Does 5-star Jared Curtis sign with Georgia football or flip to Vanderbilt?
This is a good week for a few behind-the-scenes stories on five-star Jared Curtis, the nation’s No. 1 quarterback prospect currently committed to Georgia.
There’s one about an unselfish play on what looked like another touchdown, where Curtis showed how much he loves his teammates. Curtis has been a part of 173 career touchdowns and is drawing close to some Tennessee all-time state records. However, his in-game sideline chats often involve how he can get his teammates in on the highlight reel, too.
That’s not what Georgia fans want to read right now. They want to know if the weekend buzz that the five-star might flip to Vanderbilt has merit.
Is it now a matter of if, but when he flips?
That’s not what I’m hearing. It is worth noting that Curtis still shared pro-Georgia recruiting posts on his Instagram story on Sunday night. His mother has also been subtly dropping red and black hearts in her social media posts lately.
Curtis will not sign on the first day of the early signing period on December 3. He will travel to Chattanooga to play for a repeat state title with his Nashville Christian team. That game will be on December 4, so he won’t publicly sign with anyone that day either.
I’m hearing the plan is to sign with the school of his choice that Friday.
When 247Sports national analyst Tom Loy wrote this weekend that he felt Vanderbilt would eventually flip Curtis, that was his opinion. Here are a few of my own:
- I learned a long time ago that anything can happen while covering impressionable 17-to 19-year-old recruits. That includes Curtis. Even if his infant nephew was wearing a Georgia onesie at the Texas game. Even if that smiling infant already has the gear and UGA stuffed animals in his crib.
- To the best of my knowledge, Vanderbilt has never hosted Curtis and his family on a recruiting visit. It would be stunning to know that and see him flip away from a school he’s already committed to twice.
- I don’t know why Team Curtis doesn’t make a statement to make this story a non-starter if his clear intent is to sign with Georgia. But that may also be a matter of he’s already said he was 100% committed after a recent game visit to Vandy when ESPN’s “College Gameday” was in town.
- He is trying to lead his team to another state title. Does he need to recommit to UGA after every report like he’s the red lamp at the doughnut shop? Especially when he didn’t do anything to create the latest news cycle?
- I believe this back-and-forth with Curtis is wearing on the Georgia fan base. This should be a signing worth multiple fist pumps, but fans are starting to talk themselves out of how eager they are to see him in red and black. They don’t want another 11th-hour Dylan Raiola flip, even though these two recruitments are not the same.
- If Curtis flips to Vanderbilt, it will not be about money. It will be about the opportunity to play right away.
If he wanted more NIL mone, he’d be committed to Oregon or South Carolina. Georgia didn’t have the highest bid. It offered the best combinations of relationships, NFL development, plus a strong NIL package.
Curtis has shared in the past what he’s looking for.
- Stability (Georgia has that at head coach and offensive coordinator)
- The chance to win championships (SEC and College Football Playoff)
- Winning the Heisman Trophy
- To go No. 1 overall in the NFL Draft
Vanderbilt has had nine first-round picks, including just four since 1960. Georgia has had eight first-rounders since Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce have been dating.
The Commodores had one No. 1 overall NFL pick (a QB) in 1952. They have zero Heisman winners and national championships. The program is trying to pull an Auburn and make a case to claim titles for 1921 and 1922.
The Vanderbilt staff is a capable bunch, but its roster is nowhere close to the one in Athens, especially after the Commodores graduate a legion of seniors from this year’s team.
The program is seeking its first 10-win season in history. Kirby Smart has had only two seasons in his 10 years when his Dawgs didn’t win at least 11 games. That was his first team and the COVID-shortened slate in 2020.
Georgia has not one, but two members of its staff who signed the No. 1 QB prospect and developed them into the NFL’s No. 1 pick. That’s what Mike Bobo did with Matthew Stafford a generation ago and what former Clemson assistant Brandon Streeter did with Trevor Lawrence in 2018.
The Commodores can’t counter that. We reported weeks ago the only real card Vanderbilt had was the chance to play immediately. As a true freshman next fall at Georgia, Curtis will likely watch Georgia’s Gunner Stockton in his final season. Stockton has played at an optimal level this fall, but that was still the plan when Curtis recommitted to UGA in May.
Curtis can redshirt next fall and battle it out at Georgia to start in 2027. If he won the job, he’d still be closer to playing for championships and a Heisman than in his second year starting for Vanderbilt.
This is also the time of year when clicks are optimized on recruiting sites and when coaches lobby for multiyear extensions.
Will he flip? Or no flipping way? My read is that none of that will happen unless Clark Lea gets an extension and the Curtis family takes an official visit to Vanderbilt.
The dead period begins on December 1. A school can’t host a prospect on campus after that date. That’s not likely.
The feeling here is that Curtis has been, is and will remain a Dawg.
About the Author
Jeff Sentell covers UGA football and recruiting. He is a graduate of UGA's Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and has been a staff writer at news outlets in Alabama, Georgia and Virginia. Prior to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, he was at The Birmingham News and AL.com. He was named the 2005 Georgia Press Association Sportswriter of the Year.
