What NC State’s Dave Doeren Said About Vanderbilt Football Quarterback Jared Curtis

The Commodores opponent this week began studying Curtis’ film at the beginning of the week. Here is what NC State’s head coach said about Jared Curtis.

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 – Before Vanderbilt football head coach Clark Lea even took the podium Tuesday afternoon to announce that Jared Curtis was going to be the starter, NC State was already beginning prep on how to defend Curtis.

It was as if NC State head coach Dave Doeren had the inside scoop on Vanderbilt’s quarterback situation at his Monday press conference. But in reality, Doeren was not far removed from watching film on Vanderbilt's 35-26 win over Delaware.

Curtis’ second half scoring drives in the third quarter alone were enough to convince Doeren that his team was going to see the five-star freshman quarterback now just three days away. And he was right. The next day it was made official that Curtis will be the only quarterback for Vanderbilt playing Saturday.

Through his early sessions of film study, Doeren talked about what he had seen from Curtis.

“Well, you can see the ball come out and he’s just got a huge arm. I mean, he just flips that thing and it’s flying across the field. He’s really, really talented with arm strength. You can see that he’s strong when he runs and he’s not just going down, he’s trying to get yards,” Doeren said.

Curtis’ arm talent is almost always the first thing that jumps out to any player or coach that has seen his film. And it was on display against Delaware, too. For his first passing touchdown of his collegiate career, Curtis rolled out to his left and threw a ball through a very small window to tight end Walt Taylor in the back of the end zone.

He also found wide receiver Junior Sherrill down the sideline with a pass that was perfectly placed right over the defender.

Doeren also saw on film what many on the outside have not gotten to see much of yet with Curtis’ rushing ability. Curtis has a surprising burst of speed when he gets out of the pocket that is an underrated part of his game. While he is primarily a pocket passer, Curtis is not afraid to run when he has to.

Doeren also pointed to Curtis’ intangibles, too. Recalling Curtis’ first touchdown drive of the Delaware game that was set up by a 31-yard strike to tight end Jayvontay Conner at the 1-yard line, Doeren sees the passion that Curtis plays with.

“He’s competitive. I mean they had a goal line play the other day where it was a bad snap exchange and he was able to pick the ball up, balance himself on one arm, go through contact and get into the end zone for a score,” Doeren said. “Pretty poised for a freshman to be able to do that. You’re in your first or second ever college football game and to have a play like that, some guys would have just fallen down to the ground to get the ball.”

Doeren watched as Curtis took over the game against Delaware. Every scoring drive Vanderbilt had, Cutis was the quarterback. To his program, it seemed like it was an easy decision on who NC State should prepare for. Now, his educated guess is the reality.

The question is what Curtis will see from NC State in his first start and how he will respond to being pressured or how he overcomes adversity that will occur. That will ultimately be answered on the field Saturday.

“He’s going to be a good football player. He took over the last game when they were down and they ended up winning the football game with him in there the whole second half. So, we anticipate seeing him the entire game,” Doeren said.

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