Will Stein's first Kentucky spring game: Full schedule, injury report, inclement weather watch

The Big Blue Nation’s long wait to see Will Stein‘s first football team at Kentucky is about to come to an end. On Saturday morning at Kroger Field, UK’s 2026 squad will take the turf for the first time in front of fans. A new era of UK football is off and running.

We now have an official schedule. The party will get started shortly after the Kroger Field parking lots open at 9:00 a.m. ET/8:00 a.m. CT. Who doesn’t love some breakfast football?

Your guide through tomorrow’s Caturday.

*weather permitting pic.twitter.com/1SwHv1uLjZ

— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) April 17, 2026

Be out there early #BBN ! We will start getting loose and doing some 7v7 / competition prior to kickoff around 10:15am. Gates open at 10am. Hoping the weather holds off. Best fans in America! https://t.co/VFKnbOLCii

— Will Stein (@CoachWillStein) April 17, 2026

The gates at Kroger Field officially open at 10 a.m. ET with warmups beginning shortly after. From there, Kentucky will do some 7-on-7 competition where fans can see quarterback Kenny Minchey and the wide receivers go up against the back the secondary and linebackers. The official game will then begin at 11 a.m. ET and will last around two hours. The format will include 15 minutes in the first half and 12 minutes in the second half. There will be a running clock outside of score, timeout, or change of possession. UK will then go to normal rules after the two-minute timeout in each half with normal stoppages. Stein told the media on Thursday that the first part will be full tackle but that they will eventually move to a thud mode that won’t include tackling to the crowd. That move will come at his discretion.

This spring football party gets started early before the focus turns to Kentucky Proud Park for a big game between Kentucky and Vanderbilt where Stein will throw out the first pitch. However, everyone is radar watching. With inclement weather in the forecast, there is a chance that the event will be canceled. UK will keep everyone posted on Saturday. KSR will be here to cover it all.

Kentucky rules out 15 players for spring game

Part of the reason Kentucky is not having a normal scrimmage is due to player availability. The Wildcats will be without 15 players on Saturday.

• Nic Anderson
• Jovantae Barnes
• CJ Baxter
• Xavier Daisy
• Alex DiMartino
• Ben Duncum
• Hardley Gilmore IV
• Sam Greene
• Lance Heard
• Cameron Miller Jr.
• Kyle Mixon
• Tovani Mizell
• Davis McCray
• Aba Selm
• Jaden Smith

Kentucky will be down three running backs (Barnes, Baxter, Mizell), four wide receivers (Daisy, Gilmore, McCray), five offensive linemen (DiMartino, Heard, Miller, Mixon, Selm), and three defensive players (Duncum, Green, Smith). That is 15 players the Cats will be without for those scoring at home. Nic Anderson, CJ Baxter, Sam Greene, and Lance Heard could all be considered projected starters. Jovantae Barnes, Xavier Daisy, Hardley Gilmore IV, Aba Selm, and Jaden Smith were all in position to secure at least a rotational role this year entering spring camp.

Will Stein also said that there will be some additional players on the field that will be in black non-contact jerseys. Those players will not be live during full tackling but will participate during the thud period. Kentucky is short-handed this spring but Stein expects everyone back for fall camp.

“Everybody’s gonna be back. One hundred percent. One hundred percent. I can say that with 100 percent certainty,” Stein told KSR.