LEXINGTON, Ky. — Four Kentucky football players have earned preseason All-Southeastern Conference honors from Phil Steele’s College Football Preview magazine, providing an early vote of confidence to new head coach Will Stein as he begins his first season leading the Wildcats.
Junior tight end Willie Rodriguez and senior center Coleton Price were named to the second team, while senior safety Ty Bryant and senior offensive lineman Lance Heard earned third-team honors. The recognition comes as Stein, who was named Kentucky’s head coach in December, prepares his squad for a season opener on September 5 against Youngstown State.
Price, a 6-foot-3, 318-pound transfer from Baylor, was included on the Rimington Trophy Watch List in 2025 and allowed just one sack on 526 pass block snaps last season. The Bowie, Texas native earned All-Big 12 Offensive Linemen Second Team honors from PFSN College after three seasons with the Bears.
Rodriguez, a 6-foot-4, 249-pounder from Taylor Mill, Kentucky, showed promise in his sophomore year with 23 catches for 310 yards and one touchdown in 12 games. He recorded a career-high six receptions for 78 yards against Vanderbilt, matching a Kentucky tight end record last set by C.J. Conrad in 2015.
Bryant, the Lexington native who played a vital role in Kentucky’s 2025 defense, led the Wildcats in tackles with 76 and interceptions with four, ranking 24th nationally in the latter category. The versatile defensive back also appeared in seven games as a punt returner, averaging 5.1 yards per return.
Heard, a 6-foot-6, 330-pound tackle from Bonita, Louisiana, arrives at Kentucky following stops at Tennessee and LSU. The transfer started all 12 games at left tackle for the Volunteers in 2025 and has allowed only three sacks during his college career across 1,780 offensive snaps.
The preseason honors represent the first significant individual recognitions for Kentucky’s roster since Stein took over the program. The coach has been aggressive in the transfer portal, adding 34 transfer players and retaining key defensive personnel.
Kentucky opens the 2026 season at Kroger Field. Season ticket packages for all seven home games are on sale at UKAthletics.com, with mini-pack options available for fans interested in attending only three, four or five games.
This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from UK Athletics, enriched with 3 web searches. The original source is available at https://ukathletics.com/news/2026/06/11/four-wildcats-earn-phil-steele-preseason-all-sec-honors/.
