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NASHVILLE—Vanderbilt quarterback Blaze Berlowitz broke his collarbone in Vanderbilt's Saturday loss to Ole Miss and will undergo surgery Monday, his mom Melanie Berlowitz posted on Facebook Saturday night.
Berlowitz entered the game in the mid-fourth quarter and went 2-for-5 for 18 yards through the air. He also rushed for 23 yards on four carries and led a Vanderbilt touchdown drive during the final offensive series it had of the night. On one of his final plays of the night, he took a big hit and appeared to know something wasn't right.
Turns out, it wasn't.
"Not sure why life has to be so complicated, but the hits just keep on coming," Melanie Berlowitz posted. "We appreciate all the support from everyone that has continued to follow him. I know he will come back stronger after this is all over."
Berlowitz started Vanderbilt's first two games of the season while entrenched in a quarterback battle alongside five-star freshman Jared Curtis before Curtis overtook him and won the job in the second half of the Delaware game. Berlowitz did return to the lineup for Vanderbilt's road loss to Georgia and went 12-for-23 with 190 passing yards, one touchdown and an interception.
In Berlowitz, Vanderbilt has a veteran is in his third season as a Commodore and his fourth season with Vanderbilt offensive coordinator Tim Beck. His calling card has been that he clearly knows Vanderbilt’s scheme inside and out.
When Berlowitz lost the quarterback battle, he came to Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea and asked to play wide receiver in an effort to help the program in any way he could. Vanderbilt played Berlowitz at receiver against Auburn, when he was targeted twice and had one reception for zero yards. Lea believed the move was worthwhile because of what he believed was Berlowitz' dynamic athletic profile, but remained fully committed to Berlowitz as Vanderbilt's backup quarterback.
"Obviously also just in total support of Blaze Berlowitz,” Lea said. “This guy is been an incredible leader for us and such a tough individual and someone I have a ton of respect for and obviously anytime you're dealing with the quarterback position in particular making a change that way, we are we're full in support of Jared, but we're also full in support of Blaze.”
Lea said in that moment–ahead of Vanderbilt's matchup with NC State–that he believed Vanderbilt would need Berlowitz and that he had 100% belief in him.
Now, Vanderbilt will have to turn to either junior quarterback Whit Muschamp or sophomore Jack Elliott to back up Curtis. Muschamp appeared to have the lead on the job when fall camp broke.
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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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