Will Stein needs the Kentucky Quarterback to be "The Toughest MFer on the Field"

The last two Heisman Trophy ceremonies have brought quarterbacks coached by Will Stein to New York. The new Kentucky head coach knows a thing or two about the position, and he plans on bringing his expertise to Lexington.

Stein started playing the position when he was 4 years old. He knows what it’s like to be in their shoes, and he did it as a 5-foot-8 walk-on who fought his way into a starting role.

“Everybody wants to look at height, weight, speed. I’ll be the first one to tell you, that’s where you start, kind of in recruiting. Do they fit the measurables?

He continued, “But at quarterback, it’s so much more than that. Do they have the mental makeup to be the toughest MFer on the field? Because that’s what they got to be. They got to be mentally and physically tough. That’s really where it starts with me.”

Not only does a quarterback need to be mentally tough, but they have to have the right mental acumen to be able to read a defense, and pick it apart with accurate throws.

“Processing ability, being extremely accurate; ff you look at the guys that I’ve coached recently, all over 70% passers. If you’re not over 70% of high school, what makes you think you’re going to be 70% in college? So we look at that,” said Stein.

“Arm talent only takes you so far. You rarely ever throw it 70 yards, unless it’s a Hail Mary situation. So can you be accurate? Can you throw on time? Can you withstand the confines of a pocket? And then in today’s modern football, you got to be mobile. It does not mean that you got to be a 4.3-guy or run extremely fast, but you got to be able to escape throughout the pocket and make plays outside with your feet.”

Stein Molds His System to the QB, but is it Cutter Boley?

Stein took multiple questions about quarterbacks and his high-octane offense, including two where Cutter Boley was directly mentioned as he watched from the crowd. The new Kentucky head coach tiptoed around a subject that’s been discussed quite a bit over the last 24 hours. Will Boley be Stein’s guy, or will it be somebody else?

Stein delivered a message to the Kentucky football team on Tuesday night. He did not single out players, but admitted that he did drop a few F-bombs.

“I am passionate, and I hope they felt that passion and my commitment to them. And, you know, not just Cutter, but everybody on the team, I’m excited to coach. You know, this is a great opportunity for me, and I know we have a lot of great players here, and I’m ready to get working with them,” said Stein.

No matter who the quarterback is, if they’re accurate and tough, Stein can work with that. He appears to use the KISS method, Keep It Simple Stupid. For this offense to hum, the Cats must efficiently deliver the ball to playmakers, a.k.a. Feed the Studs. Bo Nix and Dillon Gabriel did that in Eugene, and it got them to New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony.

“I have a relatability to these players, and I think that really is what makes me different, and then have the ability to morph the offense into what best suits them. What we did with Bo Nix was different than what we did with Dillon Gabriel, was different than what we did with Dante Moore. It was different with Frank Harris and Hudson Card,” said Stein.

“The offense never looks the same. It might have the same principles in it, but we play to the strengths of the QB. We always will. We always have been. And I’m looking forward to working with all those guys, and building that room, and building the culture of really the quarterback tradition that lies here at Kentucky.”

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