ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Vanderbilt freshman quarterback Jared Curtis was ruled out with an undisclosed injury ahead of the Commodores' 38-14 loss to No. 2 Georgia on Saturday afternoon.
Curtis was initially listed as questionable on Wednesday's injury report before shifting to a game-time decision on Saturday. He was seen running and stretching alongside a trainer before the game.
Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said Curtis hadn’t experienced a setback, but it was evident he wouldn’t be able to play while observing him before the game.
“We were hopeful that Jared would be ready to play," Lea said. “He tried really hard to be ready to play, and I hurt for Jared, you know, obviously he wanted to be out there with his teammates ... I really believe in him as a person, as a player, as a competitor, and I just respect the courage he showed this week.”
Curtis, a five-star recruit from Nashville, originally committed to Georgia before a last-minute flip to Vanderbilt.
Senior quarterback Blaze Berlowitz instead started for the Commodores. It's Berlowitz's third start this season after initially being named QB1 to start the season before Curtis won the job ahead of Vanderbilt's Week 3 contest against N.C. State.
Berlowitz finished the game 12-of-23 for 190 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He rushed for a team-high 37 yards on eight carries. Eight of those completions and 162 passing yards were in the first half.
“We're really fortunate to have a guy like Blaze who has such character and toughness and believes in himself, and believes in the team and knows the system,” Lea said. “I felt like he gave us a chance to be within striking distance, and we just weren't able to close the gap in the second half.”
The quarterback's top target was Junior Sherrill, who finished the game with 107 yards and a touchdown on seven catches.
“In our room, we have a standard, you know, and no matter who's playing quarterback, our standard needs to be met," Sherrill said. "We got to play with a chip on our shoulder every game.”
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