
Nick Roush of Kentucky Sports Radio joins That SEC Podcast live from 2026 SEC Media Days in Tampa to discuss all things Kentucky Wildcats football! Thankful to be rid of Mark Stoops (0:45), Kentucky’s rising commitment to football (4:00), can Cats knock off Alabama Week 2? (7:00), can Kentucky close the season strong? (9:30), Joe Sloan hire at offensive coordinator (11:45), Kentucky defensive outlook? (13:30), Year 1 ideal record? (15:30), how good will Kenny Minchey be? (17:00), key to Kentucky having good season? (18:00), does Tennessee beat Kentucky by 20 or more? (19:30), Kentucky miss out on Jon Sumrall? (22:15), boldest SEC take (23:30) Advertising inquiries: thatsecpodcast@gmail.com Interested in helping us grow the channel? Become an Official Cousin by signing up for a membership to the channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8aQL-yFS2ZoSkUBeMfYesA/join We have t-shirts for sale! Check out our merchandise store featuring shirts, hoodies, stickers, coffee mugs, pillow...
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A
I just woke up like, are you still hauling bourbon to him? I was like, I'm all out.
B
The bet's off till Kentucky improves a little, which is understandable.
C
I get it.
B
It's also understandable that Nick Roush is going to run from any competition. Kentucky sports radio, SEC media days. But Kentucky is no longer.
A
You wanted to say butt. You wanted to just call him butt. Kentucky.
B
Kentucky. I mean, if the shoe fits, right?
A
It was not good in recent years. But here's the thing, Michael. We're not playing horseshoes and hand grenades, but they did get close sometimes. They also got blown out when, frankly, Kentucky needed to get blown out. Mark Stoops, I mean, think about this. What would I be doing if Mark Stoops just, like, had a pulse against WOLV or Vanderbilt? Those were bad teams. They could have. Should have beat. What would I be doing right now? Would I be talking about.
C
You'd be drinking.
A
Yes. Heavily. Yeah.
C
You wouldn't wait till the event's over. I. I would say, man, I. It needed to happen. Right. I mean, it's just. I just feel like fans in general, because maybe the basketball's not turning out quite like you wanted. You know, there's. There's. It just feels like they're grasping they need something. It's a very passionate fan base that when you get going. I mean, I remember Cash out there selling tickets. I get that. That was like the upper. That's when we want to get Kentucky back. Because the one thing that we talk about in this league is parity. And you can't have parity if you have bottom dwellers. And I feel like you got the right guy.
B
Took him 90 seconds to bring up basketball and you think, I hate Kentucky.
C
I just. I'm just. I get it.
A
But to your point, though, Shane, when Cal Stoops and Mitch Barnhart, the three biggest guys at uk, when they are. They were there for. I mean, Mitch just retired after 24 years. Cal was there for 15 years. Stoops was there for 13 years. Cal stuck around a little too long, and Stoops was on the verge of sticking around too long. If he had won one of those games and gone six and six because they beat up a bad Florida and a bad Auburn team, they got Hugh Freeze fired. Which credit to Stoops, he got a lot of coaches fired in this league over the years, but he would have hung around for another year by getting moving on. Now, like people like Mark Stoops, when we're having conversations about Will Stein this offseason, there's a lot of comparing and you kind of use Stoops to prop up Stein some because that's all you know. But there is a, like fan base wide. They're kind of happy, like. All right, thanks, Mark, for leaving now because we still want to think of you as the all time winningest coach. We still want to think of these 10 win seasons. We still want to think of you ending the streak against Florida. I mean, Mike, I know you don't know what it's like to regularly beat Florida, but to win four out of five against the Gators, like, even when they had Billy Gonzalez last year, I was telling fans like, never take one of these for granted. You never know when you're going to get one again. So Stoops did a lot of good, but when the job changed, he couldn't change to keep up with it. And now they got a guy who does things almost the exact opposite way that Mark Stoops did everything.
C
Well, I mean, I was surprised with the hire, but then I was surprised what happened after the hire. If I'm being real, man, I just, I'm looking at a Notre Dame quarterback coming in. I'm looking at a Ohio State lineman coming in, a Tennessee lineman coming in, running backs from Texas. You know, all this, this isn't Kentucky. You know, there's, you know what I'm saying? And I feel like that was the biggest surprise for me is just the buy in for that program. And the boosters clearly found the money to make this team better.
