Will Stein talks about what Kentucky will face with Alabama on Saturday

The Kentucky Wildcats are getting closer to taking on #12 Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday in Kroger Field, the first huge test of the Will Stein era in Lexington. This is not your normal Nick Saban type of Alabama juggernaut, but they are still one of the best teams in the country and could really give Kentucky trouble on Saturday.

Alabama is coming into Lexington after winning their first game 48-10 against ECU, where we saw the running game find most of the success on offense and the pass defense having good luck on the other side of the ball. What will Kentucky in particular have to deal with when they face Alabama? Will Stein was on his radio show Wednesday night and provided some insight into their opponent ahead of the big matchup.

Sep 5, 2026; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer talks with officials during the first quarter against the East Carolina Pirates at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Leong-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"Coach DeBoer has done an outstanding job with their roster, and he seems to win every single spot he's ever been at," Stein said. "He's, I think, 125-20 overall head coaching record, which, to me, it's like Hall of Fame numbers. Starting on the offensive side of the ball, I think they're really strong. They got a young quarterback, but a guy that's mobile, can move around. They got really good receivers. They got a big offensive line and and really good scheme. ...Just looking back again at Kalen DeBoer, Ryan Grubb, what they've done offensively at all their stops, they're extremely explosive. They're multiple. They're a lot like us, to be honest. ...Defensively, they're stout up front. They have experience in the back end and multiple up front. So it'll be a great test for us."

What about what the Tide have personell wise? Stein dove into that as well on Wednesday, starting with five-star QB Keelon Russell, who will be running the show on offense.

"He's an excellent talent," Stein said of Russell. "I recruited him at Oregon for a little bit, but his recruitment really blew up kind of midway through. I guess it'd be the 24 season, towards the end is when he became really a national type kid, and so I got to know him a little bit. He's really smart. He won a lot of games in high school at Duncanville and in Dallas, Texas, and goes to Alabama. He's playing in a really good system with Ryan Grubb as OC and Kalen DeBoer as a head coach, offensive guys. He can make all the throws he's extremely fast but looks like he wants to be a pocket passer or pro style passer, but when he does escape he causes a lot of troubles on the outside."

Kentucky will have to try and contain the dual-threat QB, but on the defensive side of the ball, their secondary really stands out to the UK head coach.

"Both the safeties are really good players," Stein said of the Alabama defense. "(Bray Hubbard), the boundary safety has played a lot of games for them. You can tell he's more or less the captain of that defense. They got a long-rangey corner that's a projected first-round pick. They have guys up front that definitely look the part and play hard. So, I think Kane Wommack does a really good job on defense and takes away what you do best at times. So it's our job to find our advantages that we can on offense and try our best to exploit those."

Kentucky will have their hands full as they try and pull of the upset, but they'll have to find those areas where they have an advantage. The crowd will certainly be in their favor.

Add us as a preferred source on Google