Kentucky players to watch against Vanderbilt

Kentucky returns home in Week 7 to play in front of what is expected to be a good atmosphere in the season’s first Keeneland double-dip. However, no one saw this becoming a huge game, but that is exactly what it has become.

Vanderbilt knocking off No. 1 Alabama in Week 6 has added some more buzz to this long-running SEC football series. Kentucky’s fan base is charged up, and the athletic department is calling for a (late) crowd blackout as the team breaks in a brand-new jersey combination.

New uni combo unlocked 🔓😼 pic.twitter.com/I49rxheHsZ

— Kentucky Athletics (@UKAthletics) October 11, 2024

This certainly does feel like a big game. Will Kentucky be able to deliver a big win at home? KSR is taking a look at the players on the home sideline who could make the biggest difference against Vanderbilt under the lights at Kroger Field.

A big opportunity for Brock Vandagriff

The improvement of Kentucky’s offense since the woeful performance against South Carolina can be directly tied to improvement at the quarterback position. Brock Vandagriff took a step in the right direction against Georgia and played legitimately good football against Ohio and Ole Miss. Over the last two games, Vandagriff has completed at least 64 percent of his passes and gone north of eight yards per attempt in each start.

Kentucky’s passing game is starting to show some potential, and Saturday is a big game opportunity on paper for this passing game.

Vanderbilt enters this contest with some woeful numbers against the pass. The Commodores rank sub-90 in passing success rate, EPA/play, yards per dropback, and completion percentage. Vandy has shown some aggressiveness to stop the run, but that opens up opportunities in the passing game.

If the Kentucky offense is truly heading in the right direction, we will see a good performance from this passing game. Vandagriff will have a chance to have his best performance to date against a defense with an average pass rush that struggles in coverage.

Veteran presence of Jamon Dumas-Johnson could be felt against Vanderbilt

Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin went out of his way multiple times to compliment Georgia linebacker transfer Jamon Dumas-Johnson. Kiffin did this both pregame and postgame. The senior makes his presence felt on defense and is a great communicator.

Great communication will be needed against a Vanderbilt offense that will test Kentucky’s eye discipline and gap integrity. Last week, Alabama’s off-ball linebackers struggled, and that led to a big day for Vanderbilt’s offense. Kentucky will look to avoid that fate.

If Kentucky creates a ton of stops and consistently gets off the field, sound play and communication will be considered a key factor. Dumas-Johnson will play a big role in all of that.

Finding explosives on the ground

Bush Hamdan did not hide from the issue on Tuesday. Kentucky’s offense is looking to become more explosive in the run game.

We need to create the big one,” Hamdan told the media on Monday. “There hasn’t necessarily been the 40, 45-yarder, 50-yarder explosive type play. So a lot of it feels like little by little by little.”

Could this be the game where those big, explosive runs finally arrive? If they do, Jamarion Wilcox is the leading candidate.

Why Jamarion Wilcox could be set for big day against Vanderbilt (KSR+)

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The redshirt freshman has forced a team-leading 17 tackles this season and will be facing a Vanderbilt defense that has missed over 50 tackles in five games. Against Missouri, tailback Nate Noel rushed for over 200 yards running the stretch zone action out of the pistol. We have seen Wilcox succeed running that same concept.

Under Mark Stoops, Kentucky has always run the ball well against Vanderbilt, and Wilcox could be due for some big runs that could help flip this game and create some scoring opportunities for the Kentucky offense.