Will Stein and Mark Pope are slowly turning Kentucky into a football school

The Kentucky Wildcats are one of the most storied basketball programs in the Country with 8 National Championships. On a yearly basis, it felt like Kentucky had the most talented roster in the Country while the football program was mostly forgettable. Things in Lexington have started to shift since John Calipari's departure.

Mark Pope returned to Kentucky to become the Wildcats head coach, and the results have been underwhelming to say the least. This season, Kentucky needed a miracle from Otega Oweh to survive Santa Clara before they were embarrassed by Iowa State with one of the most expensive rosters in the Country.

Meanwhile, the football program hired Will Stein to replace Mark Stoops, and the momentum has flipped. The Wildcats were in on and landed some of the best transfers in the Country and have already reeled in a 5-star quarterback in Jake Nawrot.

On Tuesday Night, Kentucky native Tyran Stokes committed to Kansas over Kentucky, and the Wildcats fans seem more excited about the upcoming football season rather than basketball.

While Kentucky will never fully be a football school, with the struggles on the basketball side, Will Stein has a chance to get full buy-in from boosters in the program. Kentucky has already given Will Stein the resources to build one of its best rosters in a long time, and if the experiment is a success, the number could increase.

The Wildcats won't need to make the College Football Playoff in year one, but starting to trend in the right direction is key. The roster has talent to compete in the SEC, and if Stein can continue to develop talent as he did at Oregon, this team shouldn't have any problems competing week in and week out.

Will Stein has already started to shift the momentum in Lexington, and the next season will be big for his future.

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