It was Jared Curtis‘ first career start for Vanderbilt football in a 35-31 win over NC State on Sept. 19 at FirstBank Stadium that the Commodores won after a fumble in the end zone with one second left.
Curtis’ performance was a mixed bag that was more good than bad, but there were some mistakes from the five-star freshman out of Nashville Christian School. He struggled early against the Wolfpack (1-2) before roaring to life in the second half, then throwing what was nearly a game-breaking interception before Vanderbilt (3-0) won on the shocking play.
Here’s how we graded the performance from Curtis:
Curtis was 20-for-34 passing for 277 yards, with three touchdowns and two interceptions. He ran 12 times for 64 yards and was Vanderbilt’s leading rusher in the game. He did not take a sack and committed two fumbles, one of which he recovered.
Curtis got off to an unquestionably poor start when he lost a fumble and threw an interception during the first half, though part of the struggle was due to Vanderbilt’s inability to run the ball, and numerous holding penalties committed by the offensive line.
In the second half, Curtis improved immensely. He started finding chemistry with Junior Sherrill on the deep ball, landing several big throws and making plays with his legs as well. However, he ended his day by getting intercepted near the goal line in one of his rare poor throws of the second half.
Without Curtis, the Commodores likely would have been blown out in the game.
B+
Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at [email protected] or on X @aria_gerson.
