Exclusive: Clark Lea Delivers State of The Union On Jared Curtis – Sports Illustrated

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NASHVILLE—Clark Lea wasn’t expecting to be taken aback as he stood on the sideline and watched as freshman quarterback Jared Curtis ripped it towards the sideline, but by the time the ball was in the hands of the receiver. 
Curtis was on the hash and fired it towards the tick mark next to the sideline with a throw that Lea says was “on a line.” The Vanderbilt coach says he’s never seen that route thrown that way. Lea clarifies that this wasn’t an out cut, it was a wheel route working vertical. Curtis threw the ball as if he was throwing a dig, and he still got it there.
Lea also recalls an over route in which Curtis put the ball right past the linebacker’s ear and hit a tight end. The Vanderbilt coach said those are the types of throws that he and his staff can’t recruit. 
“There's been moments of brilliance on the field, which have been really cool,” Lea told Vandy on SI. “With Jared, you have a guy who's just really talented and all those traits show up when you watch him throw the ball.” 
Curtis is the highest-ranked player to commit to Vanderbilt in program history and is the No. 1 ranked quarterback in the 2026 high school class. Curtis flipping his commitment from Georgia to Vanderbilt the night before national signing day represented a change in the trajectory of Vanderbilt football. The Nashville Christian product is the type of player that didn’t used to pick up the phone when this program called, but Vanderbilt was able to close the deal with him. 
The freshman quarterback is the heavy favorite to be the Commodores’ starting quarterback, but Lea says he’s engaged in a quarterback competition. Lea didn’t tip his hand in regard to who his starting quarterback will be on opening day, but he’s clear that Curtis will have to earn it if he's going to take on the role. Lea loves Blaze Berlowitz' experience, Whit Muschamp's improved focus and Jack Elliott's "bulldog" mentality. 
There’s plenty for him to love about Curtis, too, and Lea knows it better than just about anyone. 
“The way he approaches work and his teammates within the work has been impressive,” Lea said. “Really high marks on him in terms of his competitive character and his mindset, he's made mistakes on the field and he doesn't hold onto those, which is a great quality for the quarterback position.”
Lea and company know the expectation surrounding their five-star quarterback–who is the first five-star to commit to Vanderbilt since the inception of recruiting rankings–but the Vanderbilt head coach is also of the mindset that his young quarterback needs time to adjust from TSSAA Division-II-A football to the SEC.
The Vanderbilt coach says Curtis is still adjusting to seeing a greater deal of complexity from defenses in terms of coverages and is learning a college system. Curtis is also working through his back tightening up at times, Lea said, as a result of a back surgery that he underwent while in high school. 
Lea never expected this to be linear, though. He has to remind himself of that. 
“We're heading in the right direction,” Lea said. “Our biggest challenge here is not to hang onto any one day for him. It's just to keep a vision for where he could be come fall and realize that every, both the good days and the hard days are gonna be steps in the direction of reaching that potential for year one. We know it's there and we're really interested in trying to draw that out of him.”
It’s too early for Lea and company to know exactly what they’ll get from Curtis when Vanderbilt opens against Austin Peay on Sept. 5, particularly with the lack of action they’ve seen from him thus far. Vanderbilt doesn’t even know exactly what Curtis gives it as a leader, either. Lea says Curtis isn’t breaking the team down yet. 
Lea isn’t adding to a hype train at this point like he was with Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia throughout the 2025 season. But, he’s not counting his freshman quarterback out of anything yet. 
“He's super steady and consistent in the way he approaches work,” Lea said. “You’ve got a confident person who believes in himself, but also is humble enough to be a part of something. That has stood out to me.” 
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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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