Watch: Kentucky football quarterback Brock Vandagriff throws first TD pass with Wildcats

New Kentucky football quarterback Brock Vandagriff is off and running.

Following a more than two-hour weather delay that stalled the start of the 2024 Kentucky football season, UK’s new signal-caller — a former five-star recruit who spent three years as a backup at powerhouse Georgia — threw his first touchdown pass with the Wildcats on Saturday night during the first quarter of UK’s abbreviated 31-0 win over Southern Mississippi at Kroger Field.

Vandagriff capped a 10-play, 59-yard scoring drive for the Wildcats with a 12-yard touchdown strike to junior wide receiver Barion Brown.

Vandagriff’s first touchdown pass as a Wildcat came on Kentucky’s second offensive drive of the season. The first ended in an interception after a pass from Vandagriff was deflected multiple times before being picked off.

In his first half as a Kentucky Wildcat, Vandagriff threw for 106 yards on 9-for-13 passing. Vandagriff had two touchdowns passes, both of which were 12-yard scoring throws to Brown. Vandagriff also had 35 rushing yards on five attempts in the first half.

Saturday night’s game was called with 9:56 still to go in the third quarter, after another lengthy lightning delay brought a hault to the game.

In a little more than 35 minutes of total game time, Vandagriff completed 12 of 18 passes for 169 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. This included a deep pass to North Texas wide receiver transfer Ja’Mori Maclin that went for 46 yards.

Vandagriff’s play this season will, obviously, be crucial to Kentucky’s team success.

During the three seasons he spent at Georgia, Vandagriff only attempted a combined 21 passes, with 18 of those coming last season.

His arrival is part of a new-look UK offensive setup that also includes new offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan. The Wildcats are anticipated to play at a faster tempo on offense this season under Hamdan’s direction, which should lead to more opportunities for Vandagriff to show his skill behind center.

UK ran 42 offensive plays during Saturday’s shortened game, and the Wildcats averaged 7.5 yards per play.

Last season, the Wildcats ranked last of the 133 FBS teams in plays per game with an average of 54.9 offensive plays run per contest.

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