Okay, I promised you guys that I would have more on the quarterback portal situation and with UGA's Brock Vandagriff going into the portal it's time to share some of that info. I mentioned that nothing came from Kentucky, and that is true, but we do have a lot of info here.
Vandagriff has always been one of the biggest potential portal entrants at quarterback. But with the portal becoming so popular now, and with there being so many G5 and P5 starters going in already, it's not like every program is going to quickly zero in on Vandagriff.
However, we did get intel which indicated that Kentucky could be a very interesting destination for him.
One of the first schools we heard linked to Vandagriff was North Carolina. I am very confident the Tar Heels were interested in Vandagriff. They ultimately got a quick commitment from Max Johnson, the starter from Texas A&M and also LSU. That is significant even if it doesn't seem like on the surface.
Vandagriff and Johnson have had a lot of overlap over the years. Both were highly-rated quarterbacks coming out of Georgia. Johnson was one year older than Vandagriff, but Vandagriff has always seemed to be one step ahead of Johnson in terms of how coveted he is and perceptions. So for UNC to be interested in Vandagriff at one point and to ultimately land Johnson, it's not a shock. Probably dealt with some of the same people to land him.
UNC not getting Vandagriff is a good sign. That was initially one of the schools I was most convinced would be going after him. They're out of the running.
One person told me that Johnson knew that Vandagriff was probably going to go into the portal and he wanted to go ahead and lock a spot in somewhere that could have ultimately been making a decision between he and Vandagriff.
Kentucky has a clear opening at quarterback and the best case scenario would be getting a guy with multiple years of eligibility. Vandagriff does have multiple years of eligibility and we have heard that he would have serious interest in Kentucky. Obvious situation for him in the SEC on the heels of Will Levis going from backup at Penn State to starting quarterback in the NFL. With Leary, Boley, and Saunders all committing to Kentucky there's no doubt quarterbacks out there are looking at Coen as a guy they want to play for regardless of how this year played out.
NIL is going to be a factor for every high profile quarterback out there. It was pointed out to me that Vandagriff was one of the first college football players to ever announce an NIL deal with the Onward Reserve clothing line. He's also had a relationship with Ford in the past. Vandagriff attended Prince Avenue Christian in high school and UGA has a ton of ties there.
Greg Vandagriff, Brock's father, is the coach at Prince Avenue Christian. He has a daughter who is now at Eastern Kentucky and there have been some rumblings that he might not coach for too much longer. I don't know any details on that but it would certainly seem to make things a lot easier if two kids in college were closer together. Prince Avenue is deep in the playoffs against Swainsboro this weekend.
Three SEC schools I have heard to watch for with Vandagriff are Kentucky, Tennessee, and Auburn. Apparently there's some rooting interest for Tennessee in a general sense - the program, not for BV to end up there - but I don't think Vandagriff is going to end up there. His mother likes Auburn but I haven't heard too much beyond that. Both of those schools have other guys who I would be watching for. Keep those three schools in mind. Apparently all three offensive systems would have appeal and all three are geographically in a good enough spot.
At one point I was wondering if Vandagriff might lean towards staying at Georgia with the uncertainty over what Carson Beck is going to do next year. My understanding is that if Vandagriff were to stay at Georgia then he would probably get a shot to be their starting quarterback at some point. They also have Dylan Raiola, the No. 1 quarterback currently in high school, but he's probably not ready to start yet. But lately I have heard rumblings that Beck may need to stay for another year. He is a really good drop back quarterback but you saw against Alabama that he isn't necessarily the kind of "playmaker" that some other top quarterbacks around the country are. Executing the play, making the throw, yes, but going out and making a play on his own, maybe deficient a bit. Vandagriff going into the portal must mean that he has a good idea that he is ready to start at a P5 school somewhere.
Now, I want to point out that I don't think anything is close to done. He just went into the portal and I told you that none of this came from UK. NIL is probably going to be one hoop that everyone has to jump through and another will be scheduling. Someone told me recently that there have been some hiccups but I have still heard this is the situation to watch closely out of all the guys who have gone into the portal.
The fact that Kentucky has not been linked (i.e. targeting someone more aggressively) to other quarterbacks is interesting to me.
