"Best Prospect in The Country," Clark Lea Speaks on Jared Curtis For First Time

NASHVILLE—Clark Lea walked into Vanderbilt’s team room silently and didn’t address an individual player in his opening statement, but he appeared to know exactly how he would address the first question he was set to receive.

Lea opened his answer with the idea that landing five-star quarterback Jared Curtis is a “big deal” and that Curtis’ decision had more to do with him absorbing the environment and believing in the “energy” of the program than “glitz and glamor.” Then he dropped the line.

“He’s the best prospect in the country,” Lea declared as if it was a given. “He's a young player still, we have a ton of belief in his potential, and we're going to need to be patient with his development as he transitions, but I just appreciate his belief in what we're doing. I appreciate his strength of personality in making a decision.”

Perhaps it’s a premeditated move to promote the idea that the newly-minted Vanderbilt commit–who it flipped from Georgia on Tuesday–perhaps it’s a natural overflowing of Lea’s belief in his new freshman quarterback. Regardless, the Vanderbilt head coach said it and appeared to mean it.

The only thing Lea didn’t go as far as to say was that Curtis—who he says will be early enrolling this winter—will be awarded the starting job when he arrives on campus. The Vanderbilt head coach was on brand in saying that Curtis will “absolutely have a chance to compete” for the starting job, but stopped short of putting a percentage on the chances of that happening.

Dandy Dozen top football recruit selection for 2025 TSSAA season, Nashville Christian quarterback Jared Curtis Wednesday, June 19, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. | Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Whether Curtis begins the season as Vanderbilt’s starting quarterback or not—he likely will—his commitment will still lend credence to the idea that Vanderbilt has changed. He’s the type of player that this program has often struggled to get on the phone, now he’s the leader of a class that Lea calls “visionaries” and has demonstrated that players that are No. 1 at their position can feasibly choose Vanderbilt football.

“I appreciate his belief in this program,” Lea said. “This was about a player who was paying attention, who, I think, saw some of himself in Diego, who created connection there, who got around the key relationships that will be important to his development and growth here. [He] built connection that way and who continued to pay attention and to get around in ways that allowed them to fuel this experience would be like.”

Lea called Curtis a “great representative,” of Vanderbilt’s program as a result of his belief in Vanderbilt’s vision, his pedigree as well as a “classy” statement that he released on Tuesday night as he announced his commitment. The Vanderbilt quarterback signee cited the value of forging his own path, believing in the underdog and putting his “anchor down” in the statement.

Curtis’ offer sheet included Alabama, LSU, Michigan, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Oregon, Penn State, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, USC, Colorado and seemingly every other power-five program in the country. Whatever the quarterback–who is ranked as the No. 1 quarterback in the class and the No. 3 overall player in the country by 247 Sports–wanted his college experience to look like, wherever he thought the lights could shine the brightest is where he could be.

When he could’ve bet on a powerhouse, Curtis bet on Vanderbilt.

“Obviously I appreciate it because it's a strong statement and belief, not just about where we are, but where we're headed,” Lea said. “We talk about the person who we have at quarterback quarterback, you want people that have that love and conviction. What we've learned that here. That's been important to where we've gotten this program, and again, he's demonstrating that personality in this process.”