After a hard-fought season met with resiliency and resolve, the Georgia Bulldogs finished the season 11-3 and with an SEC Championship. Nestled in that 11-3 record was a victory over the Kentucky Wildcats in September.
UGA coach Kirby Smart found Kentucky quarterback Brock Vandagriff on the field after the game, placing his hands on Vandagriff’s shoulders as they shared a lengthy conversation.
Brock Vandagriff’s Tough Decision To Leave Georgia
He seemed to be praising Vandagriff’s toughness, competitive spirit, and espressing his feelings about his former quarterback in waiting. Vandagriff spent the previous three years at Georgia, but he never got an opportunity to become the starting quarterback.
But when Carson Beck decided to stay for another season as the starter, Vandagriff decided it was time to transfer and moved to Kentucky.
“It was more of a public display of our relationship that had already been for three to four years,” Vandagriff said. “Probably even longer than that, just with recruiting. That’s how Coach Smart is.”
“I think he’s one of the best, if not the best, coaches in the country.”
Vandagriff stated that it was an extremely difficult choice to leave Georgia’s football team. He always liked the team’s structure, the competitive spirit, and the university itself.
Moreover, he also gained his communications degree from the same university in just over three years.
Smart acknowledged after the Kentucky game that transferring was a challenging decision for Vandagriff.
“The guy cried in my office when he told me he had to leave,” Smart said. “It ate away at him, and I’m really happy for him.”
Smart made an effort to persuade Vandagriff to stay, leading to emotional moments between them. Vandagriff loved his time at Georgia but never got the chance to start for the Bulldogs.
As a competitor, he felt it was time to move on.
“I said, ‘Coach, there’s nothing about Georgia that’s making me go away,’” Vandagriff said. “I love everything about it. I love every aspect. I love the people, how you run the program, the facilities, everything.”
A former standout safety himself at Georgia, Smart understood and respected Vandagriff’s decision.
“That was something he understood,” Vandagriff said. “Coach Smart is a competitor.
“As a competitor, you understand that you want to go out there and play and see what you’ve got—see if you have what it takes.”
Vandagriff endured a difficult season at Kentucky, getting benched at halftime in two games and not playing in the Wildcats’ season finale against Louisville.
With only one year of eligibility remaining, he ultimately decided to step away from football.
“It was different the way Kentucky and Georgia ran their programs,” he said.
Recently, Vandagriff told the Athens Banner-Herald that he is now working in medical device sales for Zimmer Biomet, selling products to hospitals and surgeons. He also said coaching could be an option in the future but, for now, he is content with where he is.
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Even with his new career, Vandagriff remains in touch with Smart through texts and occasional phone calls. A former five-star recruit from Prince Avenue Christian School, he said this is a side of Smart that people outside the program don’t often see.
“I love him, love his family,” Vandagriff said of Smart, “and I believe that relationship is one that I’ll carry on for the rest of my life.”
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