{"id":70524,"date":"2024-09-19T17:25:56","date_gmt":"2024-09-19T22:25:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/mark-stoops-defends-brock-vandagriff-running-the-ball\/"},"modified":"2024-09-19T17:25:56","modified_gmt":"2024-09-19T22:25:56","slug":"mark-stoops-defends-brock-vandagriff-running-the-ball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/mark-stoops-defends-brock-vandagriff-running-the-ball\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Stoops defends Brock Vandagriff running the ball"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kentucky<\/a><\/strong> head coach Mark Stoops<\/a><\/strong> isn\u2019t going to be apologetic about quarterback Brock Vandagriff<\/a><\/strong> running the football for the Wildcats. Even if it means he\u2019s exposed to some hits from time-to-time.<\/p>\n

Stoops, speaking with reporters at his weekly press conference, shared that while he naturally wants to protect his quarterback, he\u2019s not going to tell him not to take yards that are there on the ground. Even after a game against Georgia<\/a><\/strong> where Vandagriff ran as much as he has all season, Stoops doesn\u2019t think it\u2019s been too much.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE to go to PrizePicks and use code ON3 to receive a guaranteed $50 once you play $5 in lineups<\/a>!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cOf course we want our quarterback protected and smart,\u201d Stoops said. \u201cBut we want him to play ball and I thought he, in that game once again he showed great awareness, very good pocket presence and really was tough as nails. Ran for some really tough yards.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vandagriff finished the game against Georgia, a 13-12 loss, with 13 carries for 26 net rushing yards. But that includes the four sacks he took for -44 yards, including a 28-yard sack fumble that gave Georgia a short field. On his non-sack carries, Vandagriff rushed nine times for 70 yards, nearly eight yards per carry.<\/p>\n

Watch College Football Games Live -Try for Free Fubo! Click HERE NOW<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Save $30 on your first month of Fubo by CLICKING HERE NOW!<\/a><\/em><\/strong>\u00a0For a limited time, you can get your first month of Fubo for as low as $49.99. Stream ESPN, ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and 200+ top channels of live TV and sports without cable. (Participating plans only. Taxes and fees may apply.)<\/em><\/p>\n

And Stoops also doesn\u2019t think he\u2019s alone in needing to consider the balance of his quarterback rushing and his quarterback staying healthy. <\/p>\n

Evidently, he doesn\u2019t think anything with the balance with Vandagriff and this Kentucky team is out of whack.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I think if you watch every press conference, which I\u2019m sure you don\u2019t have time to do \u2014 but if you watch every press conference in the NFL or in college, somebody probably gets asked that question about their quarterback,\u201d Stoops said. \u201cRight? NFL, they\u2019re constantly talking about protecting them and doing that and so are we. It\u2019s part of the game. You know, I think if you tell them to be too cautious or don\u2019t do this, don\u2019t do that, then they\u2019re not going to play the game. They have to play the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stoops shared a health update on a key Kentucky rusher<\/h2>\n

Kentucky\u2018s presumed starting running back\u00a0Chip Trayanum<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0has missed the first three weeks of the regular season with a hand injury.<\/p>\n

Ahead of Kentucky\u2019s Week 4 matchup against Ohio<\/a><\/strong>, Stoops gave a brief update the injury status of the\u00a0Ohio State<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0transfer.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s not available this week,\u201d Stoops said.<\/p>\n

In Trayanum\u2019s absence, Kentucky has turned to senior tailback\u00a0Demie Sumo-Karngbaye<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0to carry the rushing load. He\u2019s totaled 47 carries for 227 yards and a touchdown on the young season. His best performance came this past weekend against Georgia, where he had 22 touches for 98 yards.<\/p>\n

On the same note, Kentucky was able to put together a strong rushing performance against the Bulldogs this past week with a depleted offensive line. They were without longtime starting offensive tackle\u00a0Jager Burton<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0after he was injured against\u00a0South Carolina<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0the previous week.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he wanted to play and was working hard,\u201d Stoops said of Burton. \u201cSo, he\u2019s on the depth chart this week. It\u2019s not a league game but we\u2019ll do the same probably. He\u2019ll be probable to be questionable. Last week we really did have two guys that went down to the game-time decision. I don\u2019t think we want to make a living out of doing that, but we really did, we had two guys that went to game time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The post Mark Stoops defends Brock Vandagriff running the ball<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops isn\u2019t going to be apologetic about quarterback Brock Vandagriff running…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70524"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70524\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}