Kentucky hires longtime B1G assistant to defensive staff, per report
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Kentucky has reportedly added a longtime Big Ten assistant as Will Stein continues to build out his initial staff in Lexington.
Tony Washington Jr. will be the program’s new defensive ends and outside linebackers coach, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Washington is currently an assistant on the staff of Ryan Day at Ohio State, where he works with the team’s defensive line.
Prior to his time at Ohio State, Washington was at UCLA for a single season. There, he was a DL and OLB assistant coach on DeShaun Foster’s staff. Before that, he was at Nebraska and Oregon.
While at Oregon, Washington served as the Ducks’ OLB coach. There, he worked with Stein while the latter was the team’s offensive coordinator. Now, the two are set to reunite at Kentucky.
Stein is taking the reins of a Kentucky program that parted ways with longtime head coach Mark Stoops after 13 seasons. In 2023, Stein’s first season in Eugene, the Ducks were second in FBS in total yardage. It led the country in passing yards per game and finished second in scoring.
Currently, Oregon ranks ninth in the country in scoring and 13th in total offense heading into the College Football Playoff.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
