One of the biggest questions hanging over Kentucky’s season got a little clearer at SEC Media Days: Matt Ponatoski is on campus, and Will Stein sounds confident the Wildcats will have him around.
Speaking with reporters in Tampa, Florida, the Kentucky head coach addressed whether Ponatoski will be in Lexington this fall and didn’t try to dodge the issue.
“He’s on campus,” Stein said of Ponatoski. “He showed up, and he’s excited to be a Kentucky Wildcat.
I’m fired up for him and his family to get started. I still know there’s days ahead that we’re kind of waiting on.
All indications are he’s going to be with us.”
That matters because Ponatoski is no ordinary freshman. The Cincinnati native starred at Moeller High School, where he became the school’s all-time leader in passing yards and touchdown passes.
He was named Mr. Football as a junior and was a finalist again this past season.
He also brings serious baseball credentials to the table. Ponatoski was taken in the 18th round of the MLB Draft by the Reds, and he was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Ohio in both football and baseball as a senior. Only two other athletes have won that award in two different sports in the same season: Randy Moss and Joe Mauer.
For Kentucky, the timing of Ponatoski’s arrival is what makes this so interesting. Kenny Minchey is locked in as QB1, but the depth chart behind him is thin on proven college experience. That opens the door for Ponatoski to matter sooner rather than later if he stays in Lexington.
He may be a true freshman, but there’s a real path for him to be the next man up this season if Kentucky can keep the two-sport standout away from baseball and on the football field.
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