TAMPA, Fla. - Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea has yet to select his starting quarterback to succeed Heisman finalist Diego Pavia. Regardless of the outcome, he remains firm on a central point.

"I don't actually believe that that player needs to perform the way that Diego performed," Lea told ESPN during Day 2 of SEC Media Days.

Pavia guided Vanderbilt to a landmark 10-3 campaign last season, delivering the program's finest performance by breaking marks with 3,192 passing yards and 27 passing touchdowns while contributing 862 yards and 10 scores on the ground.

Following that achievement, Vanderbilt secured the nation's top quarterback prospect in Jared Curtis, placing the spotlight of the position battle on him throughout the offseason. Curtis competes alongside three others - Blaze Berlowitz, Whit Muschamp and Jack Elliott - for the starting role as fall camp approaches.

"We have to focus on ways to strengthen as a team to take pressure off that position," Lea said. "I don't know how it's going to look. The story is yet to be written. I do know that I'm excited for it, and we'll be excited to kind of see it unfold through training camp."

Securing Curtis's switch from Georgia to Vanderbilt highlighted the program's progress since its 2-10 mark in 2021. At SEC Media Days the next year, Lea boldly stated that "We know in time Vanderbilt football will be the best program in the country."

"I think it's a great statement for our program to be able to go and recruit the No. 1 player in the country," Lea said. "I love the fact that he hails from Nashville. I think that has been the hardest ground for us to harvest because the echo chamber was so negative for so long. What makes me even more excited about that is there weren't any promises made.

"This wasn't about creating expectations for Jared to come in and step into a role. The promise was competition. What does that say about Jared? We talk about being a team of misfits. And I told him that his choice to come to Vanderbilt makes him a misfit, whether he likes it or not."

Lea noted that all quarterbacks participated live in spring drills to replicate game conditions closely, and his observations of Curtis suggest he possesses "all the makings of someone who's going to have a really great career.

"Now we've got to be patient enough with him to make sure that he's not out there until he's ready."

Patience proves challenging in the results-oriented environment of college football today. This holds true for Vanderbilt as well, which seeks to demonstrate the team extends beyond Pavia as the season nears.

Lea affirmed Tuesday that he stands by his declaration from four years ago; he aims not merely to maintain success but to raise the program's level. "We're not finished," he said.

His players shared that outlook.

"We're still doubted right now, even though like we had two good years," receiver Junior Sherrill said. "But sometimes, you've got to pop out and show them."