Jared Curtis injury update: Clark Lea confirms QB out vs Georgia

ATHENS, GA ― Vanderbilt football is expected to start Blaze Berlowitz against Georgia after an injury to Jared Curtis will keep him out of the SEC game on Oct. 3. Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea confirmed Curtis' status to the SEC Network during pregame.

Curtis had been listed all week as questionable after suffering an undisclosed injury during a 21-15 loss at Auburn. Pete Thamel was the first to report the news.

“He’s not ready to play physically," Lea told the SEC Network. "We wanted to give him every chance to have a chance to be ready. Listen, the kid is crushed. Obviously, this was an important game to him. It’s time to be a great teammate today and rally around the guys that will be on the field.”

Curtis is a former Georgia football commit. Lea said Curtis pushed himself to prepare himself to play all week.

Curtis was not on the field in uniform at Sanford Stadium during pregame, instead wearing a jersey with sweatpants and doesn't have a helmet.

Sources: Vanderbilt star freshman QB Jared Curtis will not play at Georgia today. He’s a former Georgia commit who’d been considered a game-time decision with an undisclosed injury. pic.twitter.com/yp1mYOieGT

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) October 3, 2026

Curtis was named the full-time starter ahead of the Week 3 game against NC State for the Commodores (3-1, 0-1 SEC). This season, across four games, he is 63-for-98 for 746 yards and four touchdowns while rushing 41 times for 133 yards.

Curtis was previously a Georgia commit, before decommitting and signing with Vanderbilt in December. The game vs No. 2 Georgia (4-0, 2-0) is set for 11:45 a.m. CT (SEC Network).

Berlowitz is 14-for-25 for 178 yards passing this season and has run 13 times for 50 yards.

Berlowitz briefly explored a move to wide receiver, but has practiced more at quarterback within the past week due to the injury to Curtis.

Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on X @aria_gerson.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Jared Curtis injury update: Clark Lea confirms QB out vs Georgia