Twice Engaged, Then He Married a Commodore

GEORGIA MONEYBALL — Tuesday, September 29, 2026

Kirby Smart spoke kindly Monday about Jared Curtis, the quarterback who twice said yes to Georgia, and on Saturday Curtis comes to Sanford Stadium wearing Vanderbilt's colors.

ALBANY, GA — · By the RFA Sports Desk

Every fellow in the South has one who got away. Most of us have the decency to bring it up only after the second glass of sweet tea. Kirby Smart's is a quarterback named Jared Curtis, who committed to Georgia not once but twice before signing with Vanderbilt. On Monday, DawgNation reported, Smart talked about Curtis in public for the first time. He did it the way a gentleman talks about an old flame at a wedding reception: warmly, briefly, and with no hard feelings, or at least none he'd admit to.

The trouble with the one who got away is that sometimes he turns out fine. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Curtis, a true freshman, is Vanderbilt's starting quarterback and called him poised. Against Delaware he went 14 of 22 for 210 yards and accounted for three touchdowns. Yes, it was Delaware. Still, a boy who does that has been paying attention. The Commodores come to Athens at 3-1, and 0-1 in the league, for Homecoming at 12:45 Saturday on the SEC Network, against a Georgia team ranked No. 2 at 4-0.

When a coach favored by more than three touchdowns starts in on how good the other fellow is, I don't call that humility. I call it insurance.

Smart didn't stop at Curtis. He called Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea one of the best voices in our room, and he said Vanderbilt arguably should have made last year's playoff. Now, when a coach favored by more than three touchdowns starts in on how good the other fellow is, I don't call that humility. I call it insurance. Nobody in Athens has ever lost a job by saying too many nice things about Vanderbilt on a Monday. Plenty have regretted not saying enough by Saturday night.

Georgia has its own story about the other kind of player, the one who stays and waits. With Nate Frazier out against Oklahoma, Dwight Phillips Jr. ran for 84 yards and a touchdown on eight carries, DawgNation reported. That included a 54-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter that put the game away. Smart said the waiting says something about the young man's character, and that he was prouder of a Phillips special-teams tackle than of any of his runs. On Frazier, the coach said he'd defer to the injury report, which comes out Wednesday evening.

Down in Gainesville, meanwhile, somebody woke the lizards. Florida beat fourth-ranked Ole Miss 52 to 28. Running backs Jadan Baugh and Duke Clark combined for 268 rushing yards and four touchdowns, and CBS called it Florida's announcement that it's back under Jon Sumrall. The Gators jumped to No. 8 in the AP poll, and Ole Miss fell to No. 9. Georgia folks have spent a few pleasant autumns not worrying about Florida. This desk suggests they start worrying again, politely, before Jacksonville arrives.

The Notebook

• HAWKEYES IN THE BIG HOUSE: Iowa beat Michigan 20 to 19 when Hank Brown threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Reece Vander Zee on the last play. It was Iowa's first win at Michigan Stadium since 2010, and Michigan dropped out of the AP Top 25.
• OREGON'S BACKUP ANSWERS: Oregon quarterback Dante Moore left in an ambulance after a late hit on a slide. Dylan Raiola came in and threw for 289 yards and two touchdowns, and Oregon won 41 to 27 to hand USC its first loss.
• CIRCLE IT: Georgia's October 10 trip to Tuscaloosa will kick off at 7:30 p.m. Eastern on ABC, Georgia Athletics announced.

Written in the tradition of Lewis Grizzard, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 1946–1994.

Hear the desk read tonights report on Radio Free Albany, WPFQ 96.7.