NASHVILLE—There’s a microcosm of the Jared Curtis experience. Vanderbilt had three backs lined up behind Curtis at the goal line lined up in a situation that was almost assuredly going to lead to a touchdown, but Curtis muffed the snap and chaos ensued. On the other end of that chaos, Curtis was dodging a tackle and diving into the end zone for his first college touchdown. The play was a representation of everything that Curtis demonstrated throughout Vanderbilt’s seven-play, 41 yard scoring drive. In Curtis’ first drive, Vanderbilt had significant operational issues leading to penalties and bad snaps, but it ended with a touchdown. Jared Curtis scores his first college touchdown. pic.twitter.com/AeD4nhhuhb— Joey Dwyer (@joey_dwy) September 12, 2026Curtis is Vanderbilt's highest-rated recruit in program history and is embroiled in a quarterback competition alongside veteran Blaze Berlowitz. Vanderbilt's fanbase has clearly made its pick between the two signal callers, though. When Curtis entered the game, Vanderbilt's crowd erupted. When Berlowitz walked off the field after a lackluster first drive, there was significant angst that was easy to sense from the Vanderbilt crowd. A week ago, Curtis received similar ovations while Berlowitz was the subject of boos. Berlowitz went 11-for-16 and didn't turn the ball over a week ago, but Vanderbilt clearly didn't open up the playbook for him to demonstrate what he could do. It also didn't get a long look at Curtis a week ago as it subbed him in for a two-minute drill in the moments before halftime to give him his first college action. Curtis went 7-for-9 as a passer a week ago, but there were still questions in regard to how well he can run the operation. Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea has stayed committed to playing both quarterbacks and continuing the quarterback competition until he has a larger sample size to work off of, but Curtis has made a strong case by leading two scoring drives early in Saturday's game. Vanderbilt has also played Curtis for double the drives that it's played Berlowitz. Curtis' drives haven't been entirely smooth, but they've demonstrated why Vanderbilt is high on him at this stage. “He’s so natural in the way he sits in the pocket and he releases the ball," Lea told Vandy on SI over the summer. "The release is really quick and the ball, the way it spins in the velocity, I mean those things stand out. I haven’t seen that kind of explosive release and the ball flight since playing with Jay Cutler." Follow us onTwitter/X,Facebook,YouTube,InstagramandTik Tokfor the latest news.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow