NASHVILLE—-Clark Lea has been clear all along, this was never going to be a seamless transition for Jared Curtis as he acclimated from small private school star to SEC starter. Lea and Vanderbilt as a whole reflected that in their actions all along, too.
Curtis wasn’t given the first snap of the season at quarterback. Rather, that went to Blaze Berlowitz. While most other Vanderbilt players had the green light to speak to the media, Vanderbilt handled Curtis with reluctance and put him out in front of the press for the first time since April on Tuesday.
Lea declared early on that no quarterback on Vanderbilt’s roster—including Curtis—should be compared to Diego Pavia right away, that Curtis was still learning along the way and that his nearly supernatural talent wasn’t going to be enough just yet. Curtis still had to have this slow down for him, and Lea was clear about that.
Curtis’ need for an adjustment period hasn’t been all that difficult to see as he’s thrown seven interceptions relative to his six touchdowns through his first six college appearances. Curtis threw two crucial interceptions—including a pick six—in Vanderbilt’s Saturday loss to Arkansas, but he appears to be optimistic in regard to the idea that he’ll figure this out.
He says he believes that the game is slowing down for him, and he’s not hedging that statement. Perhaps the fact that Curtis finally got up in front of the media is an indicator that Vanderbilt believes there’s credence to his statement. All of Vanderbilt’s messaging throughout the week indicates that it’s trying to make a statement of belief in its young quarterback.
Lea raved about Curtis as a messenger. He talked about him in a way that he hadn’t yet on Thursday. Curtis talked as if he was a veteran quarterback that wasn’t overwhelmed when he walked into the media room Tuesday.
“It’s just getting a hold of the offense, getting everything down,” Curtis said in regard to the game slowing down. “Obviously formations, plays, reads throughout the game I'd say slow down a little bit. You still got to go out there and you got to prepare, you got to prepare each week.”
Now, it’s time for Curtis to demonstrate that this is all slowing down for him consistently if this Vanderbilt team is going to accomplish anything of note down the stretch.
For a few throws every game, Curtis looks like an NFL guy. He fits it into a tight window that few other quarterbacks in the country can. He hits someone in the chest while he’s on the run. He puts his shoulder into someone and gets a few extra yards on a carry. He checks out of a play that appears to be doomed and generates a touchdown off of it.
Too often, though, Curtis looks like a freshman that was rightfully competing for Vanderbilt’s starting job a few months ago. Curtis allowed Arkansas to clinch an upset win at FirstBank Stadium a week ago with an ill-advised flip late in the game and threw a pick-six earlier in the evening that allowed Arkansas to get back into the game. Lea says Curtis was forcing the issue and appears to have a tendency to do so when he feels he needs to be a superhero.
It’s fair to blame the infrastructure around Curtis for a good portion of his struggles, but Curtis didn’t hide behind any of that as he met the media Tuesday. Instead, he took everything on the chin and put the blame on himself. The context surrounding Curtis indicates that this isn’t all on him, though. His offensive line has to be significantly better. Vanderbilt hasn’t supported him with a competent running game. Its playcalling has left something to be desired at times.
The noise coming out of Vanderbilt’s McGugin Center is positive regarding Curtis, though. Perhaps more notably, the noise in regard to how it’s surrounding Curtis is notably more positive than it has been.
“What I see right now in our program is older players, veteran players giving him the space to become a leader,” Lea said. “He is learning and growing a lot. I think in some ways, he’s right on the progression line of where he needs to be.”
Lea said Thursday that he feels Vanderbilt’s offense is forming around Curtis and appeared more optimistic in regard to that idea than he has at any point since Curtis’ December commitment to Lea’s program. Now, could it be time for Curtis to flush his freshman moments and turn the corner?
Vanderbilt’s undertones indicate that it thinks so.
“He’s confident in himself, but the type of confidence that I think grows connection with the people around him," Lea said. “Now you have this player who has parts of Diego’s competitive personality, parts of that big-game moment ability–Jared does."
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