ATHENS, GA—Jared Curtis went through a number of individual tests in which he stretched, tested his start-stop ability and his straight-line running ability prior to Vanderbilt’s matchup against Georgia. When Curtis finished, he stood at the 20-yard line talking with a trainer for a few minutes. Curtis also threw passes to Vanderbilt receivers at midfield pregame.
There’s no brace immediately visible anywhere on Curtis’ body, but he was wearing sweatpants.
Curtis has been listed as questionable on the SEC Availability Report all week after getting “banged up” in Vanderbilt’s week four loss to Auburn. He’s was listed as a game-time decision on the final availability report of the week, 90 minutes prior to gametime.
“He’s not been able to be full-go in practice,” Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said Thursday. “The injury report is there for a reason and we want to honor that. Questionable is the right marking for him right now. I’m hopeful. I think every day he’s felt a little better and he’s done a little more in practice.”
Lea noted Thursday that Curtis’ injury isn’t long term, but called it “challenging.”
Vanderbilt’s coaching staff pulled Blaze Berlowitz away from wide receiver throughout the week in an effort to prepare him in case Curtis wasn’t able to go against Georgia. Berlowitz started the first two games of the season for Vanderbilt, but Curtis overtook him with a strong second-half performance against Delaware and hasn’t looked back.
Saturday’s matchup is particularly intriguing for Curtis considering the context surrounding it. Curtis is a one-time Georgia commit that flipped his commitment to Vanderbilt on National Signing Day—which made him the highest-ranked commit in program history and the first five-star recruit to ever sign with Vanderbilt out of high school. His decision to join Vanderbilt hinged on his desire to be considered an underdog, a lucrative contract and a clear path to immediate playing time. Curtis has all three of those things going for him at this stage of his career.
Curtis has gone through his fair share of growing pains through the first four weeks of his college career, but there appears to be an industry-wide acknowledgment that they’re normal for a player in his situation.
“Tremendous talent. He’s way better athletically than people give him credit for. I don’t know if anybody’s tackled him like with one person tackling him yet,” Smart said. “He’s strong, he’s quick, powerful. He’s got great arm talent. I mean, everything everybody has thought has been true.”
Now, Curtis looks to demonstrate that and lead Vanderbilt to a win against a program that he’s innately familiar with. His health does appear to be a holdup, though.
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