With former Kentucky quarterback Devin Leary hearing his name called in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens, the Wildcats again found themselves in the dreaded quarterback search.
As he has in years past, head coach Mark Stoops decided the solution to Kentucky’s quarterback issue would come from a familiar source: the transfer portal.
The Wildcats would eventually find their guy in Georgia transfer Brock Vandagriff, a former five-star recruit out of high school who has spent his entire college career backing up the likes of current Los Angeles Rams back-up Stetson Bennett and Georgia quarterback Carson Beck.
While there was little doubt that Vandagriff would find his first starting job in Lexington, he wasted no time in making sure he embodied the leadership role of a quarterback.
“It’s actually what my masters is in, communication and leadership development,” Vandagriff said. “But at the end of the day it’s all about being able to lead your ship, that’s how I define leadership.”
For a Georgia native whose initial college decision saw him primarily on the sidelines for the Bulldogs, uprooting himself from his home state was bound to be accompanied by plenty of adjustments.
But for Vandagriff, those adjustments had little to do with football.
“The weather is different, this winter was definitely different,” Vandagriff said. “I didn’t have too many friends here, so I’ve definitely been working on that.”
Throughout all the tribulations that came with uprooting himself and leaving everything he’s known, Vandagriff has prioritized “stacking days” in all aspects of both football and life.
Despite that, Vandagriff hasn’t let go of everything he learned in his time at Georgia, with the junior quarterback remembering the lessons learned from the guys he found his name below on the depth chart.
“Watching (Beck) and Stetson has been really influential to my game,” Vandagriff said. “Just making sure I take bits and pieces from other quarterbacks I’ve backed up in the past to put in my toolbox and hopefully become a better quarterback myself.”
When listening to Vandagriff one thing is obvious: he understands the importance of being proficient off the field but, at the end of the day, he’s here to play football. It’s hard to blame a guy who’s seen the sidelines for the majority of his college career.
Any question Vandagriff has fielded has garnered a response concluded by him addressing his desire to just play the game.
“The next one,” Vandagriff said about what game he’s looking forward to the most. “At any point throughout the season, if you ask what my favorite game is coming up, it’s the next one.”
With Stoops and the rest of the Wildcats singing Vandagriff’s praises throughout the entirety of Fall camp, Kentucky fans are optimistic about the possibility of yet another transfer quarterback leading it to the promised land.
Vandagriff and company will look to put together an impressive 2024 campaign when they kick off the season in their home opener against Southern Miss on August 31 with kickoff set for 7:45 p.m. ET.
