For years, Kentucky fans have asked the same frustrating question: why can’t the Wildcats make more use of their tight ends?
That complaint has echoed through seasons of missed chances, and the numbers back it up. Since Jacob Tamme left UK after the 2007 season, only one Kentucky tight end has reached 30 catches in a year: C.J. Conrad, who hit that mark in 2018 for a 10-3 team.
So when Kentucky opened the Will Stein era with a 45-13 win over Youngstown State and leaned heavily on its tight ends, it stood out immediately.
The Wildcats’ two top receivers in the game were tight ends. Junior Willie Rodriguez and redshirt freshman Mikkel Skinner each caught four passes.
Skinner turned his four grabs into 61 yards and a touchdown, while Rodriguez finished with 48 receiving yards and a score. Henry Boyer, the third piece of Kentucky’s tight-end group, had just one catch - but it went for 31 yards.
“They’re all great targets,” Kentucky quarterback Kenny Minchey said of UK’s tight ends. “They all got to touch the ball today, and when they got the ball, they made plays. So, to be able to have guys like that in the pass game apart from (the wide receivers), is really, really good for our offense.”
Stein sounded just as pleased with the way that group handled its role.
“We asked (the tight ends) to go out there and do a lot of different things in our offense, and play on special teams. So I was really proud of Willie, of Henry, of Mikkel, their work, and it definitely paid off on Saturday.”
Kentucky’s tight ends were targeted 10 times and came away with nine receptions. That might not jump off the page until you look at what came before it: over the Wildcats’ previous 37 games across the last three seasons, UK tight ends reached double-digit targets only four times. From 2023 through 2025, they were thrown to five times or fewer in a game 26 times.
Stein’s track record suggests this wasn’t a one-off. During his three seasons coordinating Oregon’s offense from 2023 through 2025, he had a tight end top 40 catches every year.
Terrance Ferguson posted 42 catches in 2023 and 43 in 2024 before the Los Angeles Rams selected the 6-6, 230-pound Ferguson in the second round of the 2025 NFL draft with pick No. 46 overall. Last season, Kenyon Sadiq caught 51 passes for 560 yards and eight touchdowns before the New York Jets took the 6-3, 241-pound Sadiq in the first round of the 2026 NFL draft at No. 16 overall.
The first week of Kentucky’s new offense also showed how Stein and offensive coordinator Joe Sloan plan to use those players. Rodriguez said the tight ends were moved all over the formation, including outside like a receiver and in the backfield like a running back.
“They lined us all up everywhere,” Rodriguez said after the Youngstown State win. “It’s creativity in the offense, for sure. I loved it.”
They were also asked to run a variety of routes. On Kentucky’s first drive of the season, Skinner caught an outside screen for eight yards on the second play.
Later, on the Wildcats’ second drive, Rodriguez hauled in a slant for 14 yards on third-and-6. Boyer’s 31-yard catch came on a deep route.
“Boyer, (Skinner), me, they use us all in different ways,” Rodriguez said. “I think we flashed (vs. Youngstown State), and I think we’re going to continue seeing that.”
The challenge gets bigger this week with No. 12 Alabama coming to Kroger Field. The Crimson Tide held East Carolina to five first downs and 162 total yards last week, and the Pirates went 0-for-9 on third down in a 48-10 Alabama win.
That makes Kentucky’s tight-end usage one of the most interesting parts of Saturday’s matchup. Stein believes the Wildcats can keep leaning into that strength.
“We want to use our best players,” Stein said, “and those three (tight ends) are some of our best players.”
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