QB commit Stone Saunders is 'very comfortable' with OC Bush Hamdan after first meeting

Even throughout a coaching change, three-star quarterback Stone Saunders has remained committed to the Kentucky Wildcats. Saunders, ranked No. 447 overall in the class of 2025, made his pledge to UK all the way back in August and stuck with the ‘Cats as the program transitioned from Liam Coen to Bush Hamdan as offensive coordinator in February.

Coen, who has ties with the Saunders family, was the one who initially recruited Stone and got him to commit to Kentucky in the first place. But, in spite of the change, the talented high school quarterback has yet to back off the decision he made last summer.

And on Saturday, after weeks of talking and texting over the phone, he finally got to meet Hamdan for the first time face-to-face.

“I love Coach Bush. He was very impressive, the offense was very impressive,” Saunders told KSR. “And just him as a person in general, he just felt like a genuine person. I love the offense, loved him. And practice, the energy at practice was really good, too. It was a lot of fun.”

Saunders noted that Hamdan was running practice at a higher and faster tempo than when he’d previously visited with Coen as OC. The energy from Kentucky’s new play-caller stood out to Saunders, who also mentioned that new wide receivers coach Daikiel Shorts had the same kind of liveliness.

“He’ll get after guys but he’s not gonna scream at anybody really,” Saunders said of Hamdan. “He’s supporting all the guys, very upbeat.”

Saunders has been patient with Kentucky during this process of moving from Coen to Hamdan. Even when the ‘Cats added another class of 2025 quarterback, Brennen Ward, Saunders embraced the possibility of competition.

Now that he’s officially met with Hamdan in person, he feels even more comfortable with where things stand.

“Yeah, definitely,” Saunders said when asked if he feels even more confident about being committed to Kentucky after meeting Hamdan. “I sat down with him for like an hour and a half in the beginning of the day, just sat down and talked about me and the offense and talked about him and how he got here. What his goals are for the next couple of seasons and about the offense in general. I feel very comfortable.”