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Joe Price III has been named the University of Kentucky football wide receivers coach, head coach Will Stein announced Thursday.
“Joe and I go back to our coaching days at UTSA and I’m thrilled to add him to our staff at Kentucky,” Stein said. “He is energetic, detailed, and connects extremely well with players. He’s just an incredible person and I know he will make a tremendous impact on our offense.”
Price arrives in the Bluegrass after spending the last six seasons at UTSA, including the last three seasons as the associate head coach, pass game coordinator and wide receivers coach for the Roadrunners.
In 2020 and 2021, he was the director of player personnel at UTSA, then in 2022 he was elevated to wide receivers coach. In 2023, he tacked on two more titles, including associate head coach and pass game coordinator.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to reconnect with Will Stein and join his staff,” Price said. “We worked together for three years at UTSA and I believe in what Will does offensively. Between Coach Stein and Coach Sloan, there’s a clear vision for an explosive offense, and the chance to be part of something unique and special at Kentucky is really exciting.”
During Price’s time in San Antonio the Roadrunners have enjoyed the most successful six-year run in program history with a 52-26 overall record, including a 35-12 regular season league mark, two conference championships and six straight bowl appearances.
The Roadrunners finished the 2025 regular season at 6-6 overall, 4-4 in the American Conference and are currently preparing to face Florida International in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl on Dec. 26 at 8 p.m. ET in Dallas and on ESPN. Price has helped UTSA have one of the top-scoring offenses in the FBS, averaging 33.7 points per game. He has five wide receivers with 25 or more catches, including junior Devin McCuin who leads the team with 59 receptions for 653 yards and seven scores.
In 2024, Price’s wide receivers helped UTSA produce 5,882 total yards, the third-best season mark in school history and an average of 451.2 yards per game, which ranked 12th in the FBS. The Roadrunners scored 431 points (33.2 ppg) and their air attack racked up 3,683 yards, 283.5 yards per game (11th/FBS) and 27 touchdowns. UTSA broke the school record for total offense in a game with 681 yards in the 48-27 win over North Texas and also set a new standard for first downs with 34 in the 45-7 win against Houston Christian.
That season, Price oversaw a position group that combined to catch 182 passes for 2,265 yards and 14 touchdowns. McCuin paced the unit with 45 receptions that turned into 424 yards and five touchdowns, despite missing five games, while Willie McCoy racked up a team-best 536 receiving yards and four TDs on 28 catches, good for an average of 19.1 yards per catch.
In 2023, Price, who was named to the Dave Campbell’s Texas Football magazine 40-under-40 list that season, helped guide the Roadrunners to a 9-4 overall record, a 7-1 mark for a third-place finish in their American Athletic Conference debut campaign and the program’s first bowl win with a 35-17 victory over Marshall in the Frisco Bowl. His receivers combined to catch 204 passes for 2,631 yards and 23 touchdowns that season. Joshua Cephus paced the unit with a program-record 1,151 yards on 89 receptions, reaching the end zone 10 times during his final campaign. He earned first-team All-AAC honors and was the Frisco Bowl Offensive MVP, finishing his career as the school’s all-time leader in receptions (313) and receiving yards (3,655).
In 2022, Price’s first season coaching the wide receivers, Joshua Cephus, De’Corian Clark and Zakhari Franklin combined to give UTSA arguably the most productive pass-catching trio in the FBS that season. The three all-conference selections combined to catch 232 passes for 2,862 yards and 29 touchdowns.
Before his time as coach, as the director of player personnel for UTSA in 2020 and 2021, Price was responsible for initial identification and evaluation of prospects, managing the prospect video database, oversight of the day-to-day recruiting operations, organization of recruiting events and materials and assisting with roster management.
Prior to his six seasons at UTSA, he was the director of high school relations for the Illinois football program.
Before that, he spent a decade on the Texas high school football scene.
From 2014 to 2018, he was the passing game coordinator, wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator at perennial prep powerhouse North Shore (Texas) High School. During that timeframe he helped the Mustangs to a pair of Class 6A-DI state championships and four district titles. Also during that stretch, NSHS saw more than 75 players advance to the collegiate level. In his final season at NSHS, it was named national champion by MaxPreps after posting a perfect 16-0 record and outscoring opponents 854-199, winning by an average margin of 40.9 points per game. NSHS capped its title run by beating Duncanville, 41-36, on a Hail Mary pass as time expired at AT&T Stadium.
From 2009-2013, Price was an assistant coach, video coordinator, player development coordinator and recruiting coordinator at Galena Park (Texas) High School.
Price’s father, Joe Price Jr., was a high school coach in Texas for more than 30 years.
Price, a Houston, Texas, native, was one of the top wide receivers in Harding University history from 2001-05. A team captain as a senior in 2005, he ended his career ranked third in career receptions (121), eighth in career receiving yards (1,404), and ninth in receptions per game (2.88).
There, he earned a bachelor’s degree in business management in 2009. He also earned a master’s degree in education leadership and administration at Stephen F. Austin.
Price is a member of the Texas High School Coaches Association, the American Football Coaches Association and the Greater Houston Area Football Coaches Association, where he served as secretary on the executive board of directors.
He and his wife, Joy, have two daughters, Ryan and Jordan, and one son, Dru.
2 Responses
Stein is assembling a elite coaching staff. Sloan is one of the best recruiters in the SEC. Our defensive coordinator is also a great recruiter. He's bypassing the Xs and Os for guys who love to recruit and our elite at it. If you get the right coaches with enthusiasm and are motivated they will do better than a bunch of old men playing a guessing game. Gran, Stoops, Wolford, and White we're good in there time but I think there time has passed them up. I don't think Sumrall last 3-4 years at Florida. Whites bend but don't break will make Florida fans pissed and he will get canned at the end of the first year. Sumralls problems will all fall on white the first year. The second year the fanbase will start getting restless. By the third year they will be calling for his head. Jobs like Florida LSU and Auburn are career enders if you can't win at these schools. It's better to slowly climb the ladder then to go all in. Unless your a offensive genius like Indianas coach. There is no way Indiana has a 13-0 roster. On paper Kentucky had a better roster. In talking about recruits and portal additions. The last 3 years we've averaged a #27 high school class and #12 in the three portal classes. Indiana on the otherhand is averaging #39 high school classes and #19 in the portal. That's not just a little better that's night and day better. You have to get guys who are the right fit for your system. Stoops went away from that. This year our average offensive lineman had 5 years experience playing college football and we sucked on the line. It shows me that Wolfords eye for talent has faded. He used to be good at gwtting the diamond in the rough and molding them. That isn't the case anymore. His coaching philosophy is like that of Bobby knight. It doesn't work anymore. You can't scream and yell at kids to motivate them anymore. Pope is a weird example of this because he's too nice. There's a difference between yelling and explaining. Wolford hasn't figured that out yet he won't last long at LSU.
What I was getting at is that Wolford and Kiffin are both roaches they crawl to wherever the food is and both of them will sink the ship at LSU. I wouldn't trust Kiffin. He's had every good job you can have and has done nothing. Except abandon his teams. He's coached at Southern Cal, Tennessee, Ole Miss, and now LSU and has yet to win a championship. Southern Cal has it the easiest of any power 4 program. They dominate the west coast recruiting and haven't done a thing since Pete Carrol was coaching there. If you can't win at southern Cal you can't win anywhere big.
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