A
Well, and that's the other thing too, Shane, is when we, when Mark Stoops would like come here, he would bitch and moan about all of the money and fundraising and all the stuff he had to do. So it was adding fuel to the fire that Kentucky fans had like legit worries about, do we have enough money for football if we're going to have a $22 million basketball team? It's a legit worry. And Stein was always confident that they, he, they were telling us that, but you didn't know until they actually started getting guys. It's like, okay, they actually, yes, there is money there. And what it taught us is that Mark Stoops just didn't have a guy who knew how to spend it. Right? Like, because in this day, if they ask for more money, you don't have to give them more money for them to come play for you. Will Stein was at Oregon that had legit front office. Pat Biondo is his general manager. And they knew market values. They would draw lines in the sand. And if you weren't worth it, then you could walk, cut a bowley. Like, there was a week or two where everybody was just on pins and needles about, is this guy going to stay? Is he going to go? Because, hell, we hadn't seen a quarterback throw the ball vertically, right? It's like, all right, well, we've got one of us. We actually have a chance here. But they were saying, you know, the talent. Like, I know you all got caught up. Kentucky fans, we fell in love with the good, and then we're conveniently ignoring some of the really bad. And the coaching staff was like, well, we trust our eval. We'll go get Kenny Minchi and we'll turn him into a winner. Now, the jury's out on him, but C.J. carr, I'll play some. I know logic is tough on you, Michael, but I'm going to lay some logic out for you here. CJ Carr, preseason Heisman Trophy favorite. Right now, this time of year ago, Kenny Minchi and CJ Carr were neck and neck in a quarterback battle. The Notre Dame coaches will say, we thought we could have won as many games with Minchi as we did with Carr. I think he's going to turn out to be all right now that he's got the skill. Plus, the quarterback coach, I think is gonna work at Kentucky.
B
You know what that exactly reminds me of? When Jameis Winston lit up college football, won the Heisman, but Jacob Coker pushed
A
him to the limit.
B
Transfers to Alabama. This is going to be our guy. God, he lasted about three games, didn't he? His ass was right on the bench. So I heard this story before.
A
Jacob, who? Think you're making something up, Mike? I don't know what you're talking about.
C
How close the competition is when you're the first loser. I mean, I get it. I get it. What we do like about Minchi is, is he's an athlete, you know, And I feel like good Kentucky quarterback. You go back, I feel like, you know, Levis before he started getting banged up. And then I think about your wide receiver coming in and lighting up the world and. And, you know, I feel like an athlete back there is exactly what you need, especially first year with all this newness, especially with the offensive line. I don't hate it, but it is a team that needs to hit the ground running. I mean, within the first three weeks, brother, you got Alabama and Texas A and M. So, yeah, he's already predicted
B
an Alabama defeat that day.
A
Yeah. Yeah. Told everybody.
C
I don't hate it, you know what's
A
the weirdest part too is I like expected some Rammer jammers to be all up in my mentions. I mean, not. They have no juice, man. It's. It's kind of, I don't want to say sad, dead on arrival, but it's, it is, it is so weird. Like, there's no now. Like, you know, maybe Bama can, like between Ryan Grub, Kaylin DeBoer, they'll probably figure out enough offensively to win nine, 10 games, right? But there's just something that is. It feels weird that like, nobody cares. My Internet hadn't worked all week and then Alabama shows up and there's not even enough people here to jam up the WI Fi. I mean, it, it's crazy how little juice they have. But like that game, like Keelan Russell might end up being the truth, but it's going to be his first start away from home. They couldn't run the ball worth a lick last year and they, they got to replace a lot in the trenches defensively. So like I, you know, you have all these combinations, the uncertainty about what you're going to see at Kentucky and Kentucky, you know, so they're going to be the opposite. It's not just they're going to throw the football. They're going to be aggressive culturally. I mean, defense, blitzing, disguise, blitz, man to man, oh, two minutes before half, we're going to try to score, they're going to take shots. But sometimes when you play with fire, you get burned. But also you could build a big ass bonfire and roast some marshmallows. And I think that's what you're going to see from Kentucky this fall. There's going to be a game or two where they're in it. Stein maybe gets a little too aggressive first year head coach and he blows it right? Like that could happen at A and M. You know, they got a former A and M guy calling their defense. You don't know what they're going to be like replacing all those offensive linemen too. But that could be a game. You go on the road, you get some growing pains. You play with fire, you get burned. But you know what? They might be roasting some marshmallows whenever Alabama comes to town.
C
Yeah, well, and we talk momentum. I feel like what's big for. For Kentucky is ending the season strong. One controversial game that keeps coming up. The Tennessee Volunteers on the road, what do they look like? But beyond that, Florida, Mizzou, Louisville, I mean, could you imagine closing those with three wins?
