LEXINGTON — Five minutes after Kirby Smart 's meeting with Brock Vandagriff ended, a conversation in which the latter informed the former he would depart Georgia football and enter the transfer portal, Greg Vandagriff 's phone rang.
"Kirby called me and said, 'I don't know if I've ever coached a finer kid in my life than your son,'" the elder Vandagriff, Brock's father, told The Courier Journal.
Greg Vandagriff isn't only Brock's father, though. He's also the head football coach at Prince Avenue Christian , a short drive from the UGA campus in Athens, Georgia. Greg guided Brock during his high school career, one that saw the father-son duo enjoy immense success. Prince Avenue Christian went 33-6 in Brock's three years (2018-20) as the school's starting signal caller, capped by winning the Class A Private state championship during his senior season.
Considered a five-star prospect in the 2021 class , Brock had his pick of any college in the country. But he decided to stay close to home, signing with the nearby Bulldogs . While Georgia thrived as a team during Vandagriff's three-season (2021-23) stint in Athens — Georgia posted a 42-2 overall record , which included back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022 — his personal contributions on game days were few and far between. Stetson Bennett was at the controls for both national title squads. And Carson Beck narrowly vanquished Vandagriff in a competition for the starting job last season.
With Beck returning for the 2024 campaign , and no clear path to more playing time, Vandagriff pondered putting his name in the transfer portal. Speaking with his father, the Vandagriffs were "very systemic" debating the pros and cons, Greg said. The pair followed the same process once Brock entered the portal .
"We absolutely took the top four or five, analyzed them and looked at the roster they had and things they were trying to do and who we thought had the best chance to help him be successful," Greg said.
Kentucky checked all those boxes.
Now, nine months after the younger Vandagriff's sitdown with Smart, he's set to face his former team and coach, as Georgia comes to town for a nationally televised matchup under the lights of Kroger Field , with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
After arriving in Lexington, it took no time for Vandagriff to acclimate himself to his new surroundings. And new teammates.
"Man, Brock, nothing fazes him," offensive lineman Gerald Mincey said. "One thing I can say about Brock, he's real poised."
Kentucky's Mark Stoops , now the dean of SEC coaches in Year 12 with the Wildcats , never shies away from an opportunity to sing Vandagriff's praises.
"Anybody who talks to you about Brock will tell you that he’s a great human being," Stoops said. "His father’s a high school coach, and he grew up in that. He just wants to work hard. He’s in the facility all the time, and he works at it. Great young man and great personality. He’s very easy to get along with but yet has the comfort level to demand things from (his teammates)."
Vince Marrow put it simply: Vandagriff goes about things "the right way" in every aspect of his life.
"He's a Christian guy, came in and fit in real well with our team," said Marrow, Kentucky's associate head coach, tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator, "and that's what you want."
It circles back to Vandagriff's relationship with his father. They're both "highly competitive individuals," Greg noted. Which meant things "got a little chirpy" at times.
"He thinks he's right, and I think I'm right. The good thing is, I have the trump card, so I am right," Greg said. "So sometimes we'd have to work through that. And I'm a defensive coach, so I'm typically a little fiery, you know?"
Greg used a conversation with Southern California coach Lincoln Riley — regarded as an offensive savant and quarterback guru, who once had the younger Vandagriff's commitment as Oklahoma's coach — as a frame of reference.
"I asked Riley one time, 'What do you say to the quarterback when he comes off the field after he's thrown an interception?'" Greg recalled. "And he says, 'I usually look at him and say, "What did you see right there?" '
"I said, 'Yeah, I'm not there yet. I can't do that. I'm too busy being pissed.'"
Draw Vandagriff's course to Lexington on a map, then trace Jamon Dumas-Johnson 's journey.
The lines would be identical.
Both were members of Georgia's 2021 signing class . Both spent three years with the Bulldogs. Yet both are Wildcats now. The most conspicuous difference: Dumas-Johnson didn't lack for on-field time, appearing in 38 games (24 starts) at linebacker and earning first-team All-American laurels in 2022. Vandagriff, on the other hand, left Athens having participated in 13 contests (all as a backup) and only attempting 21 passes.
"I've been going against him the last four years, so it ain't nothing new for me," Dumas-Johnson said with a laugh. "But Brock, I've seen him handling the offense pretty well since he got here."
Dumas-Johnson noticed Vandagriff has grown in leaps and bounds. He's calmer. More comfortable in the pocket. Knows every read before he's even received the snap.
Their friendship has deepened as well.
At Georgia, each stuck to their "little individual groups," Dumas-Johnson said. Their shared trek to UK changed that.
Even if it's not what Vandagriff once envisioned.
"At a program like Georgia, that's what you gotta do: You gotta wait sometimes. One great year, you go to the league," Dumas-Johnson said, referring to the NFL. "So I'm not surprised at all (that Vandagriff stayed three seasons at UGA). The way coach (Smart) runs his program over there, sometimes you've got to sit.
"Sometimes people don't; you got a few people that didn't sit — Malaki (Starks) , Brock (Bowers) . But, for the most part, everybody had to sit. I had to sit (as a freshman). … You've got to stick to the grind and fight it out. And sometimes you gotta go."
Patience can be a virtue.
And an inspiration to others.
"I think the job of a leader is to stand in the middle of the Titanic as it's going down, and you're looking around at everybody, and you're telling them, 'I don't know how, but we're gonna make it,'" Greg said. "That's the job of a leader. And that's how (Brock) is."
Cheering against the Bulldogs won't be difficult for Greg.
"I'm actually from Knoxville (Tennessee)," he said. "And I married an Auburn alum. So none of us ever wanted Georgia to win. We're spies living in a different country."
To topple the Bulldogs, which the Wildcats haven't done since 2009 , will take a monumental — perhaps perfect — performance by the hosts. Vandagriff showcasing the traits that made him such a coveted recruit wouldn't hurt, either.
"But we've got to play good around him," Marrow said. "We can't put it on just his shoulders."
It's not all that dissimilar from Greg's view on what his progeny potentially might achieve going forward.
"Hopefully his play will take care of itself," Greg said. "And it'll answer all those questions."
What the future holds for Vandagriff will play out over the course of this fall. And those to come. As so many outsiders accentuate the importance of Saturday's game to him given his history with the Bulldogs, Vandagriff himself isn't one to ratchet up, or scale down, his energy and preparation depending upon the opponent in front of him.
Knowing another opportunity awaits is motivation enough.
"I always kind of get pretty emotional just walking out (to) the stadium, whether I’m the third-string guy, fourth-string guy — second, first, don't even matter," Vandagriff said. "I think it’s kind of a testament to, I just love ball."
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky football: Starting QB Brock Vandagriff prepares to face Georgia, his former team
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