NASHVILLE - Vanderbilt’s season-opening win over Austin Peay produced a strange kind of split-screen at FirstBank Stadium. The scoreboard said one thing, but the crowd said something else entirely: Jared Curtis is the quarterback they want, and they made sure Clark Lea heard it.
Every time Curtis stepped onto the field Saturday night, the building came alive. He was greeted with the loudest cheers of the night, along with “we want Jared” chants.
When he powered through a defender, the reaction matched the moment. And when Berlowitz made a second-half mistake, boos rolled down from the bleachers.
By the end of the night, the fanbase had clearly taken its stand. In their eyes, Curtis is Vanderbilt’s quarterback of the future, and they want that future to start now.
Curtis finished with nine passing attempts, completing seven for 60 yards, and added three rushes. Berlowitz went 11-for-16 for 149 total yards. Those numbers were enough for fans to decide Lea is mishandling the situation, even if the staff sees it differently.
“I appreciate the passion, I appreciate the energy, the interest,” Lea said postgame. “I don’t ever put any energy into the external part of this.
This is my job, my job is to best organize the team. I’m gonna do that to the best of my ability with the support of the coaching staff.
I want our fans to show up, I want everyone to have opinions.”
Behind that calm answer sits a coaching staff that still sees this as a real competition. Lea wanted a starter settled by the end of Vanderbilt’s first fall-camp scrimmage, but neither quarterback separated enough to make that happen. Curtis, in particular, hasn’t been consistent enough for the staff to hand him the job.
The coaches like Curtis’s upside and view him as the quarterback of the future. They also believe Berlowitz may give them the better chance to win right now. That’s the tension at the heart of this decision, and it’s why the staff hasn’t been willing to make the public leap everyone in the stands seems ready to make.
Berlowitz did enough Saturday to keep the conversation going. He avoided turnovers and hit a few solid downfield throws.
Curtis, meanwhile, delivered the more electric moments, but also what might have been the worst decision of the day - a mistake he escaped because of his arm talent. Berlowitz managed the offense.
Curtis flashed the higher ceiling.
That ceiling is exactly why so many Vanderbilt fans are done waiting.
They watched Curtis and saw an offense that looks more dangerous with him in it. They saw a team that could do more than play conservatively and try to squeeze the clock. They saw a quarterback who might give Vanderbilt a real chance in the games it will be an underdog in next year, and that will be most of them in 2026.
From the fanbase’s point of view, the case is obvious: if Vanderbilt is going to be close to elite in 2026, Curtis has to be the starter. Lea doesn’t seem ready to go that far. He pointed to the offense’s comfort level with Berlowitz and to Curtis’s adjustment after playing high school football less than a year ago.
Some of Curtis’s best moments Saturday - the rocket he fired on his first play, the run where he lowered his shoulder and ran over a defender - haven’t even shown up on Vanderbilt’s social media accounts. The program, at least publicly, doesn’t appear eager to fully turn the hype machine loose.
That caution isn’t likely to change against Delaware in week two. Lea still isn’t acting like Curtis has clearly won the job, even if the outside noise says otherwise.
“There’s going to be a point where it’s anti-strategic to play two quarterbacks,” Lea said. “I think both guys played well.
They both had flashes. I also think that, you know, there's things for both of them to improve upon.
And so we're gonna watch film and learn. I think it's great that Jared got his first game experience and that it wasn’t just one drive.
I thought he was able to get out there and play a good amount of football and show some things that he can do, and then also kind of reinforce some things that he needs to work on. This is a different game.
It's a different level than high school and. So I'm excited for him.
Obviously, I thought Blaze was an absolute pro. It will go as long as we need it to, as long as we keep the mission in focus.
And again, that's winning.”
That leaves Vanderbilt in a familiar but uneasy spot: a rare sellout crowd, a win on the field, and a fanbase that left restless anyway. The cheers for Curtis were loud, the boos for Berlowitz were real, and the message from the stands was impossible to miss.
Curtis is coming. The only question now is how long Lea can keep the crowd from deciding the job for him.
In Other News...
Marlen Sewells Vanderbilt Return Says Everything About This Program
Marlen Sewells return for Vanderbilts 2026 season opener was the kind of reminder that says as much about the program as it does about the player. A former Commodore and team captain now on the Chicago Bears practice squad, Sewell showed up around the team he once led, spending time with current players and staff and reinforcing just how tight those ties remain long after a college career ends.
For Vanderbilt, moments like that matter because they speak to the culture around the program, not just the scoreboard. Sewell was cut from the Bears active roster after a preseason game, but his connection to Nashville has clearly endured, and his presence on campus underscored the way he still values the relationships and legacy he built in black and gold. [Read more 🡒]
Vanderbilt Is Making An Early Recruiting Push Fans Should Notice
Vanderbilts early recruiting board is already taking shape, and the range of offers says plenty about how broad the staff wants to cast its net. The Commodores have extended scholarships to a mix of prospects from Tennessee and Kentucky, while also reaching overseas to the NFL Academy in England, a sign that the program is willing to look beyond the usual footprint as it builds out future classes.
The 2027 class already includes 17 commits, but the staff is not waiting around before moving on to the next wave of targets. Offers have already gone out to players such as Augustine Irek, Jayden Jamerson, Braylen Batts-Hobbs and Gregory Kirwan, with Vanderbilt also beginning to make inroads into the 2028 cycle. It is an early push, but one that gives a clearer picture of how aggressively the Commodores want to stay ahead in recruiting. [Read more 🡒]
Sedrick Alexander Is Giving Vanderbilt Offense Something It Desperately Needs
Sedrick Alexander kept getting the ball early in Vanderbilts recent game, and the Commodores made a point of leaning on him from the start. He turned that workload into a touchdown, giving an offense in search of stability a back it can trust while the rest of the depth chart sorts itself out.
Blaze Berlowitz and Jared Curtis are still battling for the quarterback job, and Clark Lea has made clear the decision will come down to who gives Vanderbilt the best chance to win. Until that settles, Alexander looks positioned to remain a central piece of the plan, the kind of reliable presence that can help steady an offense still trying to find its shape. [Read more 🡒]