A
You get the fake juice, fake momentum. Right? Like, everybody falls for it every November. Like, okay, all of a sudden, this is. The stars are aligning. You're going to the portal. We're going to build on this team. The other part, too, I do want to bring up just specifically your Vols because, you know, I don't have to handicap their team at all. What I can tell you is that Stoops had no idea what to do with Hypo. That's clear. Which, I mean, should make you feel good about Florida because they got their defensive coordinator down there and Brad White. But like, they just. The only time that that game was close was when Will Levis could put up points with Wandell Robinson and Alante Taylor, talk trash about Kentucky and then pick six his way to his win. That still just. That pisses me off. I mean, it just.
B
You like his dancing?
A
Oh, man, I just, I. Taylor doesn't get enough credit for being all time bad guy at Tennessee. But my point is, is like they had nothing for Hypo Stein stylistically. Should be able to get them in the right ballpark. You know, I'm not going to. The next time I predict a Tennessee win is. I got to see it, man. I'm not that stupid, right? I have. I've gone through. I've gone through that heartbreak time and time again. You can't make me predict a win over Tennessee. But I do think that the way that Stein is going to play at Kentucky is going to make that series much tighter, much closer. And, you know, he's probably not going to get it done this year at Neyland. But if I'm not mistaken, I believe his dad was a part of the team that got the last win at Neal. And when I actually had fans there, we know Covid happened. We know Jarrett Guarantano. I think he just threw another interception, another pick six. But outside of that, I mean, it's been a long time. Hopefully that heartbreak will.
C
So you don't want to even put like a small bottle on, like, you know, in them airplane shooters. Yeah, I mean.
A
Oh, we could do some shooters. Yeah, let's do shooters. But you're getting healthy. You shouldn't have one that's bad for you.
C
Just one shot ain't gonna hurt, Doc. You know, that's what I tell him.
B
You said something interesting there. Couldn't run the ball lick. That makes me think of Joe Sloan at old lsu.
A
Yeah.
B
What in the hell could anyone see from what he did at LSU to think he'd be a Quality offensive coordinator. Higher.
A
Well, first and foremost he's great at getting good players. You can't win without good players. He gets him. He got him his third day on the job. He flipped a four star wide receiver from the boot. We didn't get a whole lot of four star wide receivers from the boot. Very affable, very. He's, they call him the mayor great representative for the program. Secondly, I think that some of what happened at LSU was just because of the mess that LSU became. So I'm going to try to excuse it as a Kentucky fan because I need to, but I do, I think to answer your question though, your ultimate question and the reason why I think there are questions, they're valid. If it all goes to hell in a hand basket, Will Stein can just call the place. Right. You know what I mean? Like if it all, if it all goes south, Stein can take over. But I do think there is something for like mid game. I don't think Stein is going to be vetoing play calls at the field but when it gets to a certain down and dis, like hey, we're doing this right. Right. So yeah, I think those concerns are valid, Michael. I think they are. Especially, especially the running part.
B
Right. Because where I hear they're moving safeties
A
to running back, I mean, because here's the thing. C.J. baxter, if C.J. baxter is hits a ceiling. Oh yeah, hell yeah. But I mean he's been hurt for the last two years. They got Javante Barnes in from Oklahoma. He's been hurt. Like they have all these guys who've been hurt. And you are correct, they did move a safety to running back during spring. Martell's Carter might be good, but it's not a great sign when you're moving your safeties to running back and then you're getting like they got a juco running back today. So, so I'm, I'm a little worried about the run game. We might need those Menchi that Menchie mobility to be running around some.
C
Oh man. Well, what about the defense? I mean, I mean that was.
A
We'll see. That's, that's the part to Shane there. People are sleeping on this defense.
C
Really. They are.
A
They're sleeping on it because first and
C
foremost it's going to be fun. I will say this. It's going to be a fun aggressive defense.
A
Yes.
C
Like you said. And, and sometimes I like that. I hate that Ben don't break mentality. You're going to have to steal some possessions. And I feel like that's what is perfect for this defense?
A
Well, bend on break works. When you have awesome players who can.
C
Right.
A
When you have Josh Allen who can get you 20 sacks, when you have a safety who can get five picks in a year. Right. But what I like about this Kentucky defense is who they didn't lose anybody really. Like they, they were able to keep all the players they needed. Tavian Gadson led the SEC in pressures for interior defensive linemen. A guy's an NFL player, he went and got a two year starter at nose from Purdue. Chops. Pork chops.
C
Like yeah, that my nickname.
