How Vanderbilt football QB Ken Seals turned travails into lessons AJ Swann can learn from
Ken Seals has been where AJ Swann is now.
He has experienced the freshman season that filled people with excitement, then the disappointing and injury-plagued sophomore season. He spent his entire junior season demoted to third string and didn't play a single snap. Now, as a senior, Seals has come full circle.
AJ Swann, who a year ago was the exciting freshman who displaced Seals on the depth chart, has dealt with an elbow contusion and turnover problems. He sat out Saturday's game against Missouri (5-0, 1-0 SEC), a decision coach Clark Lea said was made earlier in the week as Swann continued to deal with the injury.
Although Vanderbilt football (2-4, 0-2) lost to Missouri 38-21 at FirstBank Stadium, Seals performed relatively well as he threw for 259 yards, completing 20 of his 31 passes. He threw two touchdowns and ran for another, and had one interception.
"Me and AJ have a really good relationship," Seals said after the game. "And it hasn't been awkward between us during his entire career. I talked to him earlier this week. Just checked in on him, make sure you are OK. I've been there. I've had the freshman year that I was proud of, the sophomore year that wasn't what I expected. And as much as I can be there for him. Give him some advice on what I've gone through. It makes you stronger. And the good thing about him is he still has time because he's a really good player."
Through all of that has happened the past two years for Seals — from a season-opening loss to ETSU in 2021, losing the starting job, dealing with multiple injuries and sitting out all of 2022 — he realized how much of his identity had been tied up in football. Through his time off, Seals said he grew stronger in his faith and now realizes that his identity goes beyond what's on the field.
That's the new perspective Seals brought to Saturday's game, his first start since November 2021.
"I've had to go through a lot, personally, in my journey," he said. "I've grown and developed as a person. The last time I got to see the field the first play of the game was my sophomore year, and since then I've grown up and I think having an identity that's deeper than just football has helped me through the highs and lows of the game . . . I just had fun today. It was fun to be back out there."
Vanderbilt football quarterback situation uncertain
After the game against Missouri, Lea was noncommittal about Swann. Though he was available to play Saturday, he wasn't even positioned as Seals' backup — that distinction went to Walter Taylor. Seals might have been the starter against the Tigers, but Lea said he would continue to evaluate the quarterback situation.
Whether Swann is able to get healthy, reclaim the starting job and solve his turnover problem, Saturday's game made clear that Seals is capable of leading the offense. His best throws weren't as flashy as Swann's, but he also displayed better decision-making and game management than Swann had the past few games.
The problems with Vanderbilt's 2023 team go beyond Swann or Seals. The Commodores put up just 54 rushing yards, not including sacks, and the defense gave up 532 total yards. No quarterback can fix those things.
But they do have one thing going for them: If Swann continues to experience growing pains, he can turn to Seals as someone who has gone through this before. And the Commodores have a veteran performer in Seals who can capably lead the offense.
Through it all, Seals proved that coming back from on-field adversity is possible.
"I think it's totally representative of the program that we're building," Lea said. " . . . Here's a guy who has experienced all kinds of ups and downs in his career here and as a young man has continued to have his jaw set and step into the fire and maintain a commitment to his teammates. And then just inch by inch, day by day improve his play and bring spirit in connection with the team and that's a guy that's going to be wildly successful, because not many people have the resolve and resiliency to do that."
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Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on Twitter @aria_gerson.
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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt football has Ken Seals to teach AJ Swann about resilience
