Five-star quarterback, Jared Curtis, made waves when he flipped his commitment from the Georgia Bulldogs to the Vanderbilt Commodores in December. The Commodores pulled off a coup since Curtis was the No. 2 quarterback and No. 2 overall prospect in the class of 2026.
Vanderbilt Faces Big QB Question as Jared Curtis Set to Replace Diego Pavia
Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea has elevated the Commodores to a perpetually ranked team on the back of former quarterback Diego Pavia, who departed Nashville for the NFL Draft process.
During Wednesday’s segment of the “Cover 3” podcast, analyst Tom Fornelli leveled a warning at Lea about the readiness of the inexperienced Curtis to replace the veteran play of Pavia next season.
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“It’s gonna be tough. I don’t think you can expect Vanderbilt to have the same kind of season that they had last year. No matter how good Curtis is. You look at the sport and veteran quarterbacks are what win. You don’t really see freshmen phenom quarterbacks jump in and have immediate impacts.
“CJ Carr was an exception last year. He had a really good season for Notre Dame, but even then, it wasn’t like he was a true freshman, he had a year as a redshirt. Julian Sayin, had a year as a redshirt. It’s not like Jared Curtis is stepping into a Vanderbilt that has an elite roster compared to what they’re facing in the SEC. It’s gonna be difficult.”
Curtis accounted for 7,637 yards and 92 touchdowns in three seasons at Nashville Christian, leading the school to a Division II-A state championship two years ago. He is the Commodores’ highest-ranked recruit and first top-10 quarterback commit in 11 years.
While speaking to reporters at the NFL Draft Combine in Indianapolis last week, Pavia revealed Curtis’s lofty ambitions for the high-flying Commodores.
“We were talking the other day, and he was like, ‘I’m going to win the national championship that you couldn’t win,’” Pavia said. “Our past two years, obviously, we were able to win seven games and 10 games.
“I hope they keep soaring through the roof, and then next year, they 12-0 and then go to the playoffs. I think he was just wanting to stay in his hometown and do something for Vandy that’s never been done.”
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Curtis has big shoes to fill after Pavia earned an impressive PFSN College QB Impact score of 94.8 last season and is considered perhaps the greatest QB in program history after leading them to a 17-9 record in two seasons in Nashville.
Pavia registered 3,539 passing yards, resulting in 29 touchdowns and eight interceptions, while adding 862 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns for the Commodores in his last year of college football.
