Kenny Minchey (UK Athletics Photo)
Quarterback Kenny Minchey admits the transfer portal was a “hectic process” that had him leave Notre Dame, commit to Nebraska and then sign with Kentucky to play for new coach Will Stein.
“A lot of players were going through the same things as me but at the end of the day it was about making the best decision for me,” said Minchey. “It got weird committing to another school but I felt I made the best decision for me and my family to come here.”
He transferred to Kentucky after three seasons at Notre Dame where he played 10 games and completed 23 of 29 passes and ran nine times for 96 yards. He was a four-star prospect coming out of high school despite playing just four games as a senior because of injuries. He still finished his prep career with 5,212 yards passing, a 63.2 completion percentage and 53 touchdowns.
Minchey said during spring practice last week that the chance to play for Stein and offensive coordinator Joe Sloan was too much to pass up because of who they have coached and developed.
“It was guys on the roster they kept (from last year) and were getting out of the portal, too,” Minchey said.
He described himself as a “pretty accurate” passer.
“I feel like that is probably my main strength along with decision-making, which is something I work on every day, but I feel for the most part I am pretty smart with the football,” Minchey said.
The transfer quarterback said quick decision making comes from preparation, studying the playbook and seeing what you can expect on defense,” he said. “But every play is not perfect. Some plays break down and things go wrong. Sometimes you just have to be a baller.”
8 Responses
Kenny Minchey is ready to lead this team to the promised land. He's a winner, He's smart, and he's very accurate. Having time to throw the ball won't be a problem like the last 4-5 years. We have a elite line. With Gilmore coming back I feel good about our receiver room too. I think Gilmore has learned his lesson and will end up staying all 4 years here which is very rare. Him being here for even a third year is rare in the transfer portal era.
We finally have a coach that doesn't play to not lose but will play to win. We finally have a deep roster across the board. We have backups on both the offensive and defensive lines. What's crazy is returning players saved this team. Ty Bryant, Grant Godfrey, Tavion Gadson, Humphrey Grace, Nichols, and Carter all coming back made life a lot easier for Bateman. Wood, Selm, Rodriguez, Skinner, Gilmore, Patterson, and Miller on offense. I really look for Patterson, Rodriguez, Skinner, and Gilmore to all hit another gear this year. You can even throw DJ Miller in there.
From the information coming out of spring drills, the current team and coaching staff appears to be a major upgrade. This will all prove out in September, or not, but I'm optimistic thus far. One thing is for sure: with the schedule we have this fall, it's going to take a major upgrade to survive much less succeed.
Everything always sounds good in spring practice. I want to see how they do with the eye test when we can see them
Agree Larry. A lot of teams looks good on paper, but that paper don't hit back.
As always, I will wait and see how they play before letting expectations take over.
The only thing I know is that we have 3 starters on our offensive line that are better than any 3 offensive lineman we've had here since the Drake Jackson and Landon Young years. This line is even better because we actually have guys fighting for positions on the line. I always look at the offensive line first. Last year with Shizayh Pete and Wollshalger and Braun and Farmer I thought our line would be better.
Yup!
UK football needed a change, and they got one. The future looks promising now. I think the addition of Minchey under center and the new staff will prove fruitful. That said, they have a hard road ahead. I hope it results in winning football that is long overdue at UK.
With the coaching/staff changeout and the lack of quality product on BB floor this year, we are all looking forward to FB. I am satisfied with a bowl qualify this year and 7-5 would be even better but we do have tough schedule. Fine with Stein!!