Jared Curtis is set to become the 10th true freshman to start at quarterback for Vanderbilt football when it faces NC State on Sept. 19.
For the matchup (11:45 a.m. CT, SEC Network), the Commodores (2-0) will start five-star freshman Jared Curtis against the Wolfpack (1-1), coach Clark Lea announced Sept. 15.
It's a relatively rare quarterback who can start in the SEC as a true freshman, with Faizon Brandon at Tennessee this year and DJ Lagway at Florida in 2024 being examples. Nine other quarterbacks have done it for the Commodores, but none were as hyped as Curtis, the highest-rated recruit in program history.
Here are the other freshman starting quarterbacks for Vanderbilt and how they performed:
Vanderbilt football freshman starting quarterbacks
Mike Wright
Year: 1975
Team record: 7-4
Stats: 18-for-58, 183
yards, zero touchdowns, six interceptions; 70 rushes for 165 yards
John Gromos
Year: 1985
Team record: 3-7-1
Stats: 124-for-224, 1,483 yards, six passing touchdowns, 10 interceptions; 26 rushes for minus-115 yards, two rushing touchdowns
Tim Richardson
Year: 1985
Team record: 3-7-1
Stats: 49-for-86 passing, 684 yards, one passing touchdown, four interceptions; 30 rushes for minus-74 yards
Kenny Simon
Year: 1993
Team record: 4-7
Stats: 8-for-27, 58 yards, zero passing touchdowns, seven interceptions; 74 rushes for 292 yards, one rushing touchdown; 15 catches for 166 yards
David Wallace
Year: 1998
Team record: 2-9
Stats: 79-for-173, 173 yards, four passing touchdowns, 11 interceptions; 46 rushes for 74 yards
Wade Freebeck
Year: 2014
Record: 3-9
Stats: 34-for-72, 376 yards, one passing touchdown, five interceptions; 12 rushes for minus-38 yards
Kyle Shurmur
Year: 2015
Record: 4-8
Stats: 44-for-103, 503 yards, five passing touchdowns, three interceptions; 14 rushes for minus-33 yards
Ken Seals
Year: 2020
Record: 0-9
Stats: 186-for-288, 1,928 yards, 12 passing touchdowns, 10 interceptions; 41 rushes, minus-52 yards
AJ Swann
Year: 2022
Record: 5-7
Stats: 115-for-198, 1,274 yards, 10 touchdowns, two interceptions; 21 rushes, minus-76 yards
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: Every Vanderbilt football freshman starting quarterback, including Jared Curtis
