Mark Stoops expects Brock Vandagriff to start against Murray State

The status of Brock Vandagriff in Week 12 was up in the air after Kentucky’s starting quarterback suffered an injury against Tennessee that knocked him out of the lineup. KSR reported that true freshman Cutter Boley was getting snaps with the first unit during the bye week.

But Kentucky should not have to play a game without its starting quarterback. On Wednesday night at KSBoard, KSR’s Zack Geoghegan reported that Brock Vandagriff would be the starter against Murray State. Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops confirmed that report in a press conference after Thursday’s walkthrough practice.

“I expect him to be out there under center first offensive snaps. He was out there today practicing,” Stoops said when asked about Vandagriff’s status. “It was a walkthrough but he was out there.”

The Georgia transfer will make his 10th consecutive start at quarterback for Kentucky on Saturday afternoon at Kroger Field. Kentucky will be looking to end a long four-game losing streak against a 1-9 Murray State squad. This non-conference contest should present a good opportunity for a laboring Kentucky offense to get rolling before consecutive games against ranked opponents end the season.

Kentucky wasn’t just dealing with an injury at quarterback. The injury bug hit this program hard the last couple of games before the second bye of the season. Stoops says that UK isn’t a completely healthy football team yet, but they are heading in the right direction.

“Our players have been in a good place. We talked about it that the bye I think was at a good time. We’re beat up and we’re getting better,” Stoops explained. “We’re still not anywhere near full strength, but I think mentally you can see guys in a better spot and we’re trying to finish strong.”

Kentucky does not publish injury/availability reports for non-conference games, but the program will get a key piece back at the sport’s most important position on Saturday.

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