Kentucky has a new head football coach and lot of new faces around the Joe Craft Football Training Facility but one constant need did not change when Will Stein took this job. The Cats entered another transfer portal period needing multiple starters on the offensive line. The Wildcats had to address this position in a big way. That is exactly what happened during the only portal window of the offseason.
Coleton Price (Baylor), Tegra Tshabola (Ohio State), Olaus Alinen (Alabama), Max Anderson (Tennessee), Lance Heard (LSU | Tennessee), and Mark Robinson (UTEP) all joined UK’s program from the transfer portal this offseason. Price, Tshahola, Heard, and Robinson all bring starting experience to the program. Addressing this roster need with some high-end additions was a big need for Stein that needed to be addressed.
“That was a major, major thing,” Stein said when asked about the offensive line. “The teams that win in November, December, and January win the trenches. So making sure that we’re solidifying that offensive line was a major piece to this puzzle.”
“You add guys with a lot of experience upfront that aren’t just newcomers to this league or power four football and so far so good.”
Now Kentucky will have four players with starting experience join a position room where Malachi Wood (five starts in 2024) and junior college transfer Jordan Knox (one start at Northwestern as a true freshman) also bring some starting experience to the table. The Cats now have some options in the offensive line room. But players were not the only investment the program made on the offensive line this offseason. UK is spending big resources in the trenches.
Oregon assistant offensive line/run game coordinator Cutter Leftwich will be Will Stein’s offensive coordinator. Coastal Carolina offensive line/run game coordinator Derek Warehime is Kentucky’s run game coordinator. Oregon analyst Dallas Warmack is joining Kentucky’s staff as an assistant offensive coach. UK will essentially have three coaches for the offensive line in 2026 with some graduate assistants and student assistants also helping out. Stein is investing in the line of scrimmage to give the Big Blue Wall the resources it needs to be successful.
“There’s 20 guys in the room. If you have one o-line coach, that’s not enough to see all five working at the same time. So we have two right now with Cutter and Derek. We’re adding a third (Warmack) and then Paul (Rodriguez) is our GA,” Stein explained. “Then you’d like to have another student assistant type body in there so you have five coaches for five guys at the same time. That’s the goal.”
Kentucky will now shift to developing the current 22 offensive line players on the roster and to recruit some high school prospects that can help this position in the future. Offensive line play has mostly been a very big issue for this program over the last four season. Will Stein is spending program resources to make sure the Big Blue Wall becomes a strength for the program in the future.