A
Exactly. That's what I mean. You want your nose tackle the name pork chops. They got the most experienced safeties. Jordan Castell, three year starter in Florida, he's going on his fourth year. Ty Bryant going on his third and a half year starting. The linebackers, they're young, they're going to have to learn some. The concern I have is just on the edges because I like the potential. At corner to Ryan Nichols, he's flash but not always headed. Mike Queen, Humphrey Grace, that guy looks like he could be a good edge rusher. Same thing with Sam Green. CJ Works, you see the potential. But Mike, you know, what does potential get you unless you're actually sacking him, right? Unless you're getting the tackles for loss or else you're picking off the passes. So that's the part that you, you need to see more proof of concept. But you know what? I think all fans, there's one fan in particular, Shane, his name's Southend Josh and he would call it the March passive aggressive defense. I mean he would use a lot of other four letter words but people got, they were. That was wearing thin on them.
B
What record do you need to see from Will Stein to be at the end of the year saying hell yeah, this is the guy
A
for me I don't like. I know that I'll get there at 6 and 6. I know that I'll be like oh yeah, he's definitely got it. But I could get there with 5 and 7. If he stumbles out of the gate, you have. All right, well it turns out Bama and A and M are just going back to the playoff. They're good. Like you have some first year coach mistakes but then they figure it out and then Minchi's good. That's I think the biggest part of it all. Kenny Minchi be good rig throw for 3,000 yards. Do you know the last time, what year it was the last time that Kentucky had a 3,000 yard passer. I was a senior in high school in 2010. Okay, 2010. 3,000 yards is not that much, guys. I mean, it's, it's, it's not asking that much. Kenny Minchee can be at Kentucky for two years. So if you show the proof of concept, all right, we're going to. You get that Lake fake juice. You beat up a Missouri, Missouri might stink, right? They might be stinking by the end of the year. But if you beat teams that you don't like towards the end of the year, then everybody gets to feeling good. Here's the other part too, is like, I think, I don't think you're crazy if you want to say that Kentucky can be the surprise eight win team in the sec because there's like five or six out there. They're like, why is Kentucky any different than South Carolina? You know, like, come on, what, they can do it.
B
I don't know if you saw it. I ranked Kenny Minchi 10th in the quarterback SEC rankings and that's a projection of the end of the season. And I did that based on the belief in Will Stein and his ability to develop a quarterback. Do you think that's a fair ranking or did I miss it?
A
I think that you're on the right track. I might have just goosed it up a couple more. Maybe give him another one or two. Because some of these people, they're, they're doing the same thing with the Bama quarterback where it's like, you just believe that grub and DeBoer will get an Alabama quarterback throwing it well, especially winners range as high as Keelan Russell. I think it's smart to do that with Menchie, to give him a little bit of a bump just knowing, hey, these guys, like, who would have thought Bo Nix would have been good at Oregon? Will Stein got him the Heisman and then he won. We saw Bo Nixon, Auburn, it was a freaking roller coaster. And Will Stein got him in between the navigational beacons and got him to New York and now he's starting in playoff games for the Denver Broncos. So like, I'm not saying that's guaranteed, but Stein has found a way to find a way to get these quarterbacks on the right track.
C
What are you saying? To get that successful season? Are you, you know, because we all do this, like if we win our home games or if, if we get, you know, the offensive line jailed or something like the running game going. Is there, is there something that you're thinking saying if we do this, Kentucky will have A will have a good year.
A
For me it is if DJ Miller, the wide receiver, the ex receiver if he becomes a. I think he is the straw that stirs air drink. If he becomes the guy who I think he can be then it answers a lot of questions I have about this offense. He played six games last year. He was dealing with a hammy as a true freshman. Has a 50 yard touchdown against Tennessee, played well and he's had like throughout the spring if they were showing you a highlight it was him or Willie Rodriguez, a tight end. So if you can tell me that he is going to be a bona fide like I don't say household SEC name but one of those that's getting SEC player of the weeks here and there that's in consideration for an all SEC second or third team then I was that that's the key to getting them to have a successful season. Giving Kenny Minchie a go to outside receiver.
B
Hypothetical spread Kentucky at Tennessee. Let's say 20 points. Does Kentucky cover the 20 point spread?
A
I thought you were. Hell, I was willing to just say 10. Yeah, it and here's the other part too. Actually no, it'll be 20 by kickoff. Faison, Brandon. Why it should be Brandon Faison. He's got a last name for first name. A first name for a last name. I don't understand it. I just. I need that guy to stink. Can he be Nico too? We need another Nico in Tennessee. Bring the volleyball player back. I change your question though. Yeah, I think they cover the 20 and you take the over. Right. It's going to be you know, 49 to 39.
C
Have you an eye on that Tennessee line, see which one you want to take next year. Any line.
