Vanderbilt Football May Face Former Quarterback Saturday. How Does It React?

Vanderbilt football may face AJ Swann Saturday as it travels to play Mississippi State. "He was a good teammate," a Vanderbilt player said.

Oct 31, 2026; Austin, Texas, USA; Mississippi State Cougars quarterback AJ Swann (17) throws a pass during the first half against the Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

NASHVILLE—-Miles Capers smiles for a second as he envisions it. 

When Capers and Vanderbilt’s defense takes the field Saturday in Starkville, the quarterback across the line of scrimmage will be—barring health—former Vanderbilt signal caller AJ Swann. Mississippi State star quarterback Kamario Taylor is out for the season with injury and Swann beat out backup Parker Puckett. As a result, Swann could be Mississippi State’s starter when his former team comes to town.

Will that be odd for Capers and a number of other Vanderbilt defensive players who were around for Swann’s Vanderbilt career?

“Yeah,” Capers says with a laugh. “But, I’m happy for him that he got a spot that he’s thriving at and I’m ready to compete against him.” 

Capers and Swann were teammates for two seasons, both of which included Swann starting games. Swann took the starting role midway through Vanderbilt’s 2022 season and entered the 2023 season as Vanderbilt’s starter before injuries and poor performance put him in and out of the lineup. 

Swann threw 10 touchdowns and just two interceptions for Vanderbilt in 2022, but regressed in its 2-10 season in 2023. That year, Swann had 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions before entering the transfer portal. Swann was one of Vanderbilt’s most highly-touted quarterback recruits in the Clark Lea era and there were private indications that Vanderbilt’s staff believed he was the quarterback of the future, but that never came to fruition.

The private and public indication is that there doesn’t appear to be bad blood between Vanderbilt and Swann, though. Vanderbilt wanted to change directions and find a quarterback that was mobile and could operate a different type of offense than it ran in 2023. Swann appeared to know that he didn’t fit that profile and that his 2023 season didn’t demonstrate that he’s the type of quarterback he believes he is. 

Swann still traveled to Nashville during his 2024 bye week and stormed the field after Vanderbilt beat No. 1 Alabama, sources tell Vandy on SI. 

“He was a good teammate,” Capers said. 

Swann left Vanderbilt and transferred to LSU, where he threw just four passes as a depth quarterback, before transferring to App State for the 2025 season. Swann took significant reps in seven games for App State a year ago and won two of them. He then left for Mississippi State and is now getting his opportunity. 

Mississippi State started Swann against Texas in its 31-3 loss, but Swann couldn’t finish the game due to injury. He’s since returned to practice, although his status is unknown for Saturday. Swann completed 12 of his 15 passes in that game for 97 yards. Now, he’ll look to pick up a win against his former team. 

“I hope AJ is healthy,” Lea said Monday. “He's someone that I built a relationship with in recruiting. He played for us here, and we had all the vision for a great career here. The road doesn't always go the way you think it will. I'm encouraged to see him finding some snap experience at Mississippi State. I was really impressed with how he looked in the game that he was able to play on Saturday, and so I'm pulling for AJ. Obviously, I won't be pulling for him on Saturday, but any time you get into the competitive moments, it's never personal any longer. It's about being the best we can to beat Mississippi State."

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