4 Kentucky Wildcats earn weekly college football awards

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Following Kentucky Football’s historic win at No. 9 Texas A&M, a host of Wildcats have earned weekly college football awards.

To kick things off on defense, Kentucky outside linebacker Sam Greene was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week.

Joining Greene with the defensive awards is Kentucky safety Jordan Castell, who was named the Panini Senior Bowl Defensive Player of the Week.

On offense, quarterback Kenny Minchey has been named a Davey O’Brien Great 8 Quarterback of the Week. This is a major honor for Minchey, as all quarterbacks named to the Great 8 during the first nine weeks of the season join the Davey O’Brien Midseason Watch List.

Finally, first-year head coach Will Stein was named the Dodd Trophy National Coach of the Week. The Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week award honors a head coach who led his team to a major victory while also embodying the award’s three pillars of scholarship, leadership, and integrity.

Greene, a 6-foot-2, 251-pound fourth-year senior, recorded an interception, six tackles, one-half tackle for loss, and a fourth-down stop for a turnover on downs. That, along with the interception, ended two Texas A&M drives into the red zone.

Castell, a 6-foot-2, 211-pound senior, racked up a team-high and career-best 13 tackles, one pass deflection, and a fourth-quarter interception that helped seal the Wildcats’ victory.

In just his third career collegiate start, the 6-foot-2, 211-pound Minchey completed 14/18 passes for 252 yards and two touchdowns. The redshirt junior guided a Kentucky offense that racked up 408 total yards, the fourth-highest total in program history in a road contest vs. an AP Poll top-10 team. He completed his final 11 throws, including all nine of his attempts in the second half.

As for Stein, it took just three games for him to score his first signature win as a head coach. Saturday’s win over the ninth-ranked Aggies was the program’s highest-ranked victory since beating No. 6 Ole Miss on the road in 2024. 

The 36-year-old Stein is the third first-year UK coach to beat an AP Poll top-10 team, the first UK head coach to win a true road game vs. an AP top-10 team in his first season at the school, and now owns the second-highest-ranked road win at an SEC campus in school history.

“Coach Stein has announced his arrival to the head coaching ranks in impressive fashion,” said Chairman of the Boddy Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation Jim Terry in a press release. “In a conference full of strong teams, his program looks ready to compete with the very best. We look forward to following the team’s success in his first season and beyond.”

Good times for the football Cats.

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