A
We'll take David Sanders. We'll get David Sanders. Hey I there is I. When I was asking we were interviewing Lance Herd for the first time about the second question. I don't even know what it is. Oh, I know it was because the old boy they ate the hot dog Mincey. Because when we got Mincey and we started interviewing him he was just dogging hypo scheme and all this. I mean he was just letting it all hang out. So I was like, you know the systems, they're a little different. Are they asking to do more here? And he just said I don't want to talk about Tennessee. Well, Mincey, the guy who flapped his gums turns out like I mean he finished his year at the concession stadium in the middle of the game. Way is Herd is all about business like this Guy I got.
B
I like Miny. Miny was a good.
C
Yeah, Miny was good.
A
Of course you did.
C
That's why we actually sent him the Trojan horse. We sent.
A
That's why we sent Vince Merrill to Louisville. Right. He's. He's going to break him down from within. Oh, man. But. But there. It has been just fun to have Kentucky football. Fun. Talking about a part of the conversation. And right now, Will Stein, if you made me. If you asked me, like, how. What box? Hasn't he checked this out? I mean, he's every. Every single box. Maybe, like, get another portal receiver. They wanted DeAndre Moore from Texas real bad, but, like, he's checked all the boxes now. Just go win some big games. You don't have to win them all, but you got to win one or two. Beating Shane Beamer would go a long way. Nobody likes that guy in this state. Beating Florida. Florida has so many rivals that, like, it doesn't talk about it, but, like, the Gators have lost four or five to Kentucky. Now you got a former Kentucky coach, former Kentucky defense coordinator, former Kentucky players, Kentucky South. It's.
C
It's.
A
There's going to be a lot of. A lot of juice in that game. If Will Stein can get a couple of those, it'll go a long way.
C
Seeing John Sumrall walk around, you, do you think about, what if that could have been us?
A
You know, initially, like, when it all started, I did. But, like, you needed. Stein is so opposite. Whereas, like, Summerall reminds me of like. Like, he's like, the great experiment. Like, what if Stoops did get one of those big jobs and had the. Because, like, Stoops tried to hire Buster Faulkner, who's Somerset offensive coordinator. Like, we're gonna get to see kind of it play out. Like, what if Stoops was, you know, with it, with the gm, with Nil, with all this? And what if he got to go one of those big jobs where's, like, Stein has been so opposite in so many ways, and I think you needed that. Like, you know, Mike, whenever you break up with a blonde, you're not gonna go. You're not gonna go looking for another blonde. You need. Exactly, Exactly. And I think that that change has been good for the fan base.
B
All right, well, we know in Kentucky, they make some elite bourbon, but in Tennessee, they make whiskey. And we are sponsored by Tennessee legend. They make the best whiskey in Tennessee. So we're asking everybody for their Tennessee legend. Boldest take in the sec. Could be Kentucky, could be anything. What do you got? For us.
A
We got any samples?
C
Not here. On this.
B
Drank it all.
A
Exactly. Hand you the. You pour a drink and I grab the bottle. So, boldest take. Boldest take. I know, I know. Because here's the other part, too. Is like saying that Shane Beamer's gonna get fired. Like, no, not bold at all.
B
Hmm.
A
Okay, I got you one. And I already predicted Alabama is losing Kentucky. Kentucky's not getting Caleb DeBoer fired. He's just leaving because he can't take the heat. He's going to get out of Dodge. He's going to get out of there. And then Lane Kiffin gets quartered by Alabama. And we get to do it again. We get to do it one more time. You like that?
C
I like that.
A
That's very bold. We'll get Lane Kiffin coaching half the SEC before we're done doing these shows, these podcasts. Mike's going to be gray haired and Lane Kiffin's going to be on his 12th SEC team.
B
All right, Nick, before you go, tell our audience where they can follow you, where they can find your works.
A
I'm Roush ksr. Like Roush Racing. Y' all know that. It's great. Kentucky sports radio. We're on the YouTubes. And who knows, maybe I might hang out with Mike some more this fall.
B
Roush Hour.
A
You think we'll do a little more Roush Hour roushing around? Hell, yeah. Let's do it.
C
Yeah.
D
Come on.
B
Show you something.
D
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Date: August 3, 2026
Host: Michael Bratton (SEC Mike) with “Cousin Shane”
Guest: Nick Roush (Kentucky Sports Radio)
This lively episode digs deep into the state of Kentucky football after a regime change, exploring whether new head coach Will Stein can re-energize the Wildcats, make them “fun again,” and shake up the SEC. Michael, Shane, and Nick Roush dissect Kentucky's roster transformation, compare the past and present leadership, and debate expectations, with a tone that’s part banter, part frustration, and all SEC passion.