Kentucky Spring Notebook: Brock Vandagriff is keeping 'it simple'
Week three of spring practice kicked off for Kentucky on Tuesday. Over at the Joe Craft Football Training Facility, Kentucky held workout No. 7 while the weather outside in the Bluegrass got wild on Tuesday morning. Following the latest practice, offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan met with the media again to discuss the latest with the Kentucky offense.
Kentucky is still in the mixing and matching phase on offense trying to figure out their identity on offense, but the group has made strides. In the backfield, Hamdan is seeing some good progress at quarterback and tailback.
KSR has the latest as the spring game is now less than two weeks away.
Kentucky wants Brock Vandagriff to take it slow
Kentucky quarterback Brock Vandagriff has spent a lot of time in the SEC. The Georgia transfer is now in year four of college football and owns a high-level knowledge of the game. That alone will give the redshirt junior a chance to succeed when the games begin. Vandagriff also owns an intriguing skill set with an impressive toolbox.
Bush Hamdan likes what he’s seen from the new Kentucky quarterback this spring, but wants Vandagriff to take things slow and keep it simple in this new scheme.
“He’s got the traits and the tools. Certainly, physically, to be a really successful player in this league. I think for him it’s just again week three in the system. He’s such a smart player. Sometimes it’s backing off him a little bit. Just stay focused on what has to get done to execute this play even though he sees the game in a extremely mature light,” Hamdan said when asked about Vandagriff. “It’s just keep it simple and the focus is on consistency one play at a time.”
Expectations are high for Kentucky’s latest transfer quarterback, but the Wildcats just want to see the former five-star recruit stack good days together. Hamdan wants Vandagriff to get total command of the new offensive scheme and then let it rip.
Consistency has been a popular buzzword out of Kentucky during spring practice. The Wildcats need their new starting quarterback to deliver consistency.
RB1 race might be wide-open
Kentucky has another 1,000-yard tailback to replace after Ray Davis went one-and-done in Lexington. To address the position, the Wildcats added Ohio State transfer Chip Trayanum in the offseason. Former NC State transfer Demie Sumo-Karngbaye is back for year two at Kentucky. High three-star recruit Jason Patterson has also made a big early splash during spring practice.
The Wildcats have shown a preference for having a clear No. 1 tailback. No one in Jay Boulware‘s position room has emerged as the clear top option yet.
“It’s been a solid group. Not necessarily one guy just day in and day out jumping off as the clear favorite. Chip’s been a tremendous addition to this program. He’s a pro, he knows what it looks like. Demie is really doing a nice job,” Hamdan said. “We’ve talked about Jason and him coming along.”
“That group’s got some guys that have a lot of ability we just gotta bring them along.”
Kentucky has a clear top three with Jamarion Wilcox and La’vell Wright in that next group. Could a committee approach arrive in the fall? That is quite possible. The track record of Sumo-Karngbaye and Trayanum should give this position a high floor. The potential of Patterson might just raise the ceiling.
Did Kentucky find another three-star prospect who will turn into a 1,000-yard rusher? Only time will tell, but the early returns on Patterson are promising.
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