What Georgia head coach Kirby Smart had to say on Brock Vandagriff

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart spoke about Brock Vandagriff’s departure from the Bulldogs.

Kirby Smart, in a recent interview, spoke about the discussion that he had with Kentucky quarterback Brock Vandagriff about him leaving the Georgia Bulldogs after three years of being in a back up role behind Steteson Bennett and Carson Beck.

In that recent interview for ESPN’s “SportsCenter,” Smart was asked about Vandagriff’s exit from Athens. The head coach described it as “lighthearted” and “professional” and said Vandagriff made it clear that he was planning on looking elsewhere if Beck came back for the 2024 season.

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“It was very lighthearted. He understood and had already told us that if Carson was coming back, he was probably going to play somewhere else,” Smart explained. “He was very professional about it. He was very emotional because he loves Georgia. He graduated from Georgia, he won 2 national championships at Georgia. He made Georgia better, he left it better than he found.”

Smart also said he focused on not making things more difficult on Vandagriff:

“I didn’t want it to be difficult for him. When he sat in front of me in my office, I told him I loved him. I told him he had done a tremendous job,” recalled Smart. “He told me he appreciated everything we had done for him… but he needed to try and go play. That was just a mutual respect we had for each other.”