build depth with, and that really came here for a lot of the right reasons," Stein said. "They love the school, love the university, love the city, love the coaches. They feel a true connection to this place. So that's one thing that I'm committed to is building the high school recruiting here for years to come because that's where you truly build the depth."

Stein may have not had the time to build deep relationships with the 2026 high school recruiting class, but he's already making moves with the future classes and is trying to build a reputation at Kentucky. These comments should have fans excited about the future in Kentucky football recruiting.

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