On Dec. 4, 2023, Brock Vandagriff entered the transfer portal. With Georgia quarterback Carson Beck returning for 2024, Vandagriff wanted the chance to start. There were a lot of teams interested in services, but two days later, he committed to the Kentucky Wildcats.
There was a ton of promise surrounding Vandagriff’s career at Kentucky, who had just developed transfer quarterback Will Levis into a first-round NFL draft pick. However, Vandagriff’s 2024 season would be wrought with injuries, ineffectiveness, and a benching. At the end of the season, he retired from football.
Brock Vandagriff’s 2024 season in review
Solid Start
At the beginning of the season, Vandagriff looked like he was making strides to be a productive starter for Kentucky. Against Southern Mississippi, he had a productive day with 310 yards and three touchdowns before the game was ended early due to lightning.
Unfortunately, the wheels completely fell off for him against South Carolina. He passed for only 30 yards on 10 attempts and threw an interception. He was also sacked four times, which meant he only gained one net yard the whole day. Kentucky lost 31-6.
Going against his former team Georgia, many were not expecting Vandagriff or Kentucky to have a chance, but the Wildcats defense came to play, only allowing Georgia to gain 262 total yards. Kentucky gained 11 more first downs than Georgia and had a lead until the midway point of the third quarter, when Georgia finally scored to make it 13-9.
Vandagriff had two drives to score a game winning touchdown. On the first drive, he led his team into field goal range to make the game 13-12. On the second drive, he led Kentucky all the way to the Georgia 48, but his third down pass fell incomplete, and on fourth down, Kentucky was called for a false start. This prompted head coach Mark Stoops to punt the ball.
Vandagriff and Kentucky lost 13-12 to the Georgia.
Against Ohio, Vandagriff threw for 243 yards, and he didn’t throw a touchdown pass, but he orchestrated three touchdown drives before being taken out for backup Gavin Wimsatt.
His biggest win came against No. 6 Ole Miss. Vandagriff threw for 243 yards and a touchdown. His biggest moment came on Kentucky’s final drive, when on fourth down from Kentucky’s 20, Vandagriff fired a dime to Barion Brown for 63 yards. Kentucky scored to take a 20-17 lead. Later, the Rebels missed a game-tying field goal, completing the upset.
Underwhelming Finish
After the Ole Miss win, Vandagriff was leading a ranked Kentucky team, but the Wildcats soon fell to Vanderbilt.
Vandagriff struggled down the stretch. He never had a game where he passed for over 200 yards, and he threw for just seven touchdowns and six interceptions with just a 54.5% completion percentage.
As a result, Kentucky slid to a 4-8 record and became ineligible for a bowl for the first time since 2015. It wasn’t all Vandagriff’s fault. The Kentucky running game only averaged 3.9 yards a carry and the offensive line suffered brutal injuries.
Still, Mark Stoops benched Vandagriff in Kentucky’s last SEC game against Texas. At the end of the season, he decided to retire instead of transfer to another team or battle for the starting job at Kentucky.
Overall, Vandagriff totaled just 1,593 yards, 10 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. The former five-star emulated a lot of what went wrong with Kentucky football in 2024.