NASHVILLE — It felt like a moment where Vanderbilt football’s five-star freshman quarterback Jared Curtis was going to be a hero for the Commodores and tie the game in the final moments. The clock winded down below the four-minute mark on the final quarter in a 28-21 game.
But on 2nd-and-12, Curtis’ attempt to play the hero and potentially save the day for Vanderbilt went to the wayside. Curtis stepped back to pass and felt the pressure. As the Arkansas defensive line got to him and nearly sacked him, Curtis flung the ball forward in an attempt to either throw the ball away or a last gasp to find a receiver and avoid a sack.
That turned out to be the worst thing he could have done in the situation. As the ball started to fall toward the ground, Arkansas picked off the pass and later scored a field goal on its ensuing drive to seal the game and hand Vanderbilt its fourth straight loss.
“What he’s trying to do at that moment is to make a play and really get rid of the ball. He just left it in a compromised position. It’s okay to take a sack sometimes, too,” Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea said about the play.
Saturday was another perfect example of the full Jared Curits experience. He was able to push the ball and deliver touchdown drives as Vanderbilt and Arkansas traded touchdowns for the first two-and-a-half quarters. But Curtis also had the lows. Between the late interception and the pick six he threw in the first half, Curtis made the typical freshman mistakes as well as the talented throws he has made in the past.
While Lea was obviously not happy that Curtis made critical errors, he understands that all young quarterbacks are going to make mistakes. To expect Curtis or any freshman quarterback to play outstanding would be a ridiculous expectation.
With Curtis running the offense, it has been a gradual learning process from both Curtis and the coaching staff. As each week passes Lea and his staff get more familiar with what Curtis likes and does not like.
And despite how things went Saturday night, Lea seems pleased with how Curtis has progressed in terms of leading the offense this season.
“I’ve been impressed with his command of the offense in practice and in walkthroughs. I think he’s getting to checks. I think he’s able to set protections and make adjustments that way,” Lea said. “Those are all positive signs.”
But there is only so much weight Vanderbilt can put on Curtis’ shoulders and the Commodores seem to be aware of that. Curtis can only do so much in helping Vanderbilt win games. While Curtis could have done things better to put Vanderbilt in a better position against Arkansas, the issues on offense go beyond how Curtis performed.
And that was perhaps the most telling thing Lea admitted to in the postgame press conference.
Vanderbilt knows it needs to supply Curtis with the necessary pieces around him to help him succeed, but right now Lea does not think there is enough of that.
“What we need is strength around him. So we need strength on defense, we need strength on special teams. And we need the offense to play around him in a way that allows for those mistakes that protects them from those mistakes,” Lea said. “That means the run game, that means the protection. That means staying on schedule.”
The plan from the beginning was to never put too much pressure on whoever the Vanderbilt quarterback and to not need to rely too much on the quarterback making plays himself to win games.
Lea knew that whether the starter was going to be Curtis or Berlowitz, the other 10 guys on offense needed to be there for the quarterback. But he acknowledged that the other 10 on the field with Curtis have not been giving the necessary support the coaching staff wants.
“I said this summer coming in, whoever the quarterback was going to be, we were going to need to play in support of him. And that’s not what we’re doing right now,” Lea said.
Curtis finished the game 19-for-31 passing for 274 yards, a touchdown and his two interceptions. Curtis had his freshman moments and it did have an impact on the game, but it is the guys around Curtis that need to be better for him.
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