Former Vanderbilt quarterback Ken Seals announced that he will be joining the TCU Horned Frogs next season. The former starter turned backup, and then starter again posted on Twitter his decision following a lengthy time in the portal.
Seals made the announcement on X on January 4th after being the portal for well over a month. Seals got into the portal early and spent time visiting different schools and deciding where he wanted to call home. Some believed he would end up landing at Ohio after he posted a photo of himself in Ohio with coaches.
Ohio also made a lot of sense to some since it has become quite common for P5 quarterbacks who struggle to find success and a starting spot at G5 schools. Ultimately however, Seals felt it was in his best interest to play for TCU. Seals grew up a TCU fans had aspirations to play for the team coming out of high school, however the offer never came. After a solid few years at Vanderbilt, his dream is finally coming true.
Ken Seals Resume
Ken Seals played for Vanderbilt for four years, playing in three of them. All three years he split time at the position. Over his career, he has thrown for 4,292 yards with 26 touchdowns and 22 interceptions, good enough to be the 7th highest passer in Vanderbilt history. Most recently in 2023, he threw for 1,183 yards, 11 touchdowns and only four interceptions.
Seals struggled to find a consistent starting position at Vanderbilt. While he played in ten of the Commodores 12 games, much of his playing time came in games where he either split time with AJ Swann, or was the started due to Swann being injured.
Interestingly, Swann also entered the transfer portal, alongside third stringer Walter Taylor, opening up seemed to be an opportunity for Seals to keep the starting job.
Seals a Diamond in the Rough?
Vanderbilt is the bottom of the SEC, and P5 football to some extent. The Commodores struggle to get big time players to commit, which can sometimes make the occasional great player that comes in look average. You see this at every level of the game. Take Matthew Stafford as an example in the NFL. For years Stafford was seen as a very average-at-best quarterback while playing for the Lions. Once he was given a chance to play for the Rams, he suddenly became an NFL MVP Candidate.
Ken Seals isn’t Matthew Stafford, but the potential to leave a really bad team for a good team and excel is definitely there. Seals certainly showed flashes of being able to be a big-time playmaker, he just often lacked the blocking or offensive weapons to make those plays execute.
Every year, there are always a few key transfers who flourish with their new team. This year alone we can look at Michael Penix Jr., a good quarterback from Indiana who went on to a Heisman Trophy finalist.
TCU’s Future Starting Quarterback?
TCU certainly did not have the kind of season they wanted following their trip the National Championship Game in 2022-23. There were plenty of issues with the team, but none bigger than the starting quarterback.
Chandler Morris struggled to stay healthy for TCU, and even when healthy struggled to give the offensive explosiveness that the Horned Frogs were looking for. Backup Josh Hoover certainly was able to sling it (throwing more than 50 passes three times), but struggled to find consistency or finish drives.
As of right now, it appears that the starting QB for TCU will come down to Josh Hoover and Ken Seals. It’s hard to imagine that Seals would transfer from Vanderbilt where he was almost certainly going to start, just to be a backup with only two years of eligibility remaining, unless he truly does love TCU that much.
As we’ve passed the deadline for players to enter the transfer portal, expect the next couple of weeks to be filled with players deciding where they are going to be playing next season.
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