Five-Star QB Jared Curtis Chooses Vanderbilt Over Georgia in $10 Million NIL Era
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Aug 20
Five-Star QB Jared Curtis Chooses Vanderbilt Over Georgia in $10 Million NIL Era
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 20
Summary
Jared Curtis committed to Vanderbilt after largely driving the process himself, an unusual path for a five-star quarterback in a recruiting market dominated by aggressive NIL bidding.
Clark Lea said Vanderbilt barely recruited Curtis at first because staff saw little chance of landing him; momentum shifted after Diego Pavia watched him play and alerted offensive coordinator Tim Beck.
Curtis then told Beck Vanderbilt was the only team he had been watching, reinforcing Lea’s pitch that the fit on West End mattered more than a conventional full-court recruiting push.
A Nashville donor group later assembled NIL support — with figures including Jay Cutler and Nate Bargatze — but Vanderbilt insiders said the reported multiyear $10 million package was not the driver of his choice.
The decision stunned rivals because Curtis had been tied to Georgia and Oregon, and it underscored Vanderbilt’s attempt to sell identity, development and a homegrown legacy alongside financial competitiveness.