Four Wildcats Earn Phil Steele Preseason All-SEC Honors
Four Kentucky players have earned preseason All-Southeastern Conference honors from Phil Steele, including a pair of offensive players on the second team and both an offensive and defensive star on the third team.
Junior tight end Willie Rodriguez and senior center Coleton Price each were named to the second team. Mainstay senior safety Ty Bryant and senior offensive lineman Lance Heard garnered third-team honors as new head coach Will Stein enters his first season with the Wildcats. Both Price and Heard are transfers.
Price, a 6-foot-3, 318-pounder from Bowie, Texas, transferred to Kentucky after three seasons at Baylor where he played in 32 career games with 30 starting assignments at center. In 2025, he was on the Rimington Trophy Watch List and allowed only one sack on 526 pass block snaps. He earned All-Big 12 Offensive Linemen Second Team by PFSN College.
Rodriguez, a 6-foot-4, 249-pounder from Taylor Mill, Kentucky, started in seven of 12 games played as a sophomore with 23 catches for 310 yards and one TD. He had two receptions for 28 yards and the first touchdown of his career vs. Eastern Michigan and a career game at Vanderbilt with a career-high six receptions for a career-best 78 yards at Vanderbilt. His six receptions were the most for a UK tight end since C.J. Conrad caught six at Mississippi State in 2015.
Bryant, a native of Lexington, Kentucky, started in all 12 games for the Wildcats last season, leading the team in total tackles (76) and interceptions (4). He also led the SEC in interceptions and ranked 24th nationally in that category. He added 2.0 tackles for loss and a pass breakup in his stellar season, and his versatility, boosted by his baseball background, also made him one of UK’s primary punt returners. He finished the season with a team-high seven punt returns for 36 yards. In his three-year career, Bryant has totaled 162 tackles, including 4.0 tackles for loss. He also has five career interceptions, two pass breakups and two forced fumbles.
Heard, a massive 6-foot-6, 330-pounder from Bonita, Louisiana, arrived at UK via both Tennessee and LSU and has played in 35 career games (23 at UT and 12 at LSU) with 24 starts (23 at UT and 1 at LSU). Has seen action on 1,780 offensive snaps and allowed only three sacks in his career. In 2025 he started all 12 games at left tackle in 2025 for the Volunteers.
The Wildcats open the 2026 season in Kroger Field on Sept. 5 vs. Youngstown State at 1 p.m. ET on SEC Network +. New season tickets for all seven home games are now on sale, which offer a considerable discount as opposed to single-game tickets, which will be available at a later date. Mini-pack offerings also are now available to fans interested in attending just three, four or five games in 2026. Go to UKAthletics.com for more information.
