What Kirby Smart said about 5-star Georgia QB decommit - UGA Wire
The Georgia Bulldogs play the Vanderbilt Commodores at 12:45 p.m. ET on Saturday, Oct. 3. Vanderbilt quarterback Jared Curtis is someone Georgia fans who follow recruiting are very familiar with. He flipped from Georgia to Vanderbilt on the first day of the 2025 early signing period. Georgia coach Kirby Smart gave his input on going up against Curtis.
"Tremendous talent, way better athletically than people give him credit for," Smart said. "I don't know if anybody's tackling, you know, like one person tackling him yet. He's strong. He's quick, powerful. He's got great arm talent."
Curtis was a five-star quarterback who committed to Georgia in May 2025. He recommitted after decommitting in October 2024, so the thought was Georgia had won him back. However, Vanderbilt swooped in, signing their highest-ranked recruit in history. Curtis earned a $1.7 million name, image and likeness licensing valuation, and he immediately became somewhat of a celebrity in Nashville, starring in a movie alongside Nate Bargatze.
However, he didn't earn the starting job initially. Vanderbilt played both him and Blaze Berkowitz as starters across the first two games. Finally, for the game against the NC State Wolfpack, the Commodores named Curtis the starter.
Curtis went 20 of 34 for 277 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Vanderbilt miraculously escaped N.C. State with a 35-31 win on a fumble in the end zone on the last play. In his next game against Auburn, he didn't shine as much: 199 yards, no touchdowns and an interception. He has 746 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions on the year.
The Georgia defense will be Curtis's biggest test. The Bulldogs scored 17 points off of turnovers against formerly No. 24-ranked Oklahoma, including a scoop-and-score by linebacker Chris Cole. With some Georgia fans still vengeful for him flipping from Georgia to Vanderbilt and the defense to contend with, it'll be interesting to see how he performs.
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