Is AJ Swann or Ken Seals Vanderbilt's quarterback vs Florida? What Clark Lea said about both
Coach Clark Lea won't tip his hand as to which quarterback will start for Vanderbilt football against Florida.
AJ Swann came into the season as the surefire starter, but after throwing seven interceptions in his first five games and suffering an elbow contusion, he was replaced by Ken Seals in a 38-21 loss to Missouri.
Swann was available last weekend and is likely to be available again this weekend as Vanderbilt (2-4, 0-2 SEC) travels to Florida (3-2, 1-1).
"We're taking it day by day here," Lea said. "And obviously, we know that we've got two guys that are capable of doing it. I think again, we're always going to be first paying attention to AJ's health. And then through the week of practice, just make a decision when we feel like it's best for the team. And obviously, it makes no sense for me to make that decision on Tuesday, so we'll hold off on on anything definitive as the week goes. But I think we did find a rhythm offensively on Saturday. I do think we found some spirit offensively in the attitude we played with."
Seals was 20-for-31 against Missouri for 259 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. The veteran said he embraced the opportunity to start his first game since November 2021 after sitting out all of 2022.
Ultimately, neither Seals nor Swann has led the Commodores to an SEC win. Seals led Vanderbilt to wins over Colorado State and UConn in Lea's first season in 2021 and Swann started in a victory over Northern Illinois in 2022.
"I was really glad to see (Seals) go out there with confidence and I thought it galvanized the group," Lea said. "It wasn't perfect, but I think it's almost better than it wasn't because you can see him respond, particularly after the interception."
INJURY UPDATES Vanderbilt football injury updates: What's status of AJ Swann, Kane Patterson vs Florida?
Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on Twitter @aria_gerson.
Get the latest news and insight on SEC football by subscribing to the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: What Clark Lea said about Vanderbilt football quarterback vs. Florida
