Jared Curtis to start for Vanderbilt football vs NC State

This story has been updated to add additional information.

Freshman Jared Curtis will start for Vanderbilt football in its matchup against NC State, coach Clark Lea announced Sept. 15.

Senior Blaze Berlowitz started the first two games for the Commodores, a 28-9 win over Austin Peay and a 35-26 win over Delaware. But Curtis played the majority of the game against the Blue Hens.

Lea said that Vanderbilt is not currently planning to play two quarterbacks against the Wolfpack.

"(Curtis has) earned it, he's worked really hard," he said. " . . . As he settled in the game (against Delaware), I really felt like the game slowed down for him, so it was clear to me coming out of the game."

Vanderbilt (2-0) will face NC State (1-1) at FirstBank Stadium on Sept. 19 (11:45 a.m. CT, SEC Network).

In two games, Curtis is 21-for-31 for 270 yards and one touchdown. He has run eight times for 46 yards and two touchdowns, not including the three sacks he took against Delaware.

Berlowitz is 14-of-25 passing for 178 yards in two games, but zero passing touchdowns and no interceptions. He has 50 yards rushing and a touchdown on 13 carries.

Lea said they had been splitting practice reps roughly 60/40, but they plan to get Curtis more reps going forward.

"We can shift that now, so he gets more reps, more looks at the things that he may not quite be comfortable with yet," Lea said. "And hopefully that leads to him slowing the game down and playing from a place of confidence because he's seen it in practice, he's done it over and over, and now he has a chance to execute on Saturday."

Curtis, a five-star player out of Nashville Christian School, was the No. 2 quarterback in the Class of 2026. Vanderbilt fans have cheered when Curtis entered the game the first two weeks of the season.

He will be the first true freshman to have started a game for the Commodores since AJ Swann, who started six games as a freshman in 2022.

"What (Curtis) showed on Saturday was that he's ready for this now," Lea said. "That both gives us peace of mind about, we're not sacrificing wins now for wins later. He can do it now, and my hope is that he continues to build in his confidence and his ability to execute the position as the year goes on."

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 to start for Vanderbilt football vs NC State