What NFL Friends Said About Liam Coen Helped Bring QB Brock Vandagriff to UK

Brock Vandagriff with Georgia All-American tight end Brock Bowers. (Georgia Football Photo)

Once quarterback Brock Vandagriff decided he was going to transfer from Georgia, his father reached out to some NFL friends to ask who they would trust to coach their son.

One of the names that kept coming up was Kentucky offensive coordinator Liam Coen because Vandagriff has a lot of the same skills as former UK quarterback Will Levis, a 2023 second-round draft pick now starting for the Tennessee Titans.

Vandagriff announced Wednesday he was coming to Kentucky.

“We wanted him to go to the best fit if it was Anchorage, Alaska, or anywhere else,” said Greg Vandagriff, who coached his son at Prince Avenue Christian School in Bogart, Georgia. “This is about getting on the playing field and playing football. He has done his part in learning, preparing, and taking his time to get a chance to play. He has played behind two draft picks (Stetson Bennett and Carson Beck).”

He was the No. 4 quarterback and No. 17 prospect overall in his recruiting class by 247Sports Composite who originally committed to Oklahoma but flipped to Georgia after a coaching change at Oklahoma. In his senior season, he completed 71 percent of his passes for over 4,000 yards and 46 touchdowns. He ran for over 500 yards and 17 scores on only 74 carries.

“He’s really good at running and making plays with his feet. He has a really good arm and threw for more than 10,000 yards in three years in high school. He ran for 1,000 yards as a freshman but I chose not to run him nearly that much after that,” Greg Vandagriff said.

“He is super smart, super competitive. He is a 4.6 to low high 4.5 guy (in the 40-yard dash). He has a great arm. I would tell you he has elite accuracy. It’s just uncanny. He’s always just been unbelievably accurate.”

Before the 2023 season, he had appeared in five games with zero completions during Georgia’s two national championship runs. Last season he was 12-for-18 passing for 165 yards and two scores and ran five times for 39 yards. He played the fourth quarter in Georgia’s blowout win over UK and was 5-for-7 passing for 46 yards and one touchdown and ran twice for 27 yards.

Greg Vandagriff said the transfer to Kentucky was a business decision for his son, who has two years of eligibility left.

“We liked that coach (Mark) Stoops is the second longest-tenured coach in the SEC. We are not going for facilities. We are going for people. People make the facilities,” the quarterback’s father said. “It’s about relationships. Buildings don’t win games.”

He said friends are “excited” about Brock’s future at Kentucky.

“They don’t give a crap about where. They are just excited he’s going to get a chance to play,” Greg Vandagriff said. “We all love Kentucky now. We are loyal to who pays the bills.”

Like most fathers, Greg Vandagriff is biased about his son. However, he shared the text message he got from Georgia coach Kirby Smart after Brock put his name in the transfer portal: “Your son is one of the finest human beings and best mindset and approach I’ve ever met. I love him and wish him the best.”

“You will not meet a better kid. His relationship with Christ is the No. 1 thing in his life. He’s a kid you want leading your program,” Greg Vandagriff said.

Now he has that chance to lead the Kentucky football program.