Halfway through Kentucky’s 2024 season, we still don’t know how good Brock Vandagriff is
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Preview: Kentucky at Florida
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Entering the 2024 season, there was no bigger question facing Kentucky football than how good quarterback Brock Vandagriff actually was.
Halfway through the regular season, there is still no clear answer to that question.
“I think we know what we have with him and how hard he battles,” offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan said of Vandagriff after Saturday’s loss to Vanderbilt. “And sometimes with guys like that, that extend plays, sometimes it goes your way, and sometimes it doesn’t. … I do think he’s growing, and he’s taking one week at a time.
“Certainly, he’s taken certain hits and things like that, and you got to get him as healthy as possible to finish out this year.”
Through six games Vandagriff ranks 11th in the SEC in passing yards per game (158.5). Vandagriff’s per game averages were hurt by the season opening blowout of Southern Mississippi being ended early in the third quarter due to lightning, but he actually threw for more yards that day (169) than in three other games.
Vandagriff ranks 16th in the SEC in passing touchdowns (five). Auburn and Texas both have multiple quarterbacks who have thrown more touchdowns than Vandagriff so far.
But statistics do not tell the whole story for Vandagriff.
His worst performance of the season came against South Carolina when he completed just 3 of 10 passes for 30 yards, but UK coach Mark Stoops acknowledged afterward the pass protection was so bad that, “We didn’t give him a chance half the time.”
Kentucky ranks 105th nationally in sacks allowed. While Hamdan and offensive line coach Eric Wolford appear to have focused on protections that account for UK’s shortcomings there since the South Carolina game, Vandagriff still faces frequent pressure in obvious passing situations.
Vandagriff is not blameless in the sack total as he has held onto the ball too long at times, but the need to use extra tight ends as blockers has not helped his passing options. Against Vanderbilt, Kentucky even used reserve tackle Malachi Wood as a tight end to add an extra blocker.
Vandagriff bounced back from the South Carolina debacle to lead UK to a near miss against then No. 1-ranked Georgia. He followed the one-point loss to Georgia by topping 230 passing yards in wins over Ohio and a top-10 Ole Miss team.
“He’s a guy that really doesn’t get rattled,” Stoops said of Vandagriff before the Vanderbilt game. “He really likes to put his head down, and compete, and worry about himself, and his team, and want to improve. That’s what you like about him: His demeanor is very steady, and his work ethic, and his work habits are very steady as well.”
The Vanderbilt game offered a clear glimpse at the positives and negatives of Vandagriff’s performance so far.
He finished the night having completed 15 of 25 passes for 158 yards and one touchdown while gaining 37 yards on nine carries. The offense moved the ball well for long stretches of the game but stalled in the red zone due to penalties and turnovers.
Vandagriff has actually thrown just two interceptions this season, fewer than all but two SEC quarterbacks with as many pass attempts as him, but his ball security seems much worse because he has had multiple near misses that probably should have been intercepted. Against Vanderbilt he actually had three plays initially ruled as turnovers (two interceptions and one fumble) overturned on replay review.
Two weeks after providing one of the most exciting plays in the Stoops era on a fourth down deep ball to Barion Brown, Vandagriff’s attempt at leading another comeback was foiled by two holding penalties and a sack.
IS BROCK VANDAGRIFF HEALTHY?
Evaluating Vandagriff’s performance has become even more difficult as Kentucky uses backup quarterback Gavin Wimsatt more often.
Coaches insist Wimsatt is more than a “wildcat formation” quarterback, though he has attempted just one pass while a game was still in doubt this season. For much of the season, Wimsatt’s plays behind center featured Vandagriff lining up at wide receiver, but in recent weeks Vandagriff has actually left the field when Wimsatt was used. Wimsatt has not been used for multiple plays in a row other than when he appeared late in the Ohio game after the outcome was already decided.
A vocal portion of the fan base on social media has criticized Hamdan’s use of Wimsatt for disrupting the rhythm of Vandagriff and the offense, but coaches acknowledged after the Vanderbilt game part of the reason Wimsatt played as much as he did is because they wanted to prevent Vandagriff from taking more hits as a runner.
“(Vandagriff) wasn’t in a situation that we were going to be able to run him as the only guy in there,” Hamdan said. “And so again, we’ve had the Gavin plan, and there was certainly a concerted effort to have Gavin carry it.”
Vandagriff has not missed any game time due to injury, but he has frequently been included on UK’s SEC-mandated availability report, including last week when he was listed as “probable” leading up to the Vanderbilt game.
“Going into that game the game plan was to try and unload some of that off of (Vandagriff),” Stoops said. “And Gavin brings a different element. He is a very big, strong, young man, and he can throw the ball. So, I thought it was a good plan and was efficient.”
Wimsatt’s first four plays against Vanderbilt resulted in first downs, but his offensive package does little to add the explosive plays Kentucky’s offense has been missing.
UK ranks 109th nationally in offensive plays of at least 20 yards and 92nd in passing plays of at least 20 yards. The best hope for adding the explosive element is a healthy Vandagriff finding enough time to connect on more deep passes.
The good news is the obvious rust on display early in the season from a quarterback who barely played in three years at Georgia has lessened over the course of the first half. While Vandagriff has yet to live up to his five-star recruiting hype from high school, he has had moments like the game-winning drive against Ole Miss where he has shown enough promise to dream of him becoming a star.
“I just got to be better back there at quarterback,” Vandagriff said after the Vanderbilt loss, downplaying any concern about his health. “Got to be a better leader, got to be a better player, got to be better on the sidelines, things of that sort.
“Got to look myself in the mirror and get better. Obviously, got a week to prepare and be back out there next Saturday.”
Next game
Kentucky at Florida
When: 7:45 p.m. Saturday
TV: SEC Network
Records: Kentucky 3-3 (1-3 SEC), Florida 3-3 (1-2 SEC)
Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1
Series: Florida leads 53-21
Last meeting: Kentucky won 33-14 on Sept. 30, 2023, in Lexington
This story was originally published October 15, 2024 at 7:59 AM.
