What Brock Vandagriff Focused on Improving During the Bye Week

While the Kentucky defense has been dominant from the jump, it’s taken a little time for the offense to find a formula for success. However, the Wildcats have shown incremental improvement each week since the South Carolina loss and the same can be said about the quarterback, Brock Vandagriff.

The former five-star recruit was Lincoln Riley’s first choice over Caleb Williams in the 2021 recruiting class. Unlike Williams, Vandagriff had to sit and wait his turn at Georgia. Then he hit the transfer portal to Kentucky to find his first reps as a starting quarterback.

In a shortened season-opener, Vandagriff threw for three touchdown passes. He was thrown to the wolves the following week, but in each week since, he’s taken more steps in the right direction. He had a career-high 243 passing yards in a win at Ole Miss, including a gutsy 63-yard pass to Barion Brown on fourth and long that led to the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter. The incremental improvement is evident in the box scores.

Opponent	Completions	Attempts	Yards	Y/P Attempt	TD	INT
Southern Miss	12	18	169	9.38	3	1
South Carolina	3	10	30	3.0	0	1
Georgia	14	27	114	4.22	0	0
Ohio	17	24	237	9.87	0	0
Ole Miss	18	28	243	8.67	1	0

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Vandagriff Needs to Play Like a Duck

What exactly does the incremental improvement feel like for the Kentucky quarterback? During last night’s Mark Stoops Show, Vandagriff shared what he focused on during the bye week.

“With me personally, just getting the ball out to playmakers in space. Sometimes I feel like I get a little — I overreact a little bit to some of the stuff that happens in the backfield,” said Vandagriff. “You got to stay calm in the chaos.“

Protection has been an issue throughout the season and often times he has not been quick enough to get the ball out of his hands. That’s why he’s leaning on some advice he received from an old coach to “play like a duck.” It’s an appropriate analogy for the avid outdoorsman.

“Above water, everything’s calm, but below water — you’re processing, you’re moving your feet, a bunch of stuff’s happening — you just got to stay calm through all that and don’t create your own pressure. You can move six inches to the right and still deliver a strike. That comes with feel and stuff like that. But then, maybe if somebody’s coming at me that that isn’t getting picked up or if I’m hot, just bam, being able to get the ball out fast and not get behind the sticks.”

By playing like a duck, Vandagriff can help this offense really fly in the second half of the season.