Why Matt Ponatoski could be sign of things to come for Kentucky football under Will Stein

Kentucky football did not have to wait long for the gem of its 2026 football class to make things official in the early signing period. After previously announcing that he wasn’t going to sign until February, Cincinnati (Ohio) Moeller quarterback Matt Ponatoski had a change of heart when the Wildcats hired Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein to be the next leader of this program.

This is a development that can be a sign of things to come.

Welcome to the #BBN, Matt Ponatoski.@mattponatoski x #NSD26 😼 pic.twitter.com/tDPZvssGn5

— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) December 3, 2025

Kentucky did a ton of good throughout the Mark Stoops era. The Wildcats established an identity, built from the inside out with a physical mindset, and raised the floor while also proving that building a top-15 team was possible in Lexington. We saw a football organization that raised its recruiting operation to more than competitive levels in the SEC and that won some league games thanks in large part to strong alignment from the top down. UK’s eight-year bowl streak with a pair of double-digit win seasons mixed in proved that some sustained success with legitimate highs can be created at Kroger Field. Stoops was really the first one to prove that. Somehow, someway he did that all with very poor quarterback recruiting and development.

The Wildcats had constant offensive coordinator churn in the 13 years under Stoops. The program could not stop missing on top high school targets, and got caught up in a transfer cycle that was really hard to break. Kentucky finally appeared to break that in the 2024 cycle. Lexington (Ky.) Christian Academy quarterback Cutter Boley picked UK and became a full-time starter in year two. There were some rocky moments, but Boley was excellent in games at Kroger Field and appears to have a bright future. Will Stein will quickly need to have discussions and get on the same page with the returning starting quarterback about where Kentucky is and will be moving forward. There is also potential a transfer portal decision that this program is going to have to make in the upcoming weeks at the position. That will determine what happens at quarterback in 2025, but building for the future is even more important.

Kentucky has simply sucked at building for the future at quarterback for a very long time.

There were multiple instances when Kentucky had a good starting quarterback situation but failed to take advantage of that in roster-building. That ultimately led to many poor depth situations which turned into scramble mode in the portal when it became time to find a new starter. This program must break this cycle. What we saw this week is evidence that Will Stein can be the man to break that cycle.

Matt Ponatoski was a huge recruiting win for Kentucky. The Mr. Football in Ohio was a record-setting quarterback at a high school powerhouse who surprised many by becoming a legitimate blue-chip prospect after being a baseball-first player growing up. However, many in the Big Blue Nation assumed the worst when he was added to the class in July. Ponatoski has a big MLB Draft decision to make this spring/summer and may not ever play college football. But that juice was always worth the squeeze for Kentucky. The new head coach appears to give Kentucky an even greater chance to get Ponatoski enrolled in classes at UK.

Will Stein recruited Matt Ponatoski to Oregon. The Ducks were late to the party with a May offer, but got Ponatoski on campus over the summer, and nearly beat out Kentucky despite the Wildcats having proximity, a much longer relationship, and SEC baseball on their side. Once Mark Stoops was fired, Ponatoski wanted to wait until February. Stein quickly changed that decision timeline.

“I’m not going to wait until February to sign anymore. There’s no reason for me to wait. I’m just going to do it and get it over with on Wednesday,” Ponatoski told KSR+. “It’s 100 percent about what he’s done in the past for me and the connection I’ve built with him when I was visiting Oregon and being recruited by Oregon. It’s really important that I keep that connection. He made sure it was a big thing that we did keep that connection because something like this could happen.”

The quarterback then became the first commit to sign with the Wildcats on Wednesday. Being worried about coordinators and continuity holding Kentucky back in quarterback recruiting are things of the past. There is no need for continuity because Will Stein is the quarterback recruiter. The head coach will be in charge of identifying prospects, helping recruit them, and closing on them. That alone should give the Wildcats a massive edge at making sure the most important position in the sport is handled.

Kentucky athletics director Mitch Barnhart told “BBN Tonight” that is was essential that Kentucky scores points and be more aggressive in this new era of college football. That starts at the top. Will Stein checks a massive box for the program. The days of worrying about inconsistent recruiting at the sport’s most popular position should be over. The buck stops with Stein. He will be the play caller, and is expected to work with current UTSA offensive coordinator Justin Burke in building and developing quarterback room. The leader of this organization specializes in QB play. That could pay major dividends.

Every quarterback that has played for Will Stein has had a massive season. Bo Nix and Dillon Gabriel started games in the NFL this season. Dante Moore will do the same sooner rather than later. The proof is literally in the pudding. In just one day, he was able to convince Kentucky’s best prospect to change his plans. Some big decisions at the position are ahead for Stein, but quarterback recruiting should quickly become something that is no longer a yearly massive worry for this program.

Kentucky’s new head coach could unlock the quarterback position in Lexington. That will lead to better offense, better position depth, and will hopefully create a higher ceiling for an SEC program looking for a spark.

Will Stein can fix a massive Kentucky problem. Matt Ponatoski’s quick decision is evidence of that. A quarterback recruiting upgrade has arrived.