Bush Hamdan's QB philosophy includes relationship building, adaptation, and adding to the run game

Kentucky has another new offensive coordinator. Former Washington (2018-19) and Boise State (2023) offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan took the podium at Kroger Field on Thursday afternoon to meet with the media. One item that immediately stood out was quarterback philosophy.

Hamdan has helped guide traditional pro-style pocket passers and has shown an ability to take advantage of a dual-threat skill set at Missouri (2020-22) and Boise State. The 38-year-old play-caller touched on numerous topics in his half hour at the podium, but his philosophy on quarterback utilization stood out.

Over the next few months, Hamdan will work diligently at the Joe Craft Football Training Facility to build relationships, adapt to personnel, and implement a QB run game. The newest hire for Mark Stoops is excited about this opportunity. It all starts at quarterback.

“You don’t take the job unless you feel pretty good about that quarterback room. I’m excited certainly to work with all those guys and I know they’re eager to,” said Hamdan. “I know Brock [Vandagriff] and all of those guys have already been by, and I’m excited to get to work with them.

Create a relationship

The date that Kentucky started its most recent offensive coordinator search was not optimal. With the first big batch of coaching movement taking place in December, Mark Stoops and his program were behind the 8-ball. Spring practice was quickly approaching, and the Wildcats needed an offensive coordinator.

New play-caller Bush Hamdan will be putting in some long hours at the football facility during this recruiting dead period. Not only does Kentucky have to install a new offense, but Hamdan must get to know the offensive personnel on the roster. Building relationships in his quarterback room will be vital for the new Kentucky offensive coordinator.

“I don’t think there’s a more important relationship — maybe in football — than the coordinator and the starting quarterback. So that’s the starting point,” Hamdan told the media. “What do you feel comfortable with? You do understand that a lot of teams have a lot of carryover in schemes. Maybe not in terminology. But it’s getting on the same page with him.”

Georgia transfer Brock Vandagriff has only been on campus for a couple of months and has already seen a coordinator change. Early in the process, it will be imperative for the redshirt junior and Hamdan to get on the same page.

Subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel for press conferences, interviews, original shows, fan features, and exclusive content.

Efficiently use personnel

Bush Hamdan’s offense is in the pro-style family, but the play-caller and quarterbacks coach will mix in tempo and some modern college spread concepts. After not running the quarterback at Washington, Hamdan showed evolution at Missouri and Boise State by implementing the QB run game.

Hamdan’s philosophy is that he must get to know the players on his roster and highlight their strengths on game days in the fall.

“I think it’s two-fold. I think the mistake a little bit is ‘hey, here’s my offense, and you kind of learn it’. It’s when you start to figure out who that guy is, what does he do well? There’s certain concepts that some of these guys have been running ever since they were in the seventh grade,” Hamdan said on Thursday. “You know when the game’s on the line, and there’s 61,000 fans out there, what are they going to be able to execute?”

Hamdan said he will spend a couple of days getting a feel for the roster before beginning what will be the early stages of the playbook implementation process. The new offensive coordinator needs to get to know Brock Vandagriff and what his playing style brings to the table. Recent work history tells us this coordinator and quarterback relationship could be a strong one.

Got thoughts? Continue the conversation on KSBoard, the KSR Message Board. New members can try 1 month for $1.

Expect more QB run

After spending two years at Washington working with pocket passers Jake Browning and Jacob Eason in the Pac-12, Hamdan spent three years at Missouri and dabbled with the QB run game. In 2022, Brady Cook rushed for 720 non-sack yards and six touchdowns as the QB run package became a bigger part of the offense in Columbia. In the final three games when Hamdan took over play-calling, Cook rushed for 341 non-sack yards on over 11 yards per rush.

That continued at Boise State.

Taylen Green and Maddux Madsen combined to rush for 593-non sack yards and 10 touchdowns on 7.0 yards per rush. Hamdan believes that involving the quarterback in the run game plan is something that must be taken advantage of.

“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.”

As a high school senior, Brock Vandagriff rushed for 17 touchdowns and over 500 yards. Expect Kentucky’s newest QB to be involved some in the run game throughout the season. After showing a reluctance to involve quarterback run the last three years, it sounds like we will see a philosophical change at Kentucky under Bush Hamdan.