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Kentucky needs Brock Vandagriff to play well at Ole Miss Saturday.
The Cats are 0-2 in SEC play but lost only 13-12 to then No. 1 Georgia in the last outing after being stymied by South Carolina a week earlier. Vandagriff, a Georgia transfer, is also looking for his first SEC win as a starting quarterback.
He was better against Ohio in last week’s home win that snapped a two-game losing streak and felt he made improvements that he needed to make.
“As far as the pre-snap and getting our personnel out there, coach (Bush) Hamdan did a great job of getting the calls in fast, so we were able to get out there and get on the ball fast,” Vandagriff said about the Ohio win.
“As far as winning the pre-snap, we were pretty solid on that this week. Obviously, that’s something we stress every week. I think we executed the game plan that we were trying to go out there and execute. We played fast [but] had a couple of penalties that were drive-killers. So, it just comes down to being disciplined.”
Vandagriff does feel more comfortable in the offense and what Hamdan wants each week.
“What I will say — with the stuff that coach Hamdan has done, the stuff he talks about — his main thing is he doesn’t want it to look like a first-year operation. He thinks that is definitely going to get better as we go,” Vandagriff said. “We’re just fine-tuning some stuff with personnel groups and the people we want out there. And the O-line is playing well, the running backs are playing well, stuff like that.”
Vandagriff had played in SEC games at Georgia but as a backup when the games were already won. This is his first time having the game on his shoulders and Saturday will be his first SEC road start.
“If it’s taking a while to develop down the field, then I’ve got to find my outlets and stuff. Not all that is on the O-line at all. I definitely could do better back there and help the team out, being able to find those check-downs faster,” Vandagriff said.
“Maybe the coverage is telling me to throw this certain route, but if there’s pressure, it doesn’t matter. You’ve got to be able to get the ball out. So, I take the blame for some of that stuff, at the end of the day. I’ve just got to be better when it comes to that.”
4 Responses
The O line has to step up first. Let the run open up the pass. Do not turn the ball over. A sack is better than a fumble or interception.
Exactly we need to run the ball down there throat and pass it about every 4 or 5 plays. We definitely need to run the ball about 70% of the time. Its the only way to run a offense with this O line. They cannot consistently pass block so why do something that’s clearly not working? If we pass the ball more than 20 times we are in danger. Our quarterback should only average about 10-15 passes a game just to keep the defense honest. If they stack the box, run 5 yard routes and get rid of the ball quickly into open space. We need to run more play action and more screen passes. Short passes that are efficient and you don’t get behind the chains. It doesn’t take a genius to see what we can do and what we can’t do. I don’t know why Hamdan thinks its rocket science. I haven’t seen a good quarter of play calling yet. I think Eddie Gran is better than Scanarun Coen and Hamdan. In his earlier years Stoops was better at hiring offensive coordinators like Neal Brown he was excellent we just didn’t have the personnel. Scanarun and Hamdan are both bust. Coen was overrated. I just don’t like the playcalling. Its like against southern miss instead of working on real plays we ran Brock about 10 times. Which all of them just about looked like broken up plays. Yes we only played 2 and a half quarters to be fair but they should have been throwing the seams off the ball against Ohio and Southern Miss. We are playing our 5th game and still don’t have a identity. I would play Brock for a quarter and Gavin for a quarter and see who runs the offense more efficiently in game action. I think if they put Gavin in with Brock that would be a unbelievable combination. Teams wouldn’t know what were going to do. Or let Gavin take off running from the quarterback position. The defense will cheat with him in and he can throw it over the top if they do. Their is just so many different combinations of plays you can run. Why does it seem like our plays are so basic. No trickery. No keeping the defense guessing. I can call what we will run on the next play about 75% of the time. So I know defensive coordinators have a field day with it. South Carolina looked like a contender against us.
Run successfully & Brock will get the passing done IF a consultant is hired to teach the OL how to block for the passing game. Obviously the current staff can’t do it.
I agree its not Brocks fault. We just dont have a line that can pass block. So you have to throw some things in the trash. We need to run the ball more so we need whoever is the better runner at quarterback. We need to recruit about 7 or 8 offensive lineman in the portal so you at least get 2 or 3 good ones out of the 7 or 8 guys.