With Jared Curtis, Vanderbilt Football Will Have Freshman Moments But Is Never Out Of The Fight
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NASHVILLE—It’s the type of herculean effort that could appear in Jared Curtis’ highlight reel as Vanderbilt campaigns for him as a preseason Heisman Trophy candidate next August NFL Draft tape one day.
He dodged two defenders in the backfield. He dragged another one a few yards to pick up a first down. He bounced up quickly from a head-to-head hit and quickly motioned to Vanderbilt tight end that he was alright.
Then, he was undermined.
While FirstBank Stadium basked in the heroism of its freshman quarterback, Vanderbilt tackle Beau Johnson committed a false start and quieted it. Curtis appeared undeterred as he led Vanderbilt down the field for a touchdown drive and cut the NC State lead to three with an NFL throw to Vanderbilt receiver Junior Sherrill.
Curtis dealt with nine offensive penalties that totaled 70 lost yards for Vanderbilt’s offense over the course of the day. He turned it over twice before throwing that aesthetically-pleasing touchdown pass to Sherril. He fumbled it twice, which resulted in a turnover. Yet, in this fourth-quarter moment, it felt like Vanderbilt was going to win against NC State.
It felt like Curtis gave it a chance to win, despite everything that had gone against him.
“I’ve seen a lot of growth and maturity from No. 2, man,” Sherrill said. “He looked real poised. At times he looked at ease in this game. [When he wasn’t] I just talked to him and he was back on track.”
Vanderbilt trailed 17-0. Its defense was shredded by NC State quarterback CJ Bailey at times. Curtis looked like a freshman on a number of plays on Saturday. Vanderbilt’s receivers often struggled to create separation in one-on-one situations. Its running game wasn’t as reliable as Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea would’ve liked. Yet, Curtis willed it back into the game.
Curtis threw what appeared to be a game-sealing interception in the freshman moment of all freshman moments, but Vanderbilt even being in a position to take the lead at the end of Saturday’s game shouldn’t be lost in the haze of Curtis’ interception and Vanderbilt’s miracle win.
Everything had to go right for Vanderbilt as a result of Curtis’ late interception, let’s get that straight. It winning that game took a once-in-a-career miracle play that required NC State to commit a blunder, Vanderbilt defensive end Miles Capers to land his first squarely on the ball, quarterback CJ Bailey to lose the ball, Vanderbilt cornerback Cayden Daniels to land on it perfectly and the review to give Vanderbilt the conclusion it was hoping for. But, it very well could’ve been in a position where it trailed by more than a score as time expired–deeming the moment meaningless.
On a day when Vanderbilt didn’t play well enough to be in the game with NC State, it was. Perhaps that wouldn’t have been the narrative had it lost, but it now can be.
With another quarterback, Vanderbilt likely couldn’t have dreamt of having an explosive enough offense to overcome two turnovers and a deficit like it faced to have a chance on its last offensive drive of the game. With someone else, Vanderbilt’s lack of a true running game and its penalty issues up front would’ve been insurmountable. Not with Curtis, though.
As it was with Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt football is always in the fight with Curtis as its quarterback.
“I feel safe to say that he's gonna get us out of some tough spots this year,” Lea said. “I think this shows you that we have the ability to cover deficits, and so I think we can call back to this game as we move forward and say’hey, when it's not going the way we planned, we're never out of it.’ Certainly he's a big part of that.”
Lea prefaced in the spring that expecting any quarterback on Vanderbilt’s roster in 2026 to match what Pavia did in 2025 would be naive, but he never declared that Vanderbilt couldn’t have dynamic elements at quarterback. Surely Lea envisioned that he’d get the Curtis experience–which Vanderbilt got a full taste of Saturday between his rolodex of NFL throws and litany of freshman mistakes Saturday–at some point. That experience will surely be different once Curtis undergoes more development, but–if all else is in place–it may be good enough for Vanderbilt in 2026.
It’s not as if Vanderbilt won Saturday afternoon because of Curtis, but he was 20-for-34 as a passer, threw for a career-high 277 yards, rushed for 64 yards and accounted for three total touchdowns. Vanderbilt trailed until its last-second winning play, but Curtis never appeared to flinch and got it back within striking distance late.
That’s how Vanderbilt knows it has its quarterback.
“I want to credit Jared Curtis for a gutsy performance,” Lea said. “I think there was a lot of growth for him.”
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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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