Jared Curtis Notebook: Connection with Junior Sherrill, Building Chemistry With Team, Looking for First SEC Win – Sports Illustrated

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NASHVILLE — It feels like it is a weekly routine at this point. On any given play for the Vanderbilt football offense, five-star freshman quarterback Jared Curtis will inevitably connect with his top wide receiver, Junior Sherrill, on a ball deep down the sidelines.
A lot of times, it can be for a touchdown. Other times, it is a huge gain to either create an offensive spark or a play that helps put Vanderbilt in prime scoring position.
The Curtis-to-Sherrill connection is something that did not take long to develop. Sherrill was the presumed No. 1 wide receiver for Vanderbilt going into the season, but the way that Curtis and Sherrill have turned into makes Sherrill a tier above every other receiver on Vanderbilt’s roster.
Curtis’ throws to Sherrill are a staple in Vanderbilt’s offense. In any game for Vanderbilt, Curtis will target Sherrill at least six times, likely more. He throws it to Sherrill so much so that it may be difficult for Curtis to go through all of his progressions on some plays because he wants to give Sherrill a chance to make a big play.
“The good thing about Junior is he can play parts. He can play every receiver on the field. He knows all the routes. He knows everything about it,” Curtis said. “If we really want him out there and to get the ball, then we’ll put him in the spot he needs to execute.”
Curtis took ownership of his performance so far this season. But what he does like a lot about his performance has been his ability to get the ball down the field to a receiver like Sherrill.
Vanderbilt’s offense has plays designed for Curtis to throw the ball to Sherrill. If Vanderbilt wants to call those plays and potentially light the fuse the offense is looking for, the Commodores will get it to Sherrill.
Outside of Sherrill, Curtis has started to make other connections with his teammates. One of the guys Curtis has really connected with and built chemistry with is wide receiver Ja’Cory Thomas. Curtis has helped make Thomas far bigger of a factor in the Vanderbilt offense than he was the first few weeks.
“He’s really stepped up and he’s got his confidence and he goes out there and he shows it and he’s going to be a big player for us for sure,” Curtis said.
Curtis is in an interesting spot. He is one of the youngest guys on the roster, yet being the starting quarterback for Vanderbilt, he has no choice but to lead his team and form relationships with the players and coaches around him.
That is a role he seems to embrace despite being a freshman. But he has put in the work to do that by hanging out with teammates any chance he can get. Curtis wants to contribute to building a brotherhood inside the program.
“Getting around the guys. If it’s coach Lea setting up a dinner, a quarterback setting up a dinner. Quarterbacks, o-line, receivers go eat. Talk to them around campus, go to their house and they come over to mine,” Curtis said on what he does to build connections with his teammates.
Curtis is not used to being a part of a team that has the record Vanderbilt does right now. At Nashville Christian, Curtis did plenty of winning throughout his high school days. But right now, his Commodores sit at 3-4 with five games to go this season.
Winning in the SEC is tough, but Curtis and Vanderbilt still believe they can right the ship and change the direction of the season. The way Curtis is doing that is having a simple mindset of one game at a time.
“The first key is just one play at a time, which is the same thing as one game at a time. Like coach Lea said, we haven’t lost four games, we’ve lost one at a time,” Curtis said. “You go out there and 24-hour rule right after, then you bounce back and get ready for next week.”
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Graham Baakko is a writer for Vanderbilt Commodores On SI, primarily covering football, basketball and baseball. Graham is a recent graduate from the University of Alabama, where he wrote for The Crimson White, WVUA-FM, WVUA 23 as he covered a variety of Crimson Tide sports. He also covered South Carolina athletics as a sportswriting intern for GamecockCentral.
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