Dandy Dozen top football recruit selection for 2025 TSSAA season, Nashville Christian quarterback Jared Curtis Wednesday, June 19, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn.

Vanderbilt football is in the middle of the best season in program history, with a program-record 10 wins, a leading Heisman Trophy contender in quarterback Diego Pavia and a chance at a spot in the College Football Playoff.

The Commodores’ future just got brighter.

On Tuesday, Rivals reported that Jared Curtis, the No. 1 quarterback recruit in the 2026 class, had flipped his commitment from Georgia to Vanderbilt. After initially refuting the report on X, Curtis went back on X late Tuesday to announce he's committed to the Commodores.

"I do love Georgia, I love the coaches and players there. They have been so good to me and my family. I know they would do everything to help me be successful," Curtis wrote in a statement on X. "... The past year it's where I wanted to be and definitely where my parents have wanted me to go. That's part of what makes this so hard. ... But I gotta walk my path that feels right in my heart, (and) at the end of the day this has to be my decision.

"Being here in Nashville and seeing what Vandy has been doing this season has been amazing. And over the past few weeks, I felt more and more that I wanna be a part of that, to be close to home, to play in front of my family and friends and to be what I love to be, an underdog. I am excited to be a Dore and excited to be part of building something here at home with Coach Lea."

The official news comes a few hours from the start of college football’s early signing period. With Curtis officially flipping to Vanderbilt, he's become the highest-rated recruit in Commodores history.

Curtis had been committed to the Bulldogs since May after previously de-committing from them last fall.

The 6-foot-3, 225-pound Curtis is rated by 247Sports’ composite rankings as the No. 1 overall player in the 2026 class. Last season at Nashville Christian School, about 10 miles from the Vanderbilt campus, Curtis racked up 3,467 yards of total offense, 58 touchdowns and just three interceptions on his way to winning Division II-A Mr. Football and Gatorade Tennessee Player of the Year. This week, he’ll aim to lead his team to its second consecutive state championship.

Speculation around Curtis and Vanderbilt had intensified the past two months, with even Nashville-based comedian Nate Bargatze offering a pitch to the high-schooler during his appearance on ESPN’s “College GameDay” on Oct. 25 ahead of the Commodores’ game against Missouri.

"It’s hard not to remind Jared Curtis how much I'd love for him to come to Vanderbilt," Bargatze said. "We’re local kids. We’ll become best friends, bud."

When asked about Bargatze’s comments, Georgia coach Kirby Smart largely sidestepped the question, saying he and his staff recruit as well as they can and trust the players that have committed to the program and “not get into gimmicks and propaganda stuff.”

In Curtis, Vanderbilt would have a succession plan after Pavia will presumably exhaust his college eligibility after this season. With Pavia at quarterback the past two seasons — and with Pavia’s former New Mexico State coach Jerry Kill on staff — the traditionally woeful Commodores have become an SEC contender, going 17-8 overall and 9-7 in conference play.

With a 45-24 thumping of in-state rival Tennessee last Saturday, Vanderbilt improved to 10-2, the first time it has ever won double-digit games in a season. The Commodores are No. 12 in the latest US LBM Coaches Poll and will see Tuesday night if they improve in the playoff selection committee rankings, which had them No. 14 last week.

This story has been updated with new information.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: QB Jared Curtis announces flip to Vanderbilt from Georgia

Reporting by Craig Meyer and John Leuzzi, USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY

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