Clark Lea Updates Vanderbilt Football Quarterback Competition Ahead Of Fall Camp

NASHVILLE—-Clark Lea says Vanderbilt has “honed in” on allocating its quarterback reps towards determining a starter rather than merely developmental reps.

All four of Vanderbilt’s quarterbacks took significant developmental reps in spring practice as Lea liberally managed the quarterback competition, but the Commodores open the season in just over a month and need a starter.

“I think we've seen strong performance from the four guys that have been competing for the job,” Lea said. “And so the reps we take during camp will be strategic and will be pointed towards making a decision.”

Vandy on SI projects that Lea and Vanderbilt offensive coordinator Tim Beck will land on five-star freshman Jared Curtis as the starter and veteran Blaze Berlowitz as the backup, but Lea has yet to publicly tip his hand in regard to what he’s thinking. Vanderbilt underclassmen Jack Elliott and Whit Muschamp are also still involved in the competition, but have uphill roads to the starting job.

Lea said at SEC Media Days that he would be open to playing multiple quarterbacks if the situation lended itself to that, but that he’d prefer to have a singular starter rather than multiple. The idea is that if Vanderbilt will play multiple quarterbacks, it will pick its spots to maximize skillsets within its roster.

Perhaps Vanderbilt will continue to explore uses for multiple quarterbacks, but Lea would like to land on a starter relatively quickly. He’s not binding himself to a timeline, but he’s expecting to have an idea as to who he’ll start around August 15.

“I'm really targeting that first scrimmage because coming out of that with a great evaluation to say ‘we can to organize a depth chart?’" Lea said. “All of that to me is about how we distribute reps. That's where the depth chart builds chemistry.  That's where the depth chart can be helpful. If I don't feel like we're ready for that because there's just been inconsistency in play or we need to take it longer. There's a second scrimmage that will backed up that week that'll give us a chance to continue to evaluate.”

Lea hedged his timeline comments with the caveat that he plans to leave himself room to evaluate each quarterback further after that date because of the uncertainty that comes with playing a first-time starting quarterback. Only two of Vanderbilt’s four quarterbacks have played college snaps and neither of them–Berlowitz and Muschamp–have started a game.

Curtis is the least experienced of the four, but is the most highly-compensated–as multiple sources told Vandy on SI–and drew comparisons to former NFL MVP Matthew Stafford and former Vanderbilt standout Jay Cutler from Lea. Berlowitz is in a position to have the most ownership of Vanderbilt’s offense while Lea calls Elliott a “bulldog” and praises Muschamp’s past pedigree.

This is Vanderbilt’s second quarterback competition in the last three seasons, the first of which was won by Diego Pavia over Utah transfer Nate Johnson–who later entered the portal and went back to Utah. Pavia held the starting job and put together perhaps the most successful season ever by a Vanderbilt quarterback. Lea says not to expect any Vanderbilt quarterback to be Pavia in 2026, but believes each of them have flashed. As a result, he says he remains excited about the possibilities in regard to Vanderbilt’s quarterback situation.

“I think these guys have worked really hard,” Lea said. “I think the coaches have prepared them well, and I guess my advice now to them is just don't hold it too tight. Go chase what you want.”

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