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 that follow recruiting are very familiar with, as he infamously flipped from Georgia to Vanderbilt on the first day of the 2025 early signing period. Georgia head 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 that
Georgia had won him back, but Vanderbilt swooped in, signing their highest-ranked recruit in history. Curtis earned a $1.7 million NIL valuation, and he immediately became somewhat celebrity in Nashville, starring in a movie alongside Nate Bargatze.
However, he didn't earn the starting jobinitially, as Vanderbilt played both him and Blaze Berkowitz as starters for the first two games. Finally, for the game against the NC State Wolfpack, they named Curtis the starter.
Curtis went 20 for 34 with 277 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions, with Vanderbilt miraculously escaping 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, with 199 yards, no touchdowns, and an interception. Overall, 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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This article originally appeared on UGA Wire: What Kirby Smart said about 5-star Georgia QB decommit
