Kirby Smart has let go of his biggest curse in 2024, Carson Beck. Gunner Stockton took the reins, showed a splash of brilliance in the bowl game. Freshman QB Ryan Puglisi brewed some fresh hope heading to the spring. But Dawgs QB room still looked like a puzzle awaiting the return of their missing piece…
Jared Curtis, the five-star, 6-foot-4 quarterback from Nashville Christian, silently ghosted Georgia and Kirby Smart for an unknown reason. He was a Dawg from March to October in 2024. He started exploring options, keeping Oregon in the highest spot. Curtis snubbed the one last scheduled visit to Athens before the May 5 commitment as well. But suddenly, he took a U-turn and dished Dan Lanning a last-minute heartbreak break choosing the Bulldogs. And now with a special award in his showcase, the QB has stepped up his worth. Jared Curtis headlined the All-615 Preps Small Class Teams, being named the player of the year.
There has never been a shortage of awards and honors for the elite Georgia QB. The Gatorade Player of the Year, Division II-A Mr. Football winner, MaxPreps Tennessee Player of the Year, and Region MVP, what else is he yet to bag? A genius under the center has an excellent high school resume to back those cups up and an elite five-star tag. Heading to the gold ball, he completed 70% of his passes for 2,830 yards with 40 touchdowns and only three interceptions. He was just as lit on the ground, smashing a total of 637 yards and 18 more touchdowns.
Kirby Smart was really unaccustomed to a five-star QB since Justin Fields went down. Curtis broke the curse, bringing a heavy promise to the offense. However, the Bulldogs and the five-star quarterbacks are a tale of brutal misfire. Be it Jacob Eason. Justin Fields or Brock Vandagriff, every big recruit turned out to be a bad investment for the team.
Eason won the starting job in Smart’s debut season back in 2016, received an injury blow in the first game of 2017, and never rose to the headlines again before transferring to Washington. For Vandagriff, he never had any significant snap in his three seasons before giving up and moving on to Kentucky. That’s a tragic trend! Sure, but Curtis, on the other hand, is a different breed.
The 2.1 million QB can really get to play in the year of 2026, topping Gunner Stockton; he might come out as the biggest exception in the Dawgs’ history of having a successful five-star QB. Is he ready to take the ball?
Kirby Smart gives Jared Curtis enough reason to be on his toes
There will be a fierce competition in the Dawgs’ QB room. They already have a workhorse in Stockton who will be hungry to solidify his spot in 2025. Ryan Puglisi will try to make his presence big from the back. Enter Jared Curtis. If Stockton plays really well this year, Smart can’t sleep on him. But the thing is, both the QBs are two of the highest-paid athletes on the roster.
So, Smart needs to decide before it dries the bank. If Stockton really refuses to give an inch of land to the Nashville native, it will be hard for him even to showcase what he can do under the center. Oh, that’s not the end. Smart doesn’t believe in over-reliance on one QB.
While he’s happy, Curtis is back, he doesn’t let it get on his head. The veteran head coach had a clear message for his recruits: regardless of their hype and star rating, they must earn their stripes on the field. Worse? He added Teddy Jarrard, the 2027 class four-star QB, to add to Curtis’ growing concern. Wait for some more pain in the gut, please! Smart has his eyes on Texas offensive firepower, Bowe Bentley. Only time will show how Smart pans out his talents in the QB room and makes the best out of it, moving forward.
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