Vanderbilt Football Stock Exchange After Win Over Delaware

Here are the Vanderbilt players to buy stock in and players to fade for now.

Sep 12, 2026; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores quarterback Jared Curtis (2) celebrates the win after their game against the Delaware Blue Hens at FirstBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

NASHVILLE – Vanderbilt football survived a scoring surge from Delaware Saturday to remain undefeated in the early stages of the 2026 season, beating the Blue Hens 35-26.

The story of the night was not so much that Vanderbilt won the game, it was five-star freshman Jared Curtis getting plenty of playing time and capitalizing on the opportunities he was given. Curtis finished the game with three total touchdowns and played the entire second half.

While Vanderbilt did not win pretty, the Commodores still survived and did what it had to do at the end of the night. There is a lot of clean up on offense and defense, though. 

There were players that stood out and players that need to be better for the Commodores going forward. Here is this week’s Vanderbilt football stock exchange as it prepares for its nonconference finale against NC State.

Players That Raised Their Stock

Jared Curtis

Jared Curtis was the story of the day. He and Berlowitz split playing time in the first half against Delaware, but Curtis played the entire second half. Curtis performed the best he has in the time he has spent at Vanderbilt, including in practices during the spring and fall camp.

It started off a little dysfunctional for Curtis and his offensive operation, but he still found a way to take Vanderbilt on a touchdown drive on each of his first two appearances on the field. Then, Curtis led two more touchdown drives in the second half. Every scoring drive Vanderbilt had on offense Saturday, Curtis was the starter.

Curtis finished the game 14-for-22 passing for 210 yards and a passing touchdown along with two rushing touchdowns. A gap between him and Berlowitz was formed. A gap so wide that Curtis seems to have won the starting job.

Jayvontay Conner

What a job East Carolina tight end transfer Jayvontay Conner has done these first two weeks filling in for Cole Spence. Conner led all Vanderbilt pass catchers with six receptions and had the second-most receiving yards among Vanderbilt pass catchers with 87 yards.

Conner is continuing to develop into a trusted target for the Commodore offense. More importantly, though, Conner looks to be evolving into a safety valve for Curtis. Of course, the reason that is so important is because Curtis is looking like he should be given the keys to the offense in the very near future after his game against Delaware.

It is not known when Spence will return from his lower body injury, so Conner will continue to have to produce in the meantime. With the way he has looked through two games, that seems like something that is very likely to happen next week.

Vanderbilt’s Defensive Veterans

It felt like all of Vanderbilt’s leaders on defense made plays. Linebacker Nick Rinaldi was great in blitz packages. Safety CJ Heard led Vanderbilt in tackles and had two sacks to his credit thanks to his ability to pressure the quarterback off the perimeter.  Vanderbilt EDGE Miles Capers was able to get a sack, too.

The script of Vanderbilt's defensive gameplan was near perfect to start the game. However, Delaware was able to get going later in the game, but that does not take away from the fact that the Commodores’ best players on defense were the best players.

The schedule only gets harder for Vanderbilt the rest of the way. The Commodores leaders have to continue to lead.

Players That Lowered Their Stock

Blaze Berlowitz

Blaze Berlowitz cannot say he was not given a chance to win the starting job. He has started both games for Vanderbilt and has not managed to move the needle forward in terms of his case to be the starter for the season.

Against Delaware, he appeared in four first-half possessions and was able to total just 53 yards of offense on 14 plays. Not to mention, Berlowitz fumbled the ball on one of them. Berlowitz finished the game 3-for-9 for 29 passing yards.

Then, Berlowitz was just overshadowed by Cutis’ performance in the second half. Berlowitz has been holding on in this quarterback competition for a long time. And to his credit, he has gotten better since 2025 fall camp. But his knowledge of the playbook and the ability to execute was supposed to be the reason he could stay in the fight. However, he was only able to make the competition a stalemate.

Now, it looks as if he has found himself on the wrong side of the quarterback battle.

Ja’Cory Thomas

Where was Ja’Cory Thomas against Delaware? He did not have a single catch against the Blue Hens. Heck, he did not have a single target. And it is not like Thomas was hurt and out for the game. He was healthy going into the game.

During fall camp, Thomas looked like he could be one of the more primary wide receivers on the roster. He was a productive receiver at Old Dominion a season ago, but he was nowhere to be found for Vanderbilt Saturday.

He is going to need to show up in a big way going forward or it may seem like Vanderbilt’s wide receiver room is not what it initially looked like it could be.

Brycen Coleman

This is the second week in a row Vanderbilt wide receiver Brycen Coleman is on the wrong side of the Vanderbilt stock exchange. Against Delaware, Coleman had just one catch for six yards and it was the only time he was targeted.

For a guy that was listed as the No. 2 wide receiver on the depth chart going into the game, Coleman has to make himself a more viable target. Between him and Thomas, the two of them underperforming really limits the amount of reliable targets on the roster.

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