Vanderbilt walked out of Auburn with a loss, but Clark Lea came away talking like a coach who sees a quarterback he can build around.
Jared Curtis was in the middle of everything in the Commodores’ 21-15 defeat at Jordan-Hare Stadium, and Lea made clear afterward that the freshman’s ceiling is a big part of Vanderbilt’s optimism.
“Offensively, we’re growing a quarterback up,” Lea said, “and we have a lot of excitement about him and a lot of belief in where he’s headed.”
Curtis is now headed to Athens, Georgia, a place he knows well after numerous visits during his long commitment to the Bulldogs before flipping to Vanderbilt the day before the 2026 class’ early signing day. The matchup comes with Georgia sitting No. 2 and fresh off a 41-13 win over Oklahoma, a result that looked more lopsided on the surface than it really was once the Sooners’ four turnovers were taken into account.
That’s part of why Lea sounds so sure Curtis can handle what’s waiting for him in Sanford Stadium, even though a more experienced quarterback like John Mateer could not.
At Auburn, Curtis showed why Vanderbilt is willing to keep handing him the keys. He was under center as the Commodores converted four fourth downs in a hostile environment, and Lea pointed to that calm under pressure as a major reason for his confidence.
“(Curtis) is the guy that, he wants to put it on his shoulders in the critical moment,” Lea said. “That’s gutsy for a freshman to play that way.”
Georgia coach Kirby Smart has noticed plenty too. Curtis’ size and movement were part of what once had Smart thinking the Bulldogs might have their quarterback of the future.
“Way better athletically than people give him credit for,” Smart said at his Tuesday press conference. “I don’t know if anybody’s tackled him, with one person, tackled him yet.
He’s strong. He’s quick.
He’s powerful. He’s got great arm talent.
Everything everybody thought has been true.”
Lea said Curtis also has the feel to make plays with his legs when the coverage demands it.
“When the coverage was tight and we were able to hold the line in the rush, he was fine in the yards in his legs,” Lea said of Curtis’ running skills.
“This (at Auburn) was his second game starting and he’s going to keep improving,” Lea said. “We have to continue to grow the offense around him, we have to continue to coach him, but I’m really excited about where that guy is headed, and there’s a lot of good football ahead for him.”
Vanderbilt’s defense has been steady enough through the first four games, producing a sack and a turnover in each one. Special teams, though, has been a problem area. The Commodores have already had two punts blocked this season, and one of them at Auburn turned into a Tigers touchdown and a 14-3 lead in the second quarter.
Even so, Vanderbilt hung around. The Commodores answered with a third-quarter touchdown, then added two fourth-quarter field goals after Auburn scored again, trimming the margin to 21-15. But the Tigers finished it off with an 11-play drive that drained the clock and kept Curtis on the sideline.
Lea also wanted back Auburn’s explosive touchdown, a 33-yard score in the first quarter, but he said the defense still did enough to give Vanderbilt a chance.
“Defensively, we want the explosive touchdown (33 yards, first quarter) back,” Lea said, “but on the whole they were able to generate the stops we needed in the game, we needed one more.”
Smart, for his part, made it clear Georgia is paying attention.
“They’ve got a great program, a great team, arguably should’ve made the playoffs last year with the record they had, teams they beat,” Smart said.
“(Lea) does a tremendous job there. They’re really a physical football team made in the same mold as us with a defensive coach.”
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