MARIETTA, Ga. — Brock Vandagriff has been a busy man this spring.

He'll be even busier the next 12 months.

One of the top quarterbacks of the 2021 cycle, Vandagriff has been just about everywhere you could name this spring. Vandagriff visited Clemson, South Carolina, Auburn, Florida, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Alabama and Georgia twice. It's possible Vandagriff left a program or two off his list, but that's a sign of how many visits he's taken.

Vandagriff will take some steps over the summer to eliminate some of the chaos.

"I’m probably going to wait a little bit to release a top 10 or something like that so it doesn’t get too hectic around the time they can contact me," Vandagriff said. "But the coaches, they know if I’m interested."

Those coaches will be the ones likely determining Vandagriff's final decision, which he'd like to finalize by next spring. Unlike most prospects, Vandagriff won't deny the importance of these college staffs to his decision.

In fact, the coaches will be the primary factor.

"People say don’t get caught up in getting too close to coaches, but that’s the thing that separates it for me," Vandagriff said. "All the facilities are about the same. All the weight rooms are about the same. It’s really who’s coaching you that’s going to set one school apart from another."

Gus Malzahn and Kenny Dillingham have made their impression. So have a couple other coaches. When asked about a few non-Auburn staffs who have impressed, Vandagriff didn't hesitate to name two — Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley and Georgia coach Kirby Smart.

Riley, in particular, made his mark during the Norman, Okla., visit.

"Lincoln Riley, he took two full days. He was our tour guide literally. That was really special. He calls my dad, who is the coach, he calls my dad once a week and we talk," Vandagriff said. "With Lincoln Riley, I’m the only quarterback he’s offered in the class, so that’s pretty good. He wants me to commit sometime sooner than later, so he’d be able to offer other quarterbacks and stuff like that."

The proximity factor helps out Smart and Georgia, as well.

Vandagriff plays for his father at Prince Avenue Christian in Athens. That allows him to visit Georgia more than anywhere else. But it's not just the close-to-home pitch that gives the Bulldogs a shot. When Vandagriff spoke to Smart last week, the Georgia head coach had a clear and concise sales pitch to the top quarterback target.

"With Kirby. I was talking to him last week, and he said, ‘I think we can cover this whole state, honestly, me and you," Vandagriff said. "So I was like, ‘Yeah, that sounds good.’"

Don't count Auburn out, however.

Vandagriff comes from an Auburn household, and he has visited Auburn as much as anywhere other than Georgia. He initially began his recruitment with Malzahn and then-offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey. With Dillingham's hire, it has required new relationship building for Vandagriff.

So far, Dillingham has fared well.

"We sat with coach Dillingham for a little and what he had to say was really interesting honestly. He showed a Powerpoint slideshow of what they’re going to do this year," Vandagriff said. "Really energetic dude. He flies around the field. He wants everyone participating in meetings. He loves his job honestly."

The Malzahn job security questions don't bother Vandagriff, but it's something he's monitoring. He's already referenced how important coaching staffs will be to his eventual decision. So no Malzahn would require some serious catch-up work for the Tigers.

Vandagriff isn't thinking of it like that, however. He fully expects Malzahn to be there, which Malzahn has made clear to Vandagriff.

Ultimately, it'll come down to Auburn's performance this season — which Vandagriff is excited to see first-hand.

"Everything’s good with Auburn so far. I’ll be really interested to see how they do on offense this year with coach Dillingham and coach Malzahn being the main dude this year," Vandagriff said. "I’ll be interested to see how it looks on the field."