USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
By Chris Marler
We all knew that NIL would change college football forever. We’ve all heard it would level the playing field, and Tuesday morning delivered the clearest example yet in its five-year history.
Five-star quarterback and longtime Georgia commit, Jared Curtis, flipped from Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs to Vanderbilt.
It is the biggest recruit to commit to Vanderbilt in program history, and the first five-star player they have ever signed out of high school. Curtis is a composite five-star plus recruit, and ranked as the No. 1 quarterback and No. 2 overall player in the 2026 cycle by Rivals/On3.
“There is a lot of great hype right now with Vanderbilt,” Curtis’s agent Peter Webb of QB Reps said earlier this fall. “The city is hot right now. They beat LSU. They beat Bama last year. I think they’ve done a great job to pique his interest and get him to be curious about the program. There are a lot of good things happening with Vanderbilt.”
He finished his junior season with 58 touchdowns and three interceptions, while completing over 70% of his passes. With Curtis’ commitment, Vanderbilt now has the No. 30 ranked class in America and the 12th best class in the SEC.
More SEC News
