Will Stein pushes back on misconceptions about NIL at Oregon, praises Kentucky support

Since the NIL era arrived in college athletics, Oregon has been at the forefront. The school’s relationship with Phil Knight and Nike became a key talking point as the Ducks found success under Dan Lanning, and Will Stein was there along the way.

Now getting ready to become the head coach at Kentucky, Stein detailed his approach to NIL and revenue-sharing. But he also wanted to dispel a misconception about Oregon when it came to recruiting.

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Stein praised Kentucky’s support as he takes over for Mark Stoops. He cited the plan athletics director Mitch Barnhart and others in the department presented, saying UK is in a good position as it enters a new era on the football field. But even though it’s part of the landscape now, Stein said he’s not planning to lead with money – the same approach Oregon takes.

“Let me say this. I worked at a place everybody thinks Phil Knight, Nike, these guys got the most money,” Stein said Wednesday. “Yeah, there’s money there. Don’t get me wrong. But we beat recruits because we win the relationships. That’s where it starts. Guys still want to get recruited old school. You’ve still got to know mom, grandma, aunt, coach. You’ve got to be completely entrenched in these people’s lives. And when you can do that, you don’t always have to be the highest bidder.

“If the first conversation is about money, probably not the place for you – not because of lack of it. We have plenty of that here. Plenty. I talked to about 10,000 people last night the basketball game all very, very willing and supportive of the program. So I know we have that. But that can’t be the first thing to talk about. I want guys that love football and want to compete every single day to be the best version of themselves and win.”

Will Stein: ‘It ain’t the old days’

As Will Stein gets ready to adjust to life as a head coach in the NIL and rev-share era, On3’s Pete Nakos reported is targeting Oregon director of recruiting Pat Biondo as his general manager. While Stein could not confirm Biondo as the target – he said he expected that news come down “soon” – he noted the impact the financial component has on recruiting.

But when it comes down to it, he made it clear there are still similarities to what the recruiting process was like pre-NIL. That’s why Stein stressed the need for adaptability when it comes to navigating the ever-changing space.

“There’s a lot of facets to the evaluation process,” Stein said. “Then, it’s about the recruitment. Recruiting is still old school it really is. … There is a financial piece to it now. To me, the best trait of a college football coach now is adaptability. We’ve got to adapt.

“If you all are still saying, ‘I wish it was like the old days.’ It ain’t the old days. It’s not. So just get that out of your mind. Let’s push forward. Let’s move forward in this process. How do you do that? It takes everybody in this room.”