Vanderbilt Football Quarterback Blaze Berlowitz Appears Against Auburn As A...Wide Receiver?
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AUBURN, AL--Vanderbilt football clearly isn't done with Blaze Berlowitz yet.
After losing the starting quarterback job, Berlowitz was lined up at wide receiver and was targeted twice in a row by Vanderbilt freshman quarterback Jared Curtis on Saturday. One of Berlowitz snaps indicated that he could throw the ball on a trick play, but the other included him running a downfield route and being targeted. The ball went through Berlowitz' hands and fell incomplete.
The broadcast of Vanderbilt's game against Auburn declared that Berlowitz has been practicing at wide receiver all week and that Vanderbilt received some positive developments by playing him there.
Berlowitz started Vanderbilt's first two games of the season at quarterback while entrenched in a quarteraback battle alongside Curtis. It's unclear how long term Berlowitz' move to receiver could be, but there's murmurs that Berlowitz believes his best chance at playing in the NFL is at wide receiver.
Curtis has targeted Berlowitz more on Saturday than any Vanderbilt receiver other than Junior Sherrill, as of 3:35 left in the first half.
Berlowitz is in his third season as a Vanderbilt quarterback and his fourth season with Vanderbilt offensive coordinator Tim Beck and clearly knows Vanderbilt’s scheme inside and out. Curtis overtook him by pushing the ball down the field effectively and making Vanderbilt’s offense more dynamic against Delaware. Berlowitz lost the job with a late-first half fumble against Delaware and a performance in which he went 3-for-9 as a passer.
Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea declared after Curtis beat out Berlowitz for the starting quarterback job that its coaching staff still trusted Berlowitz to take over at quarterback if something happened to Curtis at quarterback. Now, they've embraced a different plan while seemingly keeping Berlowitz--who warmed up alongside Curtis at quarterback on Saturday--in mind at multiple positions.
“I’ve been really impressed, this is challenging for him, too,” Lea said. “The way he’s handled himself is reflective of the kind of person that we want in our program. He’s been a great teammate. He’s felt it all the way through. Those who care much, feel much and I appreciate that about him. He’s stepped into his role and his responsibility and he’s done it like a pro. He’s prepared the same way he was a week ago and the same way he was against Austin Peay and when his number is called, he’ll be ready to answer the call and that will be inevitable as the year goes on.”
Lea meant that at the time, but there may have been a hidden meaning in those comments that even reading in between the lines couldn't have indicated would be true.
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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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