Vanderbilt football is set to start its preseason practice on Aug. 5, and there will be plenty of intrigue.
Out are Diego Pavia and Eli Stowers; in is five-star quarterback Jared Curtis, among others.
Curtis is in a quarterback battle with Blaze Berlowitz, and coach Clark Lea is unlikely to name the No. 1 until closer to the season opener against Austin Peay on Sept. 5 (6 p.m. CT, SEC Network+). But the number of interesting offensive players goes beyond merely Curtis and Berlowitz.
Before those practices get underway, here are five other players we're excited to watch during the preseason practice period.
TE Jayvontay Conner
In the spring, Conner was the player who earned the nickname "Waffle House" for always being open. Vanderbilt needs a receiving tight end now
that Stowers has moved on to the NFL, and Conner could be an option. In 2025 at East Carolina, he made 23 catches for 333 yards and three touchdowns. He went to Ole Miss out of high school and though he did not receive much playing time there, it's an indication that he has long been considered to have SEC-level talent.
WR Kayleb Barnett
Barnett is tiny (in 2025, he was listed as 5-foot-8 and 155 pounds) but he's fast, and he's the kind of player who could thrive in offensive coordinator Tim Beck's system. As a true freshman in 2025, he made six catches for 53 yards and a touchdown and ran six times for 29 yards. He was used as more of a gadget player, seeing the field on jet sweeps and some time in the slot.
But can Barnett be more than a gadget? The Commodores need receiving help. They haven't updated their heights and weights for the fall yet, so it remains to be seen whether Barnett has added enough physicality to survive day-to-day in the SEC, but he showed enough to envision a larger role as a sophomore.
WR Ja'Cory Thomas
A transfer from Old Dominion, Thomas was the most established wide receiver Vanderbilt brought in during the offseason. With the Monarchs in 2025, he made 41 catches for 719 yards and five touchdowns and showed some flashes in the spring game.
Thomas is also one of the biggest receivers Vanderbilt has, listed at 6-3 and 215 pounds. The Commodores have lacked big downfield threats, aside from Stowers, the past few years. If Thomas can develop chemistry with Curtis and continue to show adjustment to the SEC level, he could be an impact addition.
WR Owen Cabell
One of Vanderbilt's most exciting freshmen, non-Curtis edition, is Cabell. The receiver was previously committed to Alabama, but he flipped on signing day. At 6-2 and 201 pounds, he has good size and is a well-known player in the area who starred at CPA.
Junior Sherrill was another Nashville-area high school star who stepped into a big role immediately as a true freshman, and Cabell could be up next.
The offensive line
It might be cheating to include an entire position group here, but offensive line success is reliant far more on how the entire unit works together than one individual player. For the third straight season, the Commodores have gone transfer-heavy on the offensive line. It worked the past two times, especially in 2025, but it can be a risky strategy, especially with a freshman quarterback.
It can be difficult to evaluate offensive line play during the preseason, but it will be an important aspect of the 2026 season.
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: 5 offensive players beyond Jared Curtis to watch in Vanderbilt football preseason
