This Sentell’s Intel rep on Georgia football recruiting shares a necessary update on 5-star QB commit Jared Curtis. He ranks as the nation’s No. 1 QB and the No. 4 overall prospect for 2026 for both the 247Sports Composite and the Rivals Industry Ranking.
The point that everyone is missing here. What’s on the table? Could Jared Curtis be another Ty Simpson? The only thing Vanderbilt can offer that Georgia cannot.
Those points all came up while discussing what everybody is getting wrong and why the narrative is skewed with Vanderbilt trying to flip the nation’s No. 1 QB prospect from Georgia.
Peter Webb, the agent who represents Curtis for the Nashville-based firm QB Reps, filled in a few blanks regarding Curtis and the Commodores. For starters, there’s the impression Vanderbilt could float a big check to buy Curtis out of his Georgia football commitment.
The first matter at hand is the current offer from the Commodores.
“Jared does not have an official offer from Vanderbilt,” Webb told DawgNation. “The rumors that Vanderbilt is going to pay him a gazillion dollars are comical. He simply doesn’t have an offer.”
There is nothing official on the table.
The second talking point is that a considerable NIL figure is unlikely to be a concern. A substantial Vanderbilt offer, if it comes, would likely wind up the way big offers from Oregon and others did. It would only be part of the Tetris here.
Not the most significant piece of the puzzle at that.
Curtis weighed those offers and still wanted to be a Dawg. Every indication, garnered from multiple sources, based on what mattered then and still matters to Curtis, was that he was not looking for that.
It will be nice to be compensated in a manner befitting the nation’s No. 1 QB prospect, but that’s not the needle-mover.
“This has never been about who can provide the best NIL package,” Webb said. “He’s never said ‘I’m going to Georgia’ based on a dollar figure.’”
Curtis, among many things, values the relationships he’s built over the years at Georgia. He wants to wear his No. 2 on Saturdays. The Dawgs can offer up the fact that offensive coordinator Mike Bobo steered former 5-star Matthew Stafford in college to the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft.
Georgia can also double down on that with the notion that offensive analyst Brandon Streeter did the same thing a decade later with former 5-star Trevor Lawrence.
Kirby Smart has won an average of 12 games per season at UGA since 2017. Vanderbilt has never won 10 games in its 122 seasons of football. There have only been four seasons in which the Commodores won nine games.
Curtis has said yes to Georgia twice. He first committed in March of his sophomore year. Then he decommitted in October of his junior season. The 5-star recommitted to the Dawgs on May 5 despite considerable interest in Oregon.
“He might have to say it three times, right?” Webb said. “He said it once, he decommitted to go through a full recruiting process and said it again after that process reaffirmed how he felt about Georgia. Now I feel like he’s having to say it again every week.”
“I just think he’s really excited to play for a program that competes for national championships,” Webb said. “He’s excited about playing for a program that plays in the SEC and going to work for Coach Bobo and Coach Streeter, who have been a part of Trevor Lawrence’s and Matt Stafford’s careers. Jared thinks about that because his ultimate goal is to be in the NFL one day and compete for a Super Bowl. Having two coaches like that on staff who know what it looks like for a 5-star quarterback who is the number one pick in the NFL Draft – that matters. Experience like that matters.”
How has Georgia handled this Vanderbilt stuff?
Webb was strong in his praise for Vanderbilt.
“They have some great people over there,” he said. “They have some great offensive minds. Their [General Manager] is fantastic and so impressive. They really know what they are doing. So why wouldn’t they, like other competitive programs, try to recruit Jared?”
Is Vanderbilt trying to crack open the door here? Is there even a sliver?
Webb doesn’t see it that way. He thinks it is “exciting” for a high school kid to see his city on fire because the Commodores are winning big games. There’s the budding relationship he’s struck up with Vanderbilt starting QB Diego Pavia.
“I think people are trying to push a narrative that Vanderbilt is going to pay him more or Georgia is going to pay him more and he’s making his decision on that,” Webb said. “It is so misguided and not grounded in reality.”
Webb expects dialogue to continue up to the early signing period in December. He said that he’s in contact with the staff from Georgia every week. Sometimes more than that. When Curtis decided he’d visit Vanderbilt, Webb reached out to offensive coordinator Mike Bobo about it.
“I told him that Jared and his coach were planning to head over with a teammate to watch a practice,” Webb said. “And that there was a chance he would go to either ‘College Gameday’ or the game or both.”
“They could not have been more understanding about it. They were like, ‘That’s awesome’ to have College Gameday in Nashville. Pretty cool. I hope he has a great time.’ He ended up going with a couple of his coaches and a few teammates.”
Not every program responds the way that Georgia did.
“I think they have done a fantastic job building a relationship with Jared and his family,” Webb said. “They feel very comfortable that he could be the future of their program at the quarterback position. And they’re confident in how they’ve communicated that with Jared.”
“There’s no negative recruiting from Georgia. I give a lot of credit to Coach Smart and Coach Bobo and their staff for saying, ‘Hey, here’s what you are going to get if you come to Georgia, and we’re excited for you and that opportunity there. Here’s the value we can bring for your career.’”
Curtis is still expected to return to Athens for the Texas game next weekend. It will be another big trip back home for the young man. To ensure it still feels like home.
Ty Simpson and Jared Curtis? Could history repeat itself?
Webb has seen some of this before while representing another 5-star client.
Alabama starter Ty Simpson grew up in Tennessee. He was a 5-star and the nation’s No. 3 QB in 2022. He waited for his moment, but now he’s one of the three leading contenders for the Heisman Trophy.
Georgia plays the part of Alabama in this sequel. The Vols were on the rise then, much like Vanderbilt is now, playing the part of the home-state school, now building something substantial.
“Tennessee made an unbelievable pitch in the 11th hour coming out of high school,” Webb said. “But Ty went with the school that had been with him since day one, he went with his heart that Alabama was the right place for him. It was very tough for Ty to turn down Tennessee as he loves his community and is very proud of his home-state, but ultimately God’s plan for Ty was to play for the Crimson Tide.”
“He made that decision not based on money and he continued to do that the past few years when he could have jumped into the transfer portal. He continued to choose the long-term path and he continued to choose Alabama. I think this is a similar situation for Jared, the only difference is that I don’t remember that Tennessee was immediately offering Ty the keys to the car.”
The X-factor with Jared Curtis and Vanderbilt
If this all comes across that Curtis is still very comfortable with Georgia, it should. That is the reality. His family is entrenched in all things red and black. They are overjoyed about spending the next three football seasons of their lives centered around Athens.
Yet Vanderbilt offers one thing Georgia cannot match. Webb alluded to it with the Simpson ties.
The first thing necessary is for Vanderbilt to extend Coach Clark Lea. His team might post the school’s first 10-win season this year. Lea can then wish Diego Pavia well for that slice of team lore and turn around and anchor the program to Curtis. He could be the Day One starter in his hometown.
Georgia can’t match that. Not with the talent in its quarterback room. Not with the way Gunner Stockton is playing right now, with one more season of eligibility.
If Curtis were to flip, it is this observer’s opinion that would be the catalyst. It won’t be some 11th-hour NIL war chest offer from the Commodores to buy his commitment.
It might ultimately come to this: Play right away? Or wait and develop? That could be the charm behind Curtis choosing Georgia for the third time.
Could it happen? I don’t think anyone covering this story knows the answer to that yet. Curtis might not even know.
Have you seen this week’s “Before the Hedges” weekly recruiting special on YouTube yet? Check it out below.
SENTELL’S INTEL
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