While the main focus for the No. 4 Georgia Bulldogs is preparing for this weekend’s SEC Championship Game in Atlanta against the No. 10 Alabama Crimson Tide, Bulldogs fans were reminded of another big story on Tuesday.
After seemingly securing a verbal commitment from No. 1-ranked, five-star quarterback Jared Curtis in the Class of 2026, Curtis announced that he would be flipping his commitment from Kirby Smart and Georgia to SEC rival Vanderbilt.
Curtis now becomes the most prominent recruit in Vanderbilt history, and his decision comes just days after head coach Clark Lea signed a major long-term extension with the program, which has recently resurged and is potentially on the cusp of a College Football Playoff berth.
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Curtis had been committed to Georgia since May and was expected to be the next high-profile quarterback in line to lead a Bulldogs program that has been second to none under Kirby Smart’s tenure.
Several weeks ago, Smart even responded on “College GameDay” to guest picker and Vanderbilt fan Nate Bargatze, who had playfully recruited Curtis to the Commodores program on live television.
“I don’t get caught up in it much,” Smart said. “You know, I don’t look at the stuff like that. We recruit the best job we can and sell what we have and talk to the kids and communicate with the kids that we talk to, and trust them for what they tell us and not get into gimmicks and propaganda stuff.”
While Bargatze was likely not the sole reason Curtis flipped his commitment, it certainly comes as a shock to Bulldogs fans in Athens, Georgia, who believed they had secured their next star quarterback for the program. Now, they’ll be facing him for years to come at an SEC rival.
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