Jared Curtis went to Vanderbilt for one reason above all else: a chance to play right away.
That was the logic behind the former five-star Georgia commit’s flip, and it made sense on paper. Gunner Stockton is back as Georgia’s starter, so Curtis was never going to walk into Athens and beat him out. Diego Pavia was leaving Vanderbilt, though, which opened a path for Curtis to arrive and potentially take the job as a true freshman.
Now that plan is suddenly looking shaky.
On3 projected Curtis to lose Vanderbilt’s starting job ahead of the 2026 season, a development that would have Georgia fans laughing at how the recruitment played out. The projection came as part of On3’s look at every SEC starting quarterback ahead of the 2026 season.
Curtis’s path to this point has already been a winding one. He was committed to Georgia twice - committed, decommitted, then committed again - before flipping to Vanderbilt just days before signing day.
The appeal of Vanderbilt was straightforward: a chance to start early. If Curtis had landed the job, the move would have made plenty of sense. He would have found a Power Four spot where he could get on the field immediately, while Georgia remained blocked by Stockton.
But if he can’t win the Vanderbilt job, the decision starts to look a lot different.
Georgia fans had already been eyeing Vanderbilt on the schedule this season with the hope of getting a shot at Curtis in Athens. If he doesn’t even become the starter, that may be an even sweeter outcome for them. Instead of facing the quarterback who turned away from Kirby Smart, they may get the satisfaction of watching him sit.
There is still time for that to change, and Curtis could still end up winning the job. If he does, the move to Vanderbilt will have a clear explanation. If he doesn’t, the questions around his decision to leave Georgia will only get louder.
Had he stayed with Georgia, Curtis could have spent a year developing and then pushed for the starting job in Athens ahead of the 2027 season. That path would have kept him in a program where quarterback value is hard to beat.
That’s why the stakes around Vanderbilt’s quarterback competition matter so much here. If Curtis doesn’t turn the opportunity into a starting role, the decision to turn his back on Georgia will look harder and harder to justify.
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Cole is set to announce his commitment Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET on the CBSSports College Football YouTube channel, and Florida is one of four schools still in the mix along with Georgia, LSU and Ole Miss. For the Gators, it is another reminder of how much these late-summer battles can hinge on trust, staff relationships and the way a program sells itself to a top target. [Read more 🡒]