One of the first things Kentucky football fans learned about Will Stein was his motto, “Feed the Studs.” His offensive ideology is simple. Get the ball in your playmakers and let them cook.

The next question was, “Who will be these studs?” Kentucky prioritized trench players in the transfer portal. DeAndre Moore Jr. was a stud the Wildcats targeted, but when he ultimately followed his former recruiter to Colorado, it left many Kentucky fans wondering if the Wildcats had enough stud wide receivers to feed. Quarterback Kenny Minchey believes he has more than enough weapons in his arsenal.

“I feel like I say this every day, but I feel like we have a really good, really deep wide receiver room,” Minchey said after Kentucky’s second spring practice. “We have a lot of fast, twitchy guys, and I feel like that ranges throughout the entire room. I don’t think there’s a fall off, honestly. Also, there’s a few guys who can high-point the ball for sure, and then some long-range guys that will definitely help on Saturdays.”

Nic Anderson is the primary newcomer you need to know, but he’s not the only one. The former Oklahoma and LSU pass-catcher was Dillon Gabriel’s favorite target in Norman. He definitely fits the mold of a guy who can high-point the football. Before spring practice began, Anderson spent a ton of time cultivating a relationship with his quarterback.

“He’s always putting that ball in the right spot. Shoot, if he misses, I’ll let you know,” said Anderson.

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Early Spring Practice Standouts

When Minchey was asked which wide receivers have popped in spring practice, he shared a surprising response: Brock Coffman. The Lexington native was lightly recruited out of Sayre High School before spending one season at Louisville. When he transferred to Kentucky, it didn’t move the needle, but he’s done just that during his first days of spring practice.

“On day one, he had a few big catches, which I was expecting that, but his background, his history, I don’t think a lot of people are expecting that, but he’s a really good athlete. He’s made a lot of plays already,” said Minchey.

The Kentucky quarterback shared one other name, Shane Carr. The California native was a high school quarterback, who quickly picked up the wide receiver position at the FCS level, leading Southern Utah in receiving during each of his first two years of college football.

“He’s very athletic, really good receiver, very fundamentally sound, so he’s gonna be really good too,” said Minchey.

He’s taking a step up in competition, but offensive coordinator Joe Sloan sees the tools and traits of a pass-catcher who can excel in the SEC.

“Shane was extremely productive at his previous school. I think he has a lot of fluidity. He catches the ball really well. He’s an intelligent player, so he can play outside and inside,” said Sloan.

“He can do a lot of different things, move around. No matter what position you play, you’re going to move around. He can get up in the air, and really make a lot of plays right up in the air, in terms of his body control. That’s what I like to see him carry over…. So I’m excited for him. He’s been great. I think he’s assimilating really well to the team and the environment and the level (of play), so it’s been good.”

A Key Returner for Kentucky

While most Kentucky fans are more interested in what the newcomers are bringing to the table, there are a few returners who can be impact performers on Saturdays. DJ Miller was one of the most decorated players in Kentucky’s 2025 recruiting class. After missing the first half of the season with a soft tissue injury, he was a difference-maker down the stretch. In six games, he caught 13 passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns, including a 56-yard score vs. Tennessee.

A lengthy, 6-foot-3 athlete, Miller fits the prototype of an outside wide receiver. Sloan believes he can be much more than that. Miller has surprised Anderson during the transfer’s first few months on campus.

“Coming in, I heard that he was a little bit more nonchalant, but he’s really stepped into a leadership role alongside with me, and he’s been a real important voice in that room,” said Anderson. “Obviously a bigger body, very physical, goes up and gets the ball, attacks it, and that’s something we need in this offense for sure.”

This Kentucky wide receiver room is far from a finished product. This spring’s objective is to create chemistry with Kenny Minchey. It’s a process, one that will hopefully manifest in more than enough studs for Minchey to feed this fall.

Daily Racing Form handicappers David Aragona and Mike Beer disagree on the top pick in Saturday’s $500,000 Kentucky Derby qualifier.

Fifty Kentucky Derby qualifying points go to the winner of Saturday’s Virginia Derby – enough to guarantee a spot in the starting gate at Churchill Downs. Daily Racing Form’s David Aragona and Mike Beer have both taken a hard look at the 10-horse field, and they are not in agreement on who comes out on top.

