2024 Kentucky Position Previews: Quarterback

Kentucky’s fall camp is right around the corner. Before the Cats officially begin the 2024 season, KSR is taking a closer look at the roster and analyzing each position group. Personnel, storylines, questions, and one bold prediction will be included.

Quarterback is up first where Kentucky is breaking in a new position coach, starter, and has four players who were not on the roster last season.

Expected Starter: Brock Vandagriff

For the third time in four seasons, Kentucky has gone to the transfer portal to find its next starting quarterback. While we haven’t received an official announcement yet, all signs point to Georgia transfer Brock Vandagriff becoming the next QB1 in Lexington.

The redshirt junior was a former five-star recruit out of Bogart (Ga.) Prince Avenue Christian committed to play quarterback for Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma before ultimately flipping to Georgia. After backing up Carson Beck last season, Vandagriff entered free agency looking for a place to start and Kentucky will give him that opportunity in 2024.

Vandagriff committed and signed with Kentucky when Liam Coen was still on staff. The early returns indicate that the class of 2021 signee should be a good fit for new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Bush Hamdan. The transfer is a passer first but is a good enough runner to keep defenses honest in the zone read and scramble game. There could also be some designed runs sprinkled in.

Some projection is needed when setting expectations for Kentucky’s new quarterback, but Vandagriff has a live arm and good positional athleticism. All the traits are there for the quarterback to turn into a quality SEC starting quarterback.

Kentucky’s Quarterback Room

There are three scholarship quarterbacks on the roster, but a walk-on will play a big role this season.

Beau Allen (6-2, 223, RSr.)

A former high three-star prospect out of Lexington (Ky.) Catholic, Allen spent two seasons at Kentucky before entering the transfer portal after backing up Will Levis for two seasons. After throwing for 2,836 yards and 23 touchdowns at FCS Tarleton State in 2022, Allen was forced to sit out the 2023 season at Georgia Southern for an NCAA rule that has now been eliminated. The fifth-year player now returns to Kentucky as a walk-on and will serve a role as a veteran player with experience in Mark Stoops’ program.

Cutter Boley (6-5, 214, Fr.)

A massive recruiting win for the program, Boley enters his first season in college football after reclassifying up to 2024 following his commitment to Kentucky. The blue-chip recruit tallied 8,331 passing yards and 99 total touchdowns during his high school career at LaRue County and Lexington Christian. There is room for growth in decision-making (24 total interceptions as a junior and senior), but the raw tools are undeniable. Boley should get a redshirt season in year one.

Gavin Wimsatt (6-3, 227, RJr.)

Bush Hamdan decided to address depth in the quarterback room in the spring. Recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow was finally able to bring Wimsatt to Lexington via the transfer portal. The former Rutgers quarterback has played over 1,200 snaps in his career and is a real threat as a runner but there are some accuracy concerns as a passer. The former four-star recruit will compete with Brock Vandagriff and likely will open the season as Kentucky’s QB2.

Big Question: How good is Brock Vandagriff?

Kentucky is all-in on a power conference transfer quarterback again. After going the one-and-done route last season, the Wildcats are shifting back to the Will Levis plan with Brock Vandagriff. Now we need to find out how good the former blue-chipper is.

The program’s new QB1 led the first-team offense to multiple scoring drives against the first-team defense and a touchdown drive against the second-team defense in Kentucky’s spring game. Vandagriff was in total control from the pocket making decisive reads and delivering the ball with good velocity and accuracy in the short-to-intermediate passing game. We saw Vandagriff execute what appeared to be some curl/flat route combinations and did an excellent finding his checkdowns within the rhythm of the play structure. 

Add in Georgia’s strong track record in high school quarterback recruiting and multiple indicators are pointing to Vandagriff developing into a good starting quarterback. But just how good?

We could find out soon with three SEC games in the first five weeks.

Top Storyline: What will Bush Hamdan ask his quarterback to do?

Bush Hamdan was officially announced as Kentucky’s offensive coordinator on Feb. 14. During his introductory press conference one day later, the former Washington and Boise State offensive coordinator revealed how important running the quarterback would be in his system.

“I think it’s critical. I really do. I really believe that quarterback’s got to at least get you two first downs a game with his legs. And I think it can be a huge, huge advantage. Especially in the college game,” Hamdan told reporters. “You look at what I did at Missouri with Brady Cook, and you guys know that was one of his redeeming qualities into the player he’s become.”

“I just think there’s always a fine line of not running him too much and taking hits there, but I really believe it’s gotta be an integral part of your system.”

Now we are wondering what that will look like at Kentucky. In a three-game run as Missouri’s offensive coordinator at the end of the 2022 season, Cook ran the ball 37 times for 341 non-sack yards on 9.2 yards per rush. The quarterback went over 100 yards against Tennessee and Arkansas. Will we see that high volume over a full season? Probably not but Kentucky is going to run the quarterback.

Much talk this offseason has been about Kentucky becoming an efficient run game operation this season. The quarterback run game will play a big part in that. How big of a part? That is to be determined but Vandagriff showed in the spring game that he has the skill set and required positional athleticism to be a factor in the designed run game.

Bold Prediction: Kentucky’s QB room accounts for 30+ touchdowns

Kentucky is still looking for its first 3,000-yard passer of the Mark Stoops era. Will that ever arrive? I’m not willing to predict it this season but I’m willing to go out on a limb for another rare occurrence.

Kentucky’s quarterback position has only produced 30-plus touchdowns in one season during the Stoops era. In 2021, Will Levis threw for 24 touchdowns and rushed for nine more to accumulate 33 total touchdowns. The next closest number came in 2023 when Devin Leary accounted for 26 total touchdowns. The NC State transfer was the first Kentucky quarterback to reach 25 touchdown passes since Andre Woodson in 2007. Levis was the program’s first 30-plus touchdown performed since Woodson. Another one will arrive this fall.

The Wildcats will get 30-plus touchdowns from the quarterback position this year but there could be a caveat.

I fully expect Gavin Wimsatt to have a package in the offense and to be used as a change-of-pace wildcat quarterback. The Rutgers transfer will account for some touchdowns. Those few touchdowns will combine with Vandagriff to produce over 30 scores. Without a returning All-SEC tailback in the backfield, Kentucky could lean on more QB run in the low red zone. That should equal more scores.