After 13 years, things grew stale between Mark Stoops and Kentucky. Will Stein is not just bringing a new voice to the Wildcats. The 36-year-old is modernizing the program.
Modernization manifests in different forms. The initial evidence was on the coaching staff. The analyst role was replaced by assistant position coaches who play an active role in recruiting. Kentucky football fans can see Stein’s modern approach whenever a practice highlight is shared.
“Is that a GoPro on Kenny Minchey‘s head?” Yes, yes it is. Before one could easily slap a camera on a helmet, coaches put stripes down the middle of a helmet to assess what a QB was looking at during a play. This new technology does more than just show a quarterback what he’s looking at during a play.
“You get everything from their perspective,” said offensive coordinator Joe Sloan. “So you can see their eyes, right, how efficient they are when their eyes move. Is their head bouncing around, or is it very still, right? And then it also has audio. For a lot of things that we do at the line of scrimmage, it’s really good for them to hear themselves, just how they’re communicating, the volume they’re using, and then how clear and concise they are.”
Will Stein’s No. 1 DNA trait for his Kentucky football program is connection. They’re using technology to test their signal caller on how well he communicates with his teammates.
Kentucky uses a Modern Jugs Machine
It took Will Stein some time to move to Lexington. Before unloading boxes into his new home, he brought a Monarc Seeker to Nutter Field House. Traditional jug machines are stationary. Standing in one place and catching the same pass in the same place 100 times can become a monotonous routine. There’s nothing routine about this machine.
“Man, it’s great. I’m not gonna lie,” said wide receiver Nic Anderson. “It’s amazing, especially with the equipment managers that we have here. They run it for us. Can’t shout out them more. But, yeah, it’s great. I mean, it shoots everywhere. Rarely is the football going to be in the same spot every time, so shooting at different spots in rapid succession is really big for receivers.”
That’s just one facet of the machine. Receivers can actually work on their route-running with this jugs machine. An equipment manager plugs in the routes and passes a player wants to practice, and the Monarc puts the ball right where it’s supposed to be. It can throw crossing routes on the money, high deep balls, or back-shoulder fades, maximizing a player’s productivity on the field. I’ll let wide receivers coach Joe Price explain all of the advantages.
Will Stein is exhausting all technological options to turn this Kentucky football team into a winner.