The dynamic was strange for the former Kentucky football players invited to the NFL combine last week.
Three of the five Wildcats were only in Lexington for one season. The vast majority of the coaching staff they played for is gone after the firing of Mark Stoops. None have a direct connection to Will Stein and the new staff.
But there were other players working out for NFL scouts who could have served as better promotional material for Kentucky’s new coaches.
“He’s gonna be a great head coach,” former Oregon running back Noah Whittington said of Stein. “Coach Stein, he is kind of laid back a little bit, but he means business. He gonna get them boys right. I’m excited to see how the season goes for them, not gonna lie.”
The Herald-Leader spoke to four former Oregon offensive players at the combine in Indianapolis about their experience playing for Stein and their favorite parts of his offense .
Each expressed confidence that Oregon’s former offensive coordinator would thrive in his first head coaching position.
“He’s a good dude,” wide receiver Malik Benson said. “He really likes his offensive guys to shine, so I know you know those guys over there are going to love him.”
Whittington and Benson are proof of the versatility of Stein’s scheme when it goes to plan.
After previous stops at Hutchinson Community College, Alabama and Florida State, Benson enjoyed a breakout year while playing for Stein and Oregon.
In his final college season, Benson more than doubled his previous high in receiving yards with 719. He tallied 43 catches, 18 more than the previous season at Florida State. He entered the season with just two career touchdowns at the FBS level but totaled six in one season at Oregon.
“We just could do everything,” Benson said of Stein’s offense. “If we need to be in 12 personnel, we can be in 12 personnel. We were in 11 personnel, 13 personnel, just whatever we needed to do to win. We had so many tricks and trades of our offense. So just being able to go out there and just having a multitude of ways that we can win, it was just super fun.”
Whittington started his career at Western Kentucky. He then totaled 2,294 rushing yards with 19 touchdowns in four years at Oregon. The last three of those featured Stein as offensive coordinator.
As a sixth-year senior, he rushed for 829 yards and six touchdowns in 2025. He also caught 19 passes for 98 yards and one touchdown.
“My favorite part about (the offense) was it was balanced,” Whittington said. “I feel like we were good at running the ball and passing the ball. That allowed us to keep teams honest. I feel like it had a lot to do with our success.”
After watching Stein and the new Kentucky staff rebuild the Wildcat offensive line through the transfer portal in January, UK fans can take heart in the fact that the three Oregon offensive linemen invited to the combine were all one-year contributors there after transferring to Eugene.
Left tackle Isaiah World, who did not participate in the combine after being invited due to an injury, transferred from Nevada. Right tackle Alex Harkey transferred from Texas State. Left guard Emmanuel Pregnon transferred from Southern Cal.
“I believe we could do anything at will in terms of our offense,” Pregnon said. “We’d go into games and really do what we wanted, just because of all the players that we had. The scheme that we ran just allowed us to really implement all types and forms of concepts.”
At Kentucky, Stein has promised to craft his offense to best suit the personnel available to him.
Next season, that likely means featuring tight ends Willie Rodriguez and Mikkell Skinner in the passing game similar to the way Oregon used projected first round pick Kenyon Sadiq last season. Kentucky fans should expect a committee approach at running back similar to the one last season’s Oregon team used with Texas transfer C.J. Baxter and Oklahoma transfer Jovantae Barnes splitting carries with returning Jason Patterson.
But there will be differences, too.
Some of that will come from differing strengths between the rosters. Others will come from input added by offensive coordinator Joe Sloan, who will call plays from Stein’s scheme for the Wildcats.
“Coach Sloan is a great guy,” former UK wide receiver Barion Brown, who played for Sloan at LSU last season, said at the combine. “Looking to air that thing out. As a receiver, that’s something I always wanted to be around.”
And while strong combine performances from former Kentucky defensive tackle David Gusta and running back Seth McGowan might not tell much about what the 2026 Wildcats will look like, that does not mean the Stoops era Wildcats hoping to be drafted in April aren’t keeping a close eye on the program’s next chapter
“I mean, obviously, you never want to see that happen to the guys that coached me,” center Jager Burton said of the coaching change. “But, obviously, I’m super excited. I know Coach Stein is a Kentucky guy, just like me. Talking to guys that are there, they love it, and I see how hard they’re working. I’m really excited.”