NASHVILLE—-Jared Curtis stood there looking into the camera and said it Saturday following Vanderbilt’s road win against Mississippi State. He believes this Vanderbilt team still has a chance to extend its season despite its 4-6 record.

It would be easy for Curtis to say something he regretted in the heat of that moment, his first time speaking on television. But, Curtis appeared to have no second thoughts about what he said. So much so that he doubled down. 

“Like I said,” Curtis said Tuesday, in reference to his Saturday interview, “We’re still fighting for a bowl game. That’s still a possibility. That’s what the team wants and we’re going to keep pushing for that. We’ve got three more games to play.” 

Securing bowl eligibility–even with a 5-7 season and extension of the teams selected due to opt outs–appears to be an uphill climb for this Vanderbilt team considering its 4-5 record and the brutal final stretch of its schedule. But, Curtis isn’t backing down. 

When Curtis flipped his commitment from Georgia to Vanderbilt and became the program’s first-ever five-star recruit, he declared that he gravitated towards the underdog. Now, he appears to be keeping his word. Vanderbilt’s three opponents–Alabama, Florida and Tennessee–will all be heavy favorites over the Commodores and will require Vanderbilt to play a better game than it’s played at any point this season. 

Vanderbilt believes that having Curtis at the helm makes everything possible, though. Curtis is too humble to say the same, but he isn’t disagreeing. Curtis knows Vanderbilt winning two of its final three games is possible. He also knows it will require better performances from him. 

Through eight appearances and six stars, Curtis has led Vanderbilt to a 4-4 record behind 1,657 passing yards, eight touchdowns, eight interceptions, a 64.7 completion percentage, a 131.4 quarterback rating, 172 rushing yards on 72 carries and two rushing touchdowns. His analysis of his own season stems from the idea that he has to be better than he’s been and that he has to put the ball in harms’ way less than he has. 

Curtis is optimistic that the game is slowing down for him, that everything is. Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea declares that Vanderbilt’s scheme is forming around Curtis and that he’s growing in it. Curtis taking the podium for the second time in a month’s span after being shielded from the media for all of fall camp and the first six weeks of the regular season is an indicator of his comfort level, perhaps more than anything else. Curtis doesn’t appear to be nervous when he’s up there speaking to the media contingent gathered and appears to have all the right answers. 

“I'd say recognizing pressures and defenses, getting out of previous play to get to the new play,” Curtis said in regard to where he’s improved the most since arriving on Vanderbilt’s campus a year ago as an early enrollee, “And then, just still trying to get the trust from the O-line and the offense to make sure that they know that I'm putting them in the right play.”

In a season where Vanderbilt football’s College Football dreams are all but dead, that answer from Curtis is the most important he gave at any point in his four-minute, 30 second Tuesday press conference in Vanderbilt football’s team room–which is named after former Vanderbilt defensive back Casey Hayward. 

Curtis appears to believe pushing for a bowl berth is the most important to-do item on Vanderbilt’s list the rest of the way, but that deviates from the reality surrounding him. The private indication is that Vanderbilt’s most important task the rest of the way is figuring out what this all looks like beyond 2026 and who the members of the next great Vanderbilt football team are. If Curtis chooses to stay, which Vanderbilt appears to feel good about the chances of, he will inevitably be the most important player on this program’s next playoff-contending team. 

As a result, these final three games are all about Curtis’ development. It’s about how he picks up the scheme. It’s about how he produces in the final three weeks of the season. It’s about whether he can cut the turnovers. It’s about whether he demonstrates that he can lead this program to be competitive with some of the SEC’s best. It’s about whether he demonstrates that he can stay healthy. It’s about whether he can lead this program and its older guys. 

Lea declares that the last part of that paragraph is coming to fruition, that Vanderbilt’s offensive veterans have given Curtis space to use his voice. Curtis is still a teenager and doesn't appear to have a bombastic personality that took over the locker room immediately, but the indication is that he’s settling in as a leader.

“I feel like it depends,” Curtis said in regard to if it’s been an adjustment learning to lead. “Maybe in practice, but I feel like when game time rolls around I get more vocal and try to lead the guys. I think just being more comfortable with each guy on the team, and building a relationship with each person gives you confidence to be able to lead the team, for sure.”

For Curtis, finding a way to lead is a microcosm of his career at this stage. He’s not expected to do it at a high level yet, but every piece of development Vanderbilt sees from him in that way is a step towards it getting its future franchise quarterback ready to be the guy. Curtis has demonstrated that he may be Vanderbilt’s most talented quarterback since Jay Cutler, but he’s still figuring out how to best operate Vanderbilt’s offense. He appears to be optimistic that he’s finding more answers on the field. 

If he continues to find them quickly, maybe his aspirations of going bowling in his first season as a college football player will come true. But, more importantly, he’ll position Vanderbilt to do more when it’s actually in a position to compete.