Vanderbilt coach ‘excited’ about Jared Curtis leading team into Georgia

Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea knows better than anyone what the Commodores have in Jared Curtis, and he’s confident it only gets better moving forward.

“Offensively, we’re growing a quarterback up,” Lea said after Curtis accounted well for himself in Vanderbilt’s 21-15 loss at Auburn, “and we have a lot of excitement about him and a lot of belief in where he’s headed.”

Curtis is next headed to Athens, a city he knows well from many visits while a celebrated long-term commitment to the Bulldogs before flipping his commitment to Vanderbilt the day before the 2026 class’ early signing day.

The betting line opened at 24.5 points, despite Vanderbilt being a respectable team that had more first downs than Auburn (22-15), more yards (311-279) and more time of possession (37 minutes, 32 seconds to 22:28).

The No. 2-ranked Bulldogs are coming off a 41-13 win over Oklahoma in what deceptively appeared to be an easy win, until one digs deeper and recognizes the Sooners’ four turnovers had more to do with the score than the majority of play.

That could be why Lea has such great confidence that Curtis can handle the moment in Sanford Stadium, even while a more experienced quarterback like John Mateer could not.

Curtis was under center as Vanderbilt converted four times on fourth down in the Tigers’ hostile Jordan-Hare Stadium environment, a testament to the poise he plays with that’s beyond his years.

“(Curtis) is the guy that, he wants to put it on his shoulders in the critical moment,” Lea said. “That’s gutsy for a freshman to play that way.”

Curtis’ size (6-foot-3, 235 pounds) and athleticism has certainly impressed Georgia coach Kirby Smart, who was once ready to make him the Bulldogs’ quarterback of the future.

“Way better athletically than people give him credit for,” Smart said during his Monday news conference. “I don’t know if anybody’s tackled him, with one person tackled him yet. He’s strong. He’s quick. He’s powerful. He’s got great arm talent. Everything everybody thought has been true.”

Indeed, Lea noted how Curtis is willing to make plays for himself when pass coverage dictates that to be the right play.

“When the coverage was tight and we were able to hold the line in the rush, he was fine in the yards in his legs,” Lea said of Curtis’ running skills.

“This (at Auburn) was his second game starting and he’s going to keep improving,” Lea said. “We have to continue to grow the offense around him, we have to continue to coach him, but I’m really excited about where that guy is headed, and there’s a lot of good football ahead for him.”

The Commodores’ defense has been stable, producing a sack and turnover in each of the team’s first four games this season.

Lea’s area of concern is special teams, as Vanderbilt has had two punts blocked this season — including one at Auburn that the Tigers returned for a touchdown and a 14-3 lead in the second quarter.

The Commodores remained in contention with a third-quarter touchdown and, after Auburn scored to answer, two fourth-quarter field goals that cut the lead to 21-15.

The Tigers, however, were able to piece together an 11-play drive and run out the clock to keep Curtis on the sideline and secure the victory.