Delaware Matchup Should Be Final Exam In Vanderbilt Football Quarterback Competition
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NASHVILLE—Well, let’s get the elephant out of the room since there always appears to be one with this controversial Vanderbilt quarterback battle.
Clark Lea had a quote in his Thursday press conference that appeared to be reminiscent of his 2023 quote about then-quarterback Ken Seals giving Vanderbilt the best chance to punt in an eventual blowout loss to South Carolina. Thursday’s didn’t come across as poorly as that one, but it certainly wasn’t popular externally.
“It's not going to be perfect,” Lea said. “So let's lean on the defense, let's lean on special teams, let's be ok punting the ball some too, and find that rhythm to where we can score the points we need to win the game."
Did you catch it? The “let’s be ok punting the ball some” part?
If that wasn’t caught upon a first glance, it was an unavoidable piece of the seemingly never-ending discourse surrounding Vanderbilt’s quarterback battle in the hours following Lea’s exit from the media room. As much as the reaction to Lea’s comment was about the comment itself, it was about the growing external angst and impatience surrounding the situation at hand.
Lea is already among the most successful Vanderbilt coaches in program history and is coming off of leading the program to its best season ever, but he’s not been afforded the grace that should come with that. Instead, Lea’s every word has been scrutinized and his questionable track record managing quarterback battles has come into question more than his past successes have come to light. That’s precisely why Lea consistently says he doesn’t deal in the external.
It appears as if Lea isn’t all that deterred by the noise–although he has alluded to it more in the past week than anyone could’ve expected him to–but even he admits that there will be a point in which this doesn’t make much sense anymore. There will be a point where they have to name a full-time starting quarterback to have a chance at success. There will be a point when continuing this will be anti strategic.
The argument could be made that it already is, but Lea and company clearly haven’t seen enough from either of their quarterbacks to feel comfortable making a choice at this point. Lea still says he needs a bigger sample size. But at some point, he has to do some projecting and make a decision. It very well could not be, but this feels like his last chance to go into a game with a competition without it costing a potential win.
Vanderbilt doesn’t have to have a firm choice by the time it takes the field against NC State in week three, but it can’t afford to give away any margins once it gets to its power-five opponents. And when it gets there, it won’t be going back. Vanderbilt doesn’t have it figured out now, but it better have it figured out by the time it goes to Auburn in week four.
By the time it goes there, it better have a quarterback. One quarterback. Not two.
Lea hasn’t indicated that Vanderbilt’s Saturday matchup with Delaware is the final exam for each of his quarterbacks, but it has to be one of the final ones. It has to lead to Lea and company figuring this all out.
Vanderbilt’s coaching staff hoped to have this figured out by the time its first fall camp scrimmage was over, yet it’s not. It’s been almost a month since then and Lea is still on the spot answering for the plan at quarterback in nearly every press conference.
He’s still trying to clarify rumors. He’s still trying to balance encouragement without going over the top and embracing objectivity. He’s still trying desperately not to tip his hand or create a distraction at the podium.
Lea knows this has to be a distraction of some sort, but he’s intent on playing the waiting game until either Blaze Berlowitz or Jared Curtis take clear control of the job. Like it or not, Vanderbilt’s staff appears to believe that the two of them are in a stalemate at this stage. Berlowitz was 11-for-16 through the air, led a few touchdown drives and didn't turn it over against Austin Peay, but Vanderbilt's playbook was clearly limited and didn't put Berlowitz in a position to demonstrate that he can push the ball downfield. Curtis made an NFL throw or two against Austin Peay, but clearly still needs the game to slow down for him before becoming the full-time starter.
It's relatively unrealistic that Curtis will be fully ready when he does start his first game, but he likely has to look more poised than he did a Saturday ago in order to win the job. Lea hasn’t provided his perspective on what exactly it will take for Curtis to overtake Berlowitz, but he does appear to subscribe to the idea that Vanderbilt needs to give Berlowitz and Curtis more room to show what they’re capable of and whether either one has truly improved enough to win the job long term.
“I want both guys to have opportunities to show what they can do,” Lea said this week. “I’m just trying to get enough sample size to have some clarity as to what each guy brings to the table.”
Time for one of Vanderbilt’s quarterbacks to show what they can do consistently, before it’s too late.
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Joey Dwyer is the lead writer on Vanderbilt Commodores On SI. He found his first love in college sports at nearby Lipscomb University and decided to make a career of telling its best stories. He got his start doing a Notre Dame basketball podcast from his basement as a 14-year-old during COVID and has since aimed to make that 14-year-old proud. Dwyer has covered Vanderbilt sports for three years and previously worked for 247 Sports and Rivals. He contributes to Seth Davis' Hoops HQ, Basket Under Review and Mainstreet Nashville.
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