Why did Brock Vandagriff, Jamon Dumas-Johnson transfer from Georgia football to Kentucky?

Like most programs across college football, Kentucky has found little success against Kirby Smart’s Georgia juggernaut over the last decade.

Kentucky has lost 14 in a row to Georgia, including all 11 meetings in the Mark Stoops era.

In an effort to close the gap with the Bulldogs, Stoops added two hyped transfers from Smart’s program this offseason. When Kentucky takes on the No. 1 Bulldogs on Saturday both its starting quarterback (Brock Vandagriff) and weakside linebacker (Jamon Dumas-Johnson) will be facing their former teammates.

“I think with both (Dumas-Johnson) and Brock, the nice thing is they’re bringing some elements and some things of what it takes to play at that level,” Stoops said in December when announcing the transfer class. “And to communicate that and work with our players and blend in with our culture, but to bring any of that winning attitude, that winning formula, the work ethic, what it takes and be leaders on this team. Hopefully educate and push our players to a higher level as well.”

Vandagriff, a former five-star high school recruit, barely played in three seasons at Georgia but Dumas-Johnson was an All-American for the Bulldogs’ 2022 national championship team.

Why did the pair leave Georgia and transfer to Kentucky? The reasons are varied.

Brock Vandagriff

The reason for Vandagriff leaving Georgia was obvious.

While starring at Prince Avenue Christian High School just a few miles from Georgia’s campus, Vandagriff flipped his commitment from Oklahoma to Georgia as a five-star recruit in high school. In his first two years at Georgia, Vandagriff was blocked by two-time national champion quarterback Stetson Bennett. Prior to the 2023 season, he lost the starting competition to Carson Beck, another highly touted quarterback who was a year older than Vandagriff.

With Beck, who is projected as a first-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft, electing to return to school for the 2024 season and Vandagriff finishing his Georgia degree in three years, the need to find a starting job elsewhere was clear.

“Just being able to stick around (at Georgia), being true to your word was something that was pretty, pretty important to me,” Vandagriff said before the season. “And just valued those relationships there and was thankful for my time there.

“But it’s time for a new chapter.”

Since 247Sports was founded in 2010, only one other quarterback awarded a five-star rating by the 247Sports Composite, which averages the rankings of the major recruiting services, did not start at least one game in his first three college seasons. Of the 28 quarterbacks in that group, most started within their first two seasons at the school they signed with. Most of the quarterbacks who found themselves blocked after two years transferred quickly .

With no college track record in three years, Vandagriff was unlikely to be able to land a guaranteed starting job at a traditional power in the transfer portal, regardless of his high school recruiting rankings, but Kentucky was willing to bet on his potential. The fact that Liam Coen, now offensive coordinator with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was the coach recruiting him sealed the deal thanks to Coen’s work transforming Will Levis from a run-first backup at Penn State to an NFL starter after transferring to Kentucky.

“Coach Smart, he regards Kentucky really highly,” Vandagriff said in January. “Playing them every year that we were there at Georgia, he always spoke well about them, well about Coach Stoops, and that was before I even had any conversations with either (Stoops or Coen).

“Then, being able to talk with them when I went in the portal and stuff, I already knew their offense was really similar to what Georgia runs, a pro-style offense. You’re going to be able to go have success at the next level.”

Coen left UK for the NFL after Vandagriff arrived on campus, but Stoops’ hire of Bush Hamdan from Boise State to run a similar pro-style attack, the presence of a promising group of receivers and a strong NIL package were enough to convince Vandagriff to stay in Lexington.

“I have a lot of respect for Brock, his dad, his family,” Smart said Monday. “What Brock did for this university was awesome. He was a wonderful teammate and just a great kid. Always put the team first and would do anything to help the team, and really helped our culture while he was here.

“So, I have a lot of appreciation for what he did. In fact, he graduated from here. It was really cool when he told me he was going to do that and that he was going to go play. And he did that.”

Vandagriff posted a strong debut for Kentucky, completing 12 of 18 passes for 169 yards, three touchdowns and one interception while rushing for 35 yards on five carries in a weather-shortened game against Southern Miss, but he struggled mightily in his first SEC start, completing just 3 of 10 passes for 30 yards against South Carolina. He was sacked four times in that game.

Jamon Dumas-Johnson

Unlike Vandagriff, Dumas-Johnson played extensively at Georgia.

As a freshman, Dumas-Johnson played in 14 of 15 games as a reserve linebacker for the Bulldogs’ 2021 national championship team. Then he started every game for Georgia during the undefeated 2022 rush to the national championship.

As a sophomore, Dumas-Johnson totaled 70 tackles, nine tackles for loss and four sacks. The Sporting News and ESPN named him a first-team All-American . He was a finalist for the Butkus Award, which goes to the nation’s best linebacker.

Dumas-Johnson started the first nine games of the 2023 season before fracturing his left forearm against Missouri, ending his season. While Dumas-Johnson was injured, freshman linebacker CJ Allen, a former top-50 recruit, emerged as a key starter for the Bulldogs. With Allen emerging and multiple other highly touted underclassmen returning at Dumas-Johnson’s position, retaining his starting spot for 2024 was no guarantee.

Asked why he left Georgia after arriving at Kentucky in January, Dumas-Johnson sidestepped the question.

“I accomplished a lot of things in college already,” he said. “I did a lot of things most people I’ve been around or am coming around haven’t done yet. Really, I just think to have more fun. Have more fun with it. That’s probably what I’d say. Have more fun with it.”

As for why he picked Kentucky after entering the transfer portal, Dumas-Johnson pointed to his relationship with UK defensive coordinator Brad White from his high school recruiting process as being key in the decision.

Kentucky was also in the market for another inside linebacker after junior Trevin Wallace jumped to the NFL draft a year early.

“The connection, relationship with me and Coach White never burned since high school,” Dumas-Johnsn said. “He’s the only coach that actually like sat down with me, 30 minutes to an hour, just to talk ball and see if I really wanted to be at Kentucky.

“As a kid, you don’t know where you really want to go, but going back into the portal, him recruiting me here, just remembering what he did and our connection.”

Dumas-Johnson has started both games for Kentucky but has rotated heavily with fellow inside linebacker Daveren Rayner. In two games, Dumas-Johnson has totaled six tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and one interception. The interception came on his second play as a Wildcat.

Saturday’s loss to South Carolina was the first defeat for Dumas-Johnson in a game he started in his career.

Next game

No. 1 Georgia at Kentucky

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday

TV: ABC

Records: Kentucky 1-1 (0-1 SEC), Georgia 2-0 (0-0)

Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1

Series: Georgia leads 63-12-2

Last meeting: Georgia won 51-13 on Oct. 7, 2023, in Athens, Ga.

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