Jared Curtis's Debut Lights Up Titans' Pass Rush in Memphis!

Not long after former Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia wandered into the Commodores ' indoor practice facility the morning of March 17, he found his neck enveloped by the arms of a former teammate. The playful chokehold temporarily put on hold Pavia's ability to see a current Vanderbilt quarterback , freshman Jared Curtis , who wears the same No. 2 Pavia wore for two historic seasons, during the first day of spring football practice.

Freed from the hold, Pavia, the record-setting 2025 Heisman Trophy finalist — and NFL hopeful whose pro day will take place on the same field on March 20 — turned around to catch a glimpse of the consensus five-star Commodores quarterback of the future . Just like most everyone else in attendance was there to do. "I realized right out of the gate it's been, 'Jared Curtis, Jared Curtis, Jared Curtis,' " coach Clark Lea said after practice, when reporters peppered him with questions about the former Nashville Christian quarterback who had flipped his commitment from Georgia.

"I get that. But for us, we're not going to have that level of microscope on him every day. "This is about giving him room to make his mistakes and to become the player he wants to be.

" In other words, Lea understands that the dress rehearsal for Curtis' first college season will feature a lot of attention, a lot of mistakes, and he hopes a lot of growth from an 18-year-old who has two high school state championships to his name but zero experience at this level. 'He's coming along well' Wearing a mustard-colored jersey reserved for quarterbacks, complemented by black pants, Curtis took turns with Blaze Berlowitz, Whit Muschamp and Jack Elliott spinning spirals to receivers during various drills. One of those receivers was senior Junior Sherrill, a Lipscomb Academy graduate.