Kentucky’s first real test of the season brings Alabama to Kroger Field on Saturday, and the Wildcats will lean on a familiar front-line presence to help keep things steady. Starting center Coleton Price, a four-year Baylor veteran, is expected to play a key role as Will Stein’s team tries to get to 2-0.
Price’s job won’t be simple. He’ll be responsible for helping guide the offense and for giving Kenny Minchey a cleaner picture when it comes to coverages and possible blitzes. That kind of work rarely grabs the spotlight, but it matters plenty when the game gets loud and the pressure starts coming fast.
There’s also a more personal side to Price’s story that has come into focus this offseason. Tyler Thompson of KSR detailed how Price honors his late brother, Colby, while wearing Kentucky blue and white. The piece also connected that loss to another important part of his life: it ultimately helped lead Colton to reconnect with his future wife.
Kentucky fans already got a small glimpse of Price’s personality earlier this offseason, when he drew the UK Wildcat logo. Now, the latest look at him gives the fan base another reason to connect with one of the team’s leaders in Stein’s first season.
That’s one of the best parts of the transfer portal era - the chance to learn the stories behind the new faces. Price’s path gives Kentucky another meaningful layer heading into a Saturday that already feels like a big one in Lexington.
In Other News...
Alabama Heads Into Kentucky With One Big Problem Fans Will Notice
With Kentucky getting ready to host Alabama in a Week 2 SEC matchup, the buildup has already turned into an early test for both sides. Kalen DeBoer spent part of his press conference talking through the usual first-month concerns, from evaluating player performance to tightening game preparation, while also noting how awkward these early conference games can be when everyone is still trying to figure out who they really are.
The added wrinkle is Kentuckys new-look offense under Will Stein, which gives Alabama less film than it would normally have this early in the year. DeBoer said the focus has to stay on fundamentals, and that should make for an interesting measuring-stick game in Lexington, with ABC and Disney+ carrying the matchup live. [Read more 🡒]
Will Stein Gets An Early Kentucky Test Fans Will Obsess Over
The early-season spotlight in Lexington is already bright, and the betting market only makes it brighter. Alabama comes in as a 10.5-point favorite for the Week 2 SEC matchup, with traders giving the Crimson Tide a 78% chance to win and the over/under sitting at 49.5 points. For Kentucky, it is a sharp introduction to life under first-year head coach Will Stein, who steps into a familiar SEC pressure cooker with very little margin for error and plenty of attention attached to the result.
Stein does not need to win every tough game to make an impression, but this is exactly the kind of stage Wildcats fans will circle the moment the schedule comes out. Alabama has won eight straight in the series dating back to 2003, which is why this one already feels like more than an ordinary September test. A win here would carry obvious weight for Kentucky and give Stein the kind of signature moment that can shape an entire season, even before the conference race really gets rolling. [Read more 🡒]
Tom Leach Reached A Kentucky Milestone Fans Will Appreciate
Tom Leach opened his 30th year as the radio voice of Kentucky football during the game against Youngstown State, adding another notable chapter to a run that has made him one of the most familiar sounds in UK sports. He has been part of Kentucky Athletics since 1989, and his work has stretched beyond the football sideline into basketball, including the call of the 2012 national title game.
For Kentucky fans, Leachs longevity is part of the backdrop now, the kind of steady presence that makes a season feel connected to the ones before it. His resume already includes six Kentucky Sportscaster of the Year honors and a place in the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame, and this latest milestone only deepens the sense that his voice has become woven into the programs history. [Read more 🡒]