No. 2 College Football QB Prospect Believed to be the Only Freshman Starter – Sports Illustrated

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The wait for the beginning of the 2026 football season from the first days of March spans about six months.
While no games are played, the spring football season provides entertainment for college football fans from the beginning of March into the middle of April.
The season offers a preview of key position battles as well as the opportunity for programs to get their first look at the top prospects they hauled in from high school and the NCAA transfer portal.
One prospect drawing attention during the 2026 spring football season is Vanderbilt true freshman quarterback Jared Curtis. His high ranking and recruitment process have sparked intrigue around him from both Commodore fans and the rest of the college football landscape.
The 6-foot-3, 225-pounder ranked as a five-star prospect and both the No. 2 quarterback and No. 2 overall prospect in the 2026 recruiting cycle, according to 247Sports.
In four years as a starter at Nashville Christian School, Curtis threw for 9,674 yards, 128 touchdown passes and 26 interceptions while rushing for 2,275 yards and 49 more touchdowns.
Georgia held a commitment from Curtis in two different periods. He was committed to the Bulldogs from March to October of 2024 before his first decommitment, then he was committed to the Bulldogs from May to December of 2025 before his second and final decommitment. Curtis flipped to Vanderbilt just before early signing day, opting to stay closer to home.
Curtis' commitment to Vanderbilt marks the first by a five-star prospect to the Commodores. In addition to becoming the first of his kind at Vanderbilt, Curtis follows up a run that was the first of its kind at Vanderbilt.
The Commodores captured their first 10-win season program in 2025. Quarterback Diego Pavia spearheaded the effort, turning in a season in which he passed for 3,539 yards, 29 touchdowns and eight interceptions and ran for 862 yards and 10 touchdowns.
The season Pavia pieced together earned him a place among the four Heisman Trophy finalists in December, an award ultimately given to Fernando Mendoza of Indiana.
Pavia left large shoes to fill, but Curtis enters the Vanderbilt football program as Pavia's most worthy successor. Andy Staples of On3 broke down each Power Four program's quarterback situation heading into the spring football season. Staples believes that Curtis is the only true freshman quarterback guaranteed to start for his program in 2026.
A home game against NC State headlines Vanderbilt's 2026 non-conference schedule. The Commodores play three College Football Playoff participants from a season ago in Georgia, Ole Miss and Alabama.
However, they also play five SEC teams that finished 2025 with losing records in Auburn, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi State and Florida.
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Tucker Harlin is a passionate sports fan and journalist covering college sports. His work can be found on Vols Wire of the USA TODAY Sports Media Group and The Voice of College Football Network. He graduated from the School of Journalism and Media at the University of Tennessee in 2024 and is based in Nashville.
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