Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea, to his everlasting credit, isn’t like most SEC football coaches.
They by nature are paranoid, secretive creatures. They do not want you, me or anyone outside their programs to know what’s happening in preseason practices and scrimmages.
Take Josh Heupel at Tennessee. He puts everything behind closed doors and doesn’t say much publicly, leaving it up to (a lot of) media and (a lot of) fans to try and discern what his guarded mumbles might indicate about the Vols’ ongoing quarterback competition.
And that’s fine. Heupel is the norm.
Lea is the exception. He’s an open book. Gives lengthy, insightful, thoughtful answers in news conferences. He has always allowed media members to attend Vanderbilt’s practices and scrimmages, which
would debunk that theory of winning in the SEC being the byproduct of secrecy. (Either that, or Lea must be one heck of a coach to overcome such rampant accessibility and still have a 10-win season at Vanderbilt).
Because he allowed me to sit and watch this preseason’s first scrimmage Aug. 15 at FirstBank Stadium, I’m able to sit here and decide his quarterback competition for him.
I can illustrate all the reasons I’d clearly favor five-star freshman Jared Curtis over Blaze Berlowitz.
I can gush about Curtis’ ample talent, arm and otherwise. I could tell you about the play where he juked a rusher with a pump fake and then sprinted past him like a point guard driving to the basket. Or another play where Curtis, mid-air with his feet off the ground, fired a completed pass like a shortstop ranging for a high chopper up the middle while throwing to first base.
Curtis routinely makes throws like that. “Wow” throws. NFL throws.
Throws against his body, where he’s rolling left and drops it into a basket over a receiver’s shoulder.
Throws into tight windows that a pro receiver would catch even if Vanderbilt’s did not. He throws teammates open, and he throws it through their hands, too. (Tight end Cole Spence noted how they’ve had to turn the Jugs machines up a notch or two at Vandy since Curtis arrived with his fastball.)
Berlowitz is the admirable, gritty, try-hard having to compete with this, and it’s nothing against him to say that he is unable to make those same throws. Because, seriously, who could?
“With Jared, you have the raw ability and skill,” Lea said. “I think it's clear to everyone, I mean, from an arm-strength standpoint, from a play-creation standpoint. And yet, this is baptism by fire.”
The question at Vanderbilt isn’t the more capable between these two quarterbacks.
The question is: Why hasn’t the obvious quarterback been trusted as the starter yet?
It’s easy for me to sit here and hype up Curtis' skills, because if he goes out and throws five interceptions to lose to Austin Peay, I wouldn’t be the one having to pick up the pieces and coach the rest of the season.
Lea wasn’t ready to name a starter after a scrimmage that he described as “Jared’s best day” of training camp. Which tells you Vanderbilt coaches showed up that morning knowing they weren’t going to name a starter. Because they knew they hadn’t seen enough yet from Curtis, and he's obviously going to get every opportunity to show them.
Otherwise, Berlowitz would already have the job. There’s nothing left for Berlowitz, a senior, to show. You could play that guy. You could probably win with that guy. He’s a safe, stable choice who Lea describes with words like “awareness” and “proficiency.”
As for Curtis? “A little inconsistent at times,” Lea said, “but he's also been really explosive at times, too.”
Go on . . .
“It's glimpses of brilliant play, and then it's also moments where it feels like the operation comes to a gridlock because we're not processing at the speed we need to process at. The greatest challenge for us is not judging (Curtis) for that right now. We have the luxury of having two more weeks here.”
When you listen between the lines, it’s clear how Vanderbilt football still wants this competition to go.
When you watch the team between the lines, it’s clear why.
Reach Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes at gestes@tennessean.com and hang out with him on Bluesky @gentryestes.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: On Jared Curtis, Blaze Berlowitz and an obvious QB decision that isn't for Vandy | Estes
