Clark Lea names Mike Wright Vanderbilt starting QB

Vanderbilt football coach Clark Lea is about as no-nonsense as it gets.

So, it wasn’t completely out of character when the Commodores’ second-year head coach named Mike Wright as Vanderbilt’s starting quarterback Tuesday at SEC Media Days in Atlanta, putting a quick end to the seeming barrage of quarterback questions Lea was bound to face throughout fall camp, which starts in a little over a week.

"We want [Wright] to develop as a total quarterback, which he has, and he has demonstrated leadership abilities too," Lea said. "So, we're excited for him to enter the fall as our starting quarterback. He knows that he has to earn that every day. That's part of our covenant. On top of that, we're fortunate to have a second quarterback with a ton of game experience and starting experience in Ken Seals."

Wright began to separate himself as Vanderbilt’s QB1 during spring practice. That’s when Lea and his coaching staff decided it was time to reward the 6-foot-4 junior. Lea lauded Seals for his handling of the situation, praising the former starter for sticking around and not running to the transfer portal.

"Obviously that conversation is easy with Mike and harder with Ken," Lea continued. "I want to just give credit to Ken Seals. Because in an era right now where nine out of 10 times that player that's getting the disappointing news makes a choice to move on, Ken Seals set his jaw and made the determination that he was going to earn it every day.

“… We think Mike has a lot of skills that we want to use. Ken Seals has proven that he can do it as well. We have young quarterbacks too that are anxious to take their swing. And in our program, competition is the ultimate motivator. We want that to be true of every position."

Wright, who took over the starting duties in October after Seals suffered a hand injury, provided a shot in the arm to the ‘Dores offense last year. Vanderbilt took advantage of Wright’s mobility, using him out of the backfield to the tune of 376 rushing yards and one score. He also passed for 1,042 yards, eight touchdowns and six interceptions while completing 53.1 percent of his passes. Lea admitted Wright spent most of the spring working on his skills as a pocket passer.

Seals seemingly regressed in Year 2 as his completion percentage dropped from 64.6 to 56.7 and he threw for 747 fewer yards and seven fewer touchdowns despite playing in only one fewer game.

But his return gives Vanderbilt a nice insurance policy should Wright falter or get injured.

“I expect ruthless competition for that job every single day, but we have to be collaborators off the field,” Lea added. “I've seen growth and maturity in both those guys in that respect, and that's going to go a long way to develop the other 10 positions on offense on the field independent of who the signal-caller is.”

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