So Vandagriff is in the portal, we mentioned him first, and now you know why we mentioned him.
Vandagriff has always been one of the biggest potential portal entrants at quarterback. But with the portal becoming so popular now, and with there being so many G5 and P5 starters going in already, it's not like every program is going to quickly zero in on Vandagriff.
However, we did get intel which indicated that Kentucky could be a very interesting destination for him.
One of the first schools we heard linked to Vandagriff was North Carolina. I am very confident the Tar Heels were interested in Vandagriff. They ultimately got a quick commitment from Max Johnson, the starter from Texas A&M and also LSU. That is significant even if it doesn't seem like on the surface.
Vandagriff and Johnson have had a lot of overlap over the years. Both were highly-rated quarterbacks coming out of Georgia. Johnson was one year older than Vandagriff, but Vandagriff has always seemed to be one step ahead of Johnson in terms of how coveted he is and perceptions. So for UNC to be interested in Vandagriff at one point and to ultimately land Johnson, it's not a shock. Probably dealt with some of the same people to land him.
UNC not getting Vandagriff is a good sign. That was initially one of the schools I was most convinced would be going after him. They're out of the running.
One person told me that Johnson knew that Vandagriff was probably going to go into the portal and he wanted to go ahead and lock a spot in somewhere that could have ultimately been making a decision between he and Vandagriff.
Kentucky has a clear opening at quarterback and the best case scenario would be getting a guy with multiple years of eligibility. Vandagriff does have multiple years of eligibility and we have heard that he would have serious interest in Kentucky. Obvious situation for him in the SEC on the heels of Will Levis going from backup at Penn State to starting quarterback in the NFL. With Leary, Boley, and Saunders all committing to Kentucky there's no doubt quarterbacks out there are looking at Coen as a guy they want to play for regardless of how this year played out.
NIL is going to be a factor for every high profile quarterback out there. It was pointed out to me that Vandagriff was one of the first college football players to ever announce an NIL deal with the Onward Reserve clothing line. He's also had a relationship with Ford in the past. Vandagriff attended Prince Avenue Christian in high school and UGA has a ton of ties there.
Greg Vandagriff, Brock's father, is the coach at Prince Avenue Christian. He has a daughter who is now at Eastern Kentucky and there have been some rumblings that he might not coach for too much longer. I don't know any details on that but it would certainly seem to make things a lot easier if two kids in college were closer together. Prince Avenue is deep in the playoffs against Swainsboro this weekend.
Three SEC schools I have heard to watch for with Vandagriff are Kentucky, Tennessee, and Auburn. Apparently there's some rooting interest for Tennessee in a general sense - the program, not for BV to end up there - but I don't think Vandagriff is going to end up there. His mother likes Auburn but I haven't heard too much beyond that. Both of those schools have other guys who I would be watching for. Keep those three schools in mind. Apparently all three offensive systems would have appeal and all three are geographically in a good enough spot.
At one point I was wondering if Vandagriff might lean towards staying at Georgia with the uncertainty over what Carson Beck is going to do next year. My understanding is that if Vandagriff were to stay at Georgia then he would probably get a shot to be their starting quarterback at some point. They also have Dylan Raiola, the No. 1 quarterback currently in high school, but he's probably not ready to start yet. But lately I have heard rumblings that Beck may need to stay for another year. He is a really good drop back quarterback but you saw against Alabama that he isn't necessarily the kind of "playmaker" that some other top quarterbacks around the country are. Executing the play, making the throw, yes, but going out and making a play on his own, maybe deficient a bit. Vandagriff going into the portal must mean that he has a good idea that he is ready to start at a P5 school somewhere.
Now, I want to point out that I don't think anything is close to done. He just went into the portal and I told you that none of this came from UK. NIL is probably going to be one hoop that everyone has to jump through and another will be scheduling. Someone told me recently that there have been some hiccups but I have still heard this is the situation to watch closely out of all the guys who have gone into the portal.
The fact that Kentucky has not been linked (i.e. targeting someone more aggressively) to other quarterbacks is interesting to me.
So Vandagriff is in the portal, we mentioned him first, and now you know why we mentioned him.
