Brock Vandagriff: How he Earned his Spot at Georgia

Originally posted on FanNation Dawgs Daily
By Christian Kirby II | Last updated 4/7/23

Quarterback is arguably the most important position in not just football, but all sports, as an entire team's offensive success depends on their abilities more often than not. The Georgia Bulldogs know this quite well, as they were delivered not one, but two national championships thanks to their elite play from now-legend, Stetson Bennett.

But with Bennett off to the NFL Draft, Georgia has now begun its process to find Bennett's predecessor. And with spring practice about halfway concluded, it seems that Brock Vandagriff has a good shot at becoming the Bulldogs' next signal caller.

So far in his career, Vandagriff has seen the field sparingly, playing mostly in garbage time of blowout games. However, the redshirt sophomore has steadily improved to the point that the quarterback battle between him and fellow teammate Carson Beck has become one of the most high-profile position battles in college football.

But before joining Kirby Smart in Athens, the No.4 quarterback in the class of 2021 grew up an Auburn fan and was originally committed to playing for Lincoln Riley and the Oklahoma Sooners. However, after a successful visit to Sanford Stadium, Vandagriff decomitted from the Sooners in January 2020. His choice to commit to the Bulldogs even inspired his high school teammate Logan Johnson to decomit from Troy and walk onto the University of Georgia. Vandagriff eventually signed with the Bulldogs in December 2020 as a part of Georgia's third-ranked recruiting class.

Before Vandagriff was choosing what school he would attend or battling to be QB1 for the reigning national champions. The Bogart, (Ga) native was lighting up the state of Georgia at Prince Avenue Christian School where his father Greg was the head coach. As a senior, Vandagriff threw for an impressive 4,000 yards and 46 touchdowns while also amassing over 500 yards and 17 touchdowns on the ground, all with a torn PCL ligament in his knee. His dynamic efforts earned him and his team a state championship at the single-A classification and he was named a finalist for the 2020 National High School Quarterback of the Year Award.

Prior to this season, Vandagriff's name was not typically at the forefront of Georgia's quarterback conversation. After redshirting his freshman season, veterans such as Carson Beck, Stetson Bennett, and even JT Daniels at one point were the main contenders for what was a fairly peculiar quarterback situation for the Dawgs over the last two seasons.

Now, Vandagriff is the second oldest/most experienced player in Georgia's star-studded quarterback room and is now in the midst of what is likely the most important position battle of his career. Fans will first see Vandagriff and Beck as they battle in Georgia's "G-Day" scrimmage on Saturday, Apr 15.