From Notre Dame backup to Kentucky's steady hand: Kenny Minchey's new fit

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Kenny Minchey needed a fresh start. Coach Will Stein needed an experienced quarterback to help him lead the Kentucky offense in his first season with the Wildcats.

The Notre Dame transfer has been a perfect fit for the eighth-ranked Wildcats, who are one of this season's most surprising teams. They are off to a 7-1 start and the program’s best showing since going 10-1 in 1977. Minchey is a big reason why the Wildcats are in the College Football Playoff rankings (No. 6) and tied with No. 2 Georgia atop the Southeastern Conference standings with a month left.

Minchey's old coach isn't a bit surprised by the quarterback's success at Kentucky.

“I did get home in time to watch maybe the last two minutes of that Kentucky (vs. LSU) game," Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said. "You talk about a proud coach, man. I couldn’t be more proud for him.”

Before moving from South Bend to Lexington, Minchey spent three seasons at Notre Dame and lost the starting job to CJ Carr before the 2025 season began. He appeared in 10 games and threw for 212 yards in limited appearances for the Fighting Irish.

Kentucky firing Mark Stoops and hiring Stein presented the opportunity for Minchey to earn a starting job elsewhere.

Stein didn't want Minchey to feel any pressure “to go be Michael Jordan or LeBron James or freaking Tom Brady. Like, just go be Kenny Minchey, and we’ll be fine.”

Minchey debuted for Kentucky in a 45-13 win in the season opener against Youngstown State and has been steady in the pocket for the Wildcats all season.

Going into Saturday night’s showdown at No. 16 Tennessee (No. 13 CFP), Minchey has thrown for 1,755 yards and 14 touchdowns with only one interception while running Stein's offense. Minchey has completed 69% of his passes, which ranks him fourth in the SEC and 17th nationally. He set a program record by starting the season throwing 232 passes with only one interception.

He also has rushed for 38 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-clinching 2-point conversion in a 35-34 overtime win over No. 15 LSU on Oct. 10.

Minchey, who played in high school at Pope John Paul II Preparatory in Hendersonville, Tennessee, said his recipe for success has been a combination of protecting the ball and converting third downs. Minchey also likes the speed that Stein wants the Wildcats playing during games.

“I feel like the coaches put up a great scheme, so that way we can go out and play fast and play smart," Minchey said. "We’ve been able to do that consistently. We plan to do that for the rest of the season, the future, for our next game. It also helps whenever the defense is getting a bunch of turnovers.”

Minchey has been key to helping Kentucky win six straight games the Wildcats found themselves trailing, including three rallies in the fourth quarter against South Carolina, LSU and Oklahoma.

Kentucky and Stein will need Minchey at his best against a Tennessee defense that is the SEC's best and ninth-stingiest against the pass, allowing just 165.6 yards. The Volunteers also have intercepted eight passes this season, which is 22nd best nationally.

“He doesn’t turn the ball over a lot, the quarterback, so we just have to be patient, and at the end of the day, we just have to make stops,” Tennessee co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach Anthony Poindexter said of Minchey. "We have to get off the field on third down.”

___

Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here, visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full college football coverage here