Farmer Brock: Vandagriff Eyes Post-Football Career with Cattle

Brock Vandagriff spends his Saturdays knifing between SEC defenders and dropping bombs to wide receivers. Once his days are done on the gridiron, he plans on spending most of his time on a cow pasture.

As soon as Big Blue Nation was introduced to the quarterback, it was clear the Georgia native shared a passion for the outdoors. He is not the first Kentucky football player to pose for pictures with mallards and turkeys. What really sticks out is Vandagriff’s everyday attire. Rather than the team-issued sweats, you’re more likely to find Vandagriff rocking something like this.

This is the most significant Kentucky Football News of the Day: Brock Vandagriff and his amazing iPhone Belt Clip.

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— Nick Roush (@RoushKSR) April 17, 2024

There’s nothing fake about Vandagriff. He is who he is and that means when his football career eventually comes to an end, he wants to continue spending his days outdoors, working the land.

Vandagriff is working on his master’s in community and leadership development at the College of Ag. He was introduced to farm life at a young age on his grandparents and great-grandparents’ farms in Alabama. He’s also spent some summers working at his girlfriend’s family cattle farm in Georgia.

“Working with them has definitely sparked my interest,” Vandagriff recently shared for a UKNow feature. “Just being on the land, just hanging out with family — the dream.”

Aside from working the land, there are additional perks to working on a cattle farm. Vandagriff is a steak and potatoes guy. A steak sandwich is his pregame meal of choice. Over the summer he took a course called “Gate to Plate” that takes students from the Bluegrass Stockyards to the table to give them a hands-on look at how it’s made.

“Brock has told me several times that class has been his favorite class of his entire college career,” said professor Rebekah Epps. “I suspect the large amounts of hamburger, brisket, steak, tri-tips, and other beef may have had something to do with this being his favorite.”

It’s not hard to picture a world where Brock Vandagriff is whipping cattle into shape on his own land. Hopefully, that time does not come until after many successful years of quarterbacking in the National Football League.

Vandagriff Stays Steady

Through the first five games of his tenure as the Kentucky starting quarterback, Vandagriff hasn’t necessarily lit the world on fire. He’s averaging 158.6 yards per game (13th in the SEC) and has thrown for four touchdowns (17th SEC) while completing 59.8% (11th SEC) of his passes. The stat sheet doesn’t tell his full story.

In his first career SEC start, Vandagriff completed three passes for 30 yards. He was relentlessly harassed by the South Carolina defense. Despite the disastrous debut, he was not deterred. The following week he showed resolve and nearly led Kentucky to a win over his former team, No. 1 Georgia.

“That’s the one thing I love about him. Whether it’s going good or bad, he’s got a very steady demeanor,” Mark Stoops said this week on the SEC Teleconference.

He stayed steady in bad times and good times. Facing a fourth and long on the road in SEC play, Vandagriff was prepared to make the biggest throw of his career to Barion Brown, setting up the game-winning touchdown at Ole Miss.

“This is the sixth game the guy’s played,” offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan said earlier this week. “He is steady. He’s got everything you want in a quarterback from a leadership standpoint, from a skillset standpoint. I take a lot of ownership with the protection piece. He’s just gotta keep building.”