5-star freshman quarterback set to make first collegiate start for Vanderbilt on Saturday

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Vanderbilt is making a quarterback change for Saturday’s game against NC State.

Blaze Berlowitz has struggled in the Commodores’ first two games of the 2026 college football season, so head coach Clark Lea is turning to freshman quarterback Jared Curtis.

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Lea announced on Tuesday, Sept. 15, that the five-star recruit will start at quarterback on Saturday, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel. It comes after Curtis came in for Berlowitz against Delaware and played a good chunk of the game, finishing with 210 yards through the air and one touchdown.

Delaware led Vanderbilt 17-14 at the break before the latter outscored the former 21-9 in the second half to win 35-26.

Curtis was originally committed to Georgia before flipping to Vanderbilt on National Signing Day back in December. He was the second-best quarterback in the 2026 recruiting class, per 247Sports Composite rankings. He was also the fourth-best recruit in the country, regardless of position.

He’ll try to show everyone what he can do in a full game as Vanderbilt tries to get to 3-0 overall. If he plays well, he’ll likely keep the job into Vanderbilt’s SEC opener against Auburn on Sept. 26.

Kickoff for Saturday’s game between the Commodores and Wolfpack will be at 12:45 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.

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