Report: Nate Bargatze lands Vanderbilt QB Jared Curtis movie role as part of NIL deal

Vanderbilt executed one of the real coups of the 2026 recruiting cycle when it flipped Five-Star Plus+ quarterback prospect Jared Curtis from Georgia. And it might have comedian Nate Bargatze to thank for it, at least in part.

Bargatze famously made a pitch to Curtis live on College Gameday last season. And since then, he has put Curtis into a movie as part of his NIL deal.

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Outkick founder Clay Travis reported that Bargatze put Jared Curtis in his new movie, “The Breadwinner,” as part of Curtis’ NIL deal with the Commodores. Curtis has a small part, wearing a Vanderbilt baseball cap while car shopping in the movie.

Travis joked that it’s now Matthew McConaughey‘s move. McConaughey is a huge Texas supporter, obviously, also in the film industry.

As for the Curtis deal, it’s a cool setup and the way NIL is supposed to function. You can check out a trailer for the movie below.

Clark Lea talks Jared Curtis in spring ball

Look no further than the start of Clark Lea‘s first press conference of Spring practice for insight into what true freshman quarterback Jared Curtis means to Vanderbilt. And as the 2026 Five-Star Plus+ recruit began his Commodores career, the Nashville Christian product was already the talk of the town.

In fact, the first three questions Lea received during an early spring press conference were all about Curtis, something the sixth-year ‘Dores head coach picked up on pretty quickly. But despite that intense scrutiny, Lea was determined to allow his uber-talented five-star QB to grow and develop at his own pace.

“He’s got arm talent and he’s got confidence to make the throw. Again, this is going to be a different speed for him – both the defensive backs and how they close space, and the defensive line and how the pocket crushes. So he’s going to have to learn through mistakes,” Lea said of Curtis. “We’ve had opportunities through our OTAs for him to throw, and as you’d expect, there are times he’s clutched the ball too long. There are times he’s tried to go across the field late, and those things end up in interceptions.

“So, learning those lessons, and, again, for us – I realize just out of the gate here I think it’s been Jared Curtis, Jared Curtis, Jared Curtis – but for us, we’re not going to have that level of microscope on him every day.”

On3’s Alex Byington also contributed to this report.