Jared Curtis, Vanderbilt football's five-star freshman quarterback, acknowledged the need to play better, with the Commodores on a four-game losing streak.
"Coach (Clark) Lea, what he says to the team, the big three," Curtis said. "The first one being play by play, just one play at a time. No. 2, protect the football, and No. 3 being playing with discipline, like pre-snap penalties and whatnot. But it all starts with me communicating throughout the offense and just playing better."
Vanderbilt (3-4, 0-4 SEC) will take on No. 12 Kentucky (6-1, 4-1) on Oct. 24 (6:30 p.m. CT, SEC Network) at Kroger Field in Lexington.
Curtis, who flipped from Georgia to join the Commodores, is 101-for-161 for 1,242 yards, six touchdowns and seven interceptions. He has 55 rushing attempts for 144 yards.
Throughout the season, he has shown strong downfield ability, especially favoring a connection with Junior Sherrill down the sideline.
"What I've done best, I'd say, is just knowing where to go with the ball on the outside, outside the numbers with Junior and Ja'Cory (Thomas). When you have those weapons, you go give them a chance and they go make the play and it shows," he said.
The Oct. 20 news conference was the first time Curtis spoke to the media since April. Lea said he hasn't had reservations about letting Curtis speak, due to his level-headedness, but he wanted to give Curtis the time to settle in without adding more to his plate.
While Curtis has shown his ability to make NFL-level throws, he has made some mistakes often typical of true freshmen. He doesn't always make the right reads and sometimes makes throws that he shouldn't.
Late in a 31-21 loss to Arkansas on Oct. 17, Vanderbilt was driving with a chance to tie the game but Curtis found himself under heavy pressure on third down. He tried to throw the ball away, but he couldn't get the ball out of bounds and threw an interception instead.
The Razorbacks ended up getting a field goal out of that drive and Vanderbilt didn't get the ball back until it was too little, too late.
"Obviously, I'm young," Curtis said. "It is what it is. I've got to step up and be there for my teammates. I've just got to make sure that they trust me, and I know that I trust them. And we go out there and we fight, and we just go out there and try to execute game by game, play by play."
Curtis didn't immediately win the starting job. Blaze Berlowitz started the first two games, but Curtis won the job shortly after, entering the Sept. 19 game against NC State. Berlowitz stepped in for Curtis two weeks later against Georgia when Curtis suffered an injury. Curtis returned for the Oct. 10 blowout loss to Ole Miss, but when Berlowitz came in late during garbage time, he broke his collarbone. Now, this is Curtis' team with Berlowitz out for a month.
"I didn't know the pregame stuff, like the day, even the day before, at the hotel, just some stuff like that," Curtis said. "I really didn't even know, and then on the field, I'd say just staying calm, leading the guys. Blaze is a good leader and a great teammate, and I think it showed."
Lea complimented Curtis' humility, and said the freshman is beginning to figure out how he can use his voice and become a leader while developing his skills.
"The things that he used to problem-solve in high school aren't going to help him problem-solve on the SEC field, and that's OK, man," Lea said. "These lessons are important, and we know in playing him at this point in his career that we're going to be with him as he learns the lessons in performance that impact results."
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: How QB Jared Curtis evaluates his performance so far for Vanderbilt football