The expected favorite is No. 1 Buetane, trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Flavien Prat. But neither handicapper is fully sold.

KENTUCKY DERBY 2026: Top contenders, point standings, prep schedule, news, and more

Why the favorite is beatable?

Buetane draws the rail and will attract money based on his connections alone, as Aragona noted. But his last race – a third-place finish in the Southwest Stakes – left both handicappers wanting more. Beer said the figures “fairly stand out against this field” but stopped well short of a strong endorsement. Aragona raised questions about how far the horse ultimately wants to go.

Both handicappers include Buetane in their picks. Neither puts him on top.

The horse Aragona wants most

Aragona’s top selection is No. 6 Lockstocknpharoah, trained by Thomas Drury Jr. and ridden by Eddie Morales. He has won both prior starts at Turfway Park over the synthetic surface – Saturday is his first start on dirt. Aragona called his second start – where he made the lead and pulled away in the stretch – genuinely impressive. Beer said he “absolutely smashed that field” last time. Both handicappers pointed to his pedigree – by American Pharoah – as a reason to expect he handles the surface, and Aragona added that workouts at Churchill Downs suggested the horse was comfortable on dirt in the mornings.

The horse Beer wants most

Beer’s top selection is No. 5 High Camp, trained by Will Walden and ridden by John Velazquez. He has two career starts, both at Gulfstream Park on dirt. Beer highlighted his maiden win going seven furlongs – he waited while others made premature moves on the far turn, then tipped out at the top of the stretch and finished strongly. Beer called that finish “probably the best part of the race” and said the pedigree supports the added distance. Aragona agreed, noting High Camp handled rail pressure in his debut and responded once he got clear. He is the one horse who appears on both sets of picks.

The Handicappers’ Verdict

David Aragona’s picks:

Lockstocknpharoah

Incredibolt

High Camp

Buetane

Mike Beer’s picks:

High Camp

Lockstocknpharoah

Buetane

Ocelli

A Kentucky mother and daughter turned down a combined $26 million offer for their farmland from a developer representing a mysterious Fortune 100 company that sought to build a massive data center on the land.

Ida Huddleston said she has rejected the staggering offer for her 71-acre property in Mason County — valued at $60,000 per acre for a total of $4.26 million — multiple times and is fed up with the developer’s persistence, LEX 18 reported.

The 82-year-old’s daughter, Delsia Bare, said the developer also offered $48,000 per acre for her 463-acre property — totaling more than $22 million — but she refused to sell.

“I said I don’t want your money, I don’t need your money, but I do feel sorry for everybody around us,” Huddleston told the outlet.

The pair turned down the deal because they believe the data center would affect everyone in the community, adding that the developer’s continued pressure to sell has only hardened their determination not to give up even a single acre.

They said the secrecy surrounding the project — particularly the company’s refusal to reveal its identity — has only fueled their determination to keep their land.

“When they will not reveal who they are that’s a major player in what you’re going to do with the rest of your life if you are stuck here or even if you are leaving here,” Bare said.

The proposed data center would be built near Big Pond Pike Road in rural Kentucky, around an hour and a half from Lexington.

Several landowners have already been approached about selling farmland for the project — a development local officials say could transform the region economically, according to LEX 18.

“As far as jobs would go, they would become, if not our largest employer, definitely top three,” Tyler McHugh, economic development director for the Maysville-Mason County Industrial Development Authority, told the outlet.

McHugh said the data center could create around 400 full-time jobs and more than 1,500 construction jobs in the county and surrounding area.

However, the mother and daughter remain skeptical that those jobs will remain once the project is built.

“My guess is you won’t have over 50 and they won’t even be here at this building when it’s said and done,” Bare said.

As for her 82-year-old mother, she said nothing will make her budge.

“I’m staying put,” Huddleston told the outlet.

Despite the women’s unwillingness to sell their land, the Mason County Fiscal Court still needs to approve the project, LEX 18 reported.

Tech giants are swarming around rural cities to build their data centers.

Last week, George Washington University sold its Virginia Science and Technology Campus to Amazon Data Services to turn the site into a data center.

The company purchased the land for $427 million, according to The Hatchet.

Meanwhile, Microsoft is planning to build 15 data centers in Mount Pleasant, Michigan after purchasing the land in 2024, the Biz Times reported in January.