Jared Curtis kept coming into offensive coordinator Tim Beck’s office asking to go live in practice.
For the first three weeks of Vanderbilt football’s spring session, Curtis was in a non-contact jersey. Clark Lea and the coaching staff didn’t want their 5-star quarterback getting hurt.
But Curtis wanted to get hit, and for every other observer, having been non-contact made it difficult to evaluate Curtis. Could he evade pressure and make plays if flushed out of the pocket? Those were Diego Pavia’s strengths, and the reason he notoriously struggled in his first preseason practice period with the Commodores.
Finally, for an April 4 scrimmage, Curtis was allowed to take full contact, along with the other three quarterbacks on the roster. The Tennessean viewed this scrimmage, and while media members were not allowed to disclose stats or specific plays, they could provide general takeaways.
“It felt good just going out there, and I feel like I like it better, just because it was more like a real game,” Curtis said.
Curtis, who at 6-foot-3, 230 pounds is a very different build than Pavia, for the most part did well evading rushers and scrambling. He didn’t shy away from taking contact and was able to scramble when the situation called for it. However, there were times he held onto the ball too long and that led to negative plays.
“I feel like the defense has kind of had the upper hand in our in our competitive work,” Lea said. “I thought today the offense showed what it can do. It’s great reminder of the power of a drive, just the number of times we’re on schedule and getting to conversions and keeping the defense on the field, and how those body shots will accumulate and allow for explosive plays and so and we looked like we looked a year ago at times.”
Curtis has NFL-level arm strength, and that could take some getting used to for his teammates. There were a few times that receivers dropped passes he threw. But Curtis also had some off-target throws on short or intermediate routes, and he did not attempt many deep balls. He made the biggest impact in his scrambling ability, rather than his pure arm strength.
Some of that was situational, though, with the team working some specific scenarios.
“I thought today you saw his pocket presence, at times his capability, at times his physical presence as a runner, and also the ability to put the ball in tight spaces, on time and on target,” Lea said. “Now, they weren’t always completions today, but from his process and his standpoint, there’s not a whole lot else he can do.”
Even since Lea hired Beck as offensive coordinator, the offense has looked a little bit different every year. In 2024, the first year with Pavia, Vanderbilt had a run-heavy offense that was closer to a true option attack. In 2025, Pavia was able to air the ball out more.
This year, the offense figures to look different once again, whether it’s Curtis or Blaze Berlowitz as QB1.
“We’re changing some things,” Curtis said. “More understated, more pro-style look. I feel like all the quarterbacks are doing good in the system, and I think we’ll continue to grow.”
Curtis said that the system was similar in some ways to what he ran in high school at Nashville Christian but much different in others. He’s continuing to get comfortable.
Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on X @aria_gerson.
