Five things you need to know from UK’s spring football ‘game’

Five things you need to know from Kentucky’s 2024 spring football game at Kroger Field:

1. Before the event started, new Kentucky women’s basketball coach Kenny Brooks was recognized in front of the crowd and interviewed on the Kroger Field giant video boards.

2. Due to injuries, especially along the defensive front, the UK spring “game” was more of an open practice with some non-tackle scrimmaging.

On the initial offensive possession of the scrimmage for the first team offense, new Kentucky quarterback Brock Vandagriff showed his mobility, making an effective run (there were no official stats being kept) on a called play. The transfer from Georgia also ripped off a couple of positive-yardage scrambles on called pass plays.

More QB run game figures to be a part of new Kentucky offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan’s scheme this fall.

Vandagriff led the first-team offense to a field goal on its initial drive, then hit Dane Key with a 2-yard touchdown pass on drive number two. For the first team’s third drive, Vandagriff threw a TD pass to sophomore-to-be tight end Khamari Anderson.

3. With the Kentucky defensive line depleted by injuries, these were the 11 who started the scrimmage defensively for UK:

▪ Tyrese Fearby, Khalil Saunders, Tre’vonn Rybka and J.J. Weaver up front.

▪ The linebackers were Alex Afari, D’Eryk Jackson and Daveren Rayner.

▪ In the secondary were Maxwell Hairston, Alabama transfer Kristian Story, Ty Bryant and Jantzen Dunn.

4. The offensive linemen running with the first-team offense were, from left tackle to right, Marques Cox, Jager Burton, Eli Cox, Florida transfer Jalen Farmer and Tennessee transfer Gerald Mincey.

5. Working with the second-team offense, true freshmen Hardley Gilmore and Jason Patterson were impressive.

On the second-team offense’s first possession, Gilmore caught a 24-yard pass from ex-Lexington Catholic star Beau Allen. The 6-foot-1, 176-pound product of Belle Glade, Florida, had two other catches on the drive.

Patterson, a 5-10, 207-pound product of Sneads, Florida, scored on a 6-yard TD run and showed impressive cutting ability on runs between the tackles.

The defensive highlight of the scrimmage came on the final play, when redshirt freshman Jaremiah Anglin intercepted Cutter Boley and return it 65 yards (or so) for a touchdown.

Kentucky will open its 2024 football season on Aug. 31 against Southern Mississippi (3-9 in 2023) at Kroger Field.

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