After waiting three years for first college start, Brock Vandagriff handled one more delay
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Game day: Kentucky 31, Southern Mississippi 0
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Saturday’s Kentucky-Southern Mississippi football game at Kroger Field in Lexington.
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Brock Vandagriff had to wait four years for his first college start, so what was an extra couple hours?
The former five-star recruit who spent three seasons as a backup at Georgia before transferring to Kentucky was forced to wait alongside his teammates through a two-hour, 20-minute lightning delay before the Wildcats’ season opener against Southern Miss on Saturday.
When the game finally started at 10:05 p.m., Vandagriff needed just two plays to gain his first first down on a 9-yard keeper. There were mistakes along the way but by the time the game was called due to a second lightning delay with UK leading 31-0 and 9:59 left in the third quarter, Vandagriff had shown the type of promise recruiting pundits had praised him for in high school.
“Until that quarterback gets under center, goes and plays in that stadium and games, then you don’t know exactly what you have,” UK coach Mark Stoops said. “But he played like I thought he would. And he’s not perfect — and none of our team is — but I think there’s a lot to build on that.”
Vandagriff completed 12 of 18 passes for 169 yards, three touchdowns and one interception in the victory. He also gained 35 yards on five carries.
Kentucky’s first drive ended when a Vandagriff pass was tipped into the air and then intercepted at the Southern Miss 15-yard line. Another drive stalled after a Southern Miss defender dropped what could have been a pick six, one play after Barion Brown dropped what would have been a long gain.
But Vandagriff also showed off an impressive ability to keep plays alive, eluding a rush long enough to find a receiver open downfield multiple times. He hit wide receiver Ja’Mori Maclin for a 46-yard gain to set up the final touchdown of the night and exhibited impressive touch on his first touchdown by lofting a 12-yard pass over a defender to Brown in the end zone.
“First game, first start … I think he did a good job,” said linebacker and fellow Georgia transfer Jamon Dumas-Johnson, who grabbed an interception in his first game as a Wildcat. “Interceptions happen, things like that. So, it only goes up from here, expectations go on up for here. SEC opponent next week. Now you gotta turn it up just a little bit.”
Since arriving at UK in January, Vandagriff has pushed back at suggestions he might be approaching things differently as Kentucky’s starter than he did as a backup at Georgia, but he acknowledged to reporters earlier in the week he was unlikely to sleep much before his first start. He claimed that was the same emotion he felt before games at Georgia — or the night before a hunting trip — but Vandagriff certainly looked like a player eager for the moment when he took several unnecessary hits on first-quarter runs.
“Maybe I was just a little amped up going in tonight or something,” Vandagriff said. “But just trying to get some some yards for the boys.”
Vandagriff appeared to grow more comfortable as the game progressed, and the offense showed little signs of slowing down before the game was called in the third quarter.
Kentucky will hope the few mistakes on display against Southern Miss were the product of first-start jitters and the lengthy delay as the quality of competition escalates in the SEC opener against South Carolina next week. A matchup with No. 1 Georgia, Vandagriff’s former team, follows in week three.
The good news for Vandagriff is the games to come could hardly be stranger than his first college start.
“It’s gonna be tough waking up for church tomorrow,” Vandagriff said during a postgame news conference that started after midnight. “Last night wasn’t the best night’s sleep, but that’s normal at this point.
“Obviously this is way past my bedtime, even on a normal night. And so, yeah, it’ll be rough waking up for church, but we’ll be there.”
This story was originally published September 1, 2024 at 1:36 AM.
