Senior Feature -- Terrence Curry
10/27/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 27, 2003
Editor's Note: This feature ran in the Oct. 25 edition of the Mizzou football gameday program.
by Rob Coons
Of all the words you could use to describe senior cornerback Terrence Curry, selfish isn't one of them.
Instead, you might try using motivated. Dedicated would work as well. Persistent might fit the bill. You could even feel good about calling him a role model.
If Curry's name doesn't sound familiar, you might try thinking back a few years. The Dellwood, Mo., native was a highly prized recruit out of Kirkwood High School. In 1998, the high school senior was named first team all-state, not to mention the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's "Defensive Player of the Year."
Despite offers from other Big 12 and Big Ten schools, Curry says Mizzou was the obvious choice for him.
"I was thinking home state university, first and foremost," he said. "I wanted my family to be able to come and see me. Plus the university had just made two straight bowl trips, and academically is a very good school."
For many athletes, the transition between high school and college sports takes a significant period of time in which to acclimate. Curry didn't have enough time to worry about that problem; he found himself starting the first three games of his MU career.
"I was so tired because it's my first college game and there I was starting on the punt team, punt return, kickoff team and at cornerback," he said. "I was thinking, 'dang, man, this college stuff is hard.'"
Two years later, hard would take on an entirely different meaning for Curry. After playing in every game of his first two seasons, Curry went into spring practices in 2001 hoping it was the start of a breakout year. He was just getting adjusted to life under new head coach Gary Pinkel when his career - and life - took a sudden turn.
"I was struggling a little bit [at practice] because I was winded and it was hot outside," Curry said. "I was coming down to make a tackle, the receiver had caught the ball on an out pattern, and we hit and next thing I knew I was on the ground holding my knee. They say they have it on film, but I didn't watch it. I didn't want that to dwell in my mind. It was a simple tackle that turned into a really serious injury."
In an instant, Curry's season had changed from hard work on the field to hard work in the training room.
"Mentally at first it was really hard," he remembers. "I had three surgeries, and each one felt like another big setback. The physical part was a daily grind in the training room with Rex [Sharp, director of sports medicine] and Rob [Hunt, assistant director of sports medicine] 3 or 4 hours a day, doing drills to get your conditioning up and make the knee stronger. I was down for a moment, but at the same time that I was working hard to get better physically in the training room, I was getting better mentally too."
Placed in a situation where many people would consider giving up any hope of returning to the field, Curry instead began working harder. In the process of his rehabilitation, he says he learned something about himself.
"Going through the injury - and the recovery - made me a better person," he said. "It made me realize that I'm here for a reason and I need to find out what that reason is. Going through the process, I found out that I'm here to be a leader, and to help people in life."
Curry redshirted each of the past two seasons. While that meant he couldn't help his teammates on the field during games, he still played an important role on the team. He played on the Tigers' scout team while still working back to full strength last year, where he helped the starters prepare for each week's opponent.
Curry's dedication to the team was rewarded earlier this year, when his teammates elected him a team captain for the 2003 season.
"That showed me that when they say hard work pays off, well my hard work paid off," Curry said. "They trusted me enough to vote me a captain, so I had to take on the responsibility of helping them. I have to be a voice to lead them, a shoulder for them to lean on; which I am willing to do and something I'm very proud of."
After two years of persistent hard work and rehab, Curry admits he was anxious to be able to return to the field. But before his comeback season began, the senior was confronted with another setback. On June 16, his father died from cancer.
"It's hard, because he's somebody that's been there for me from the start," Curry said. "Ever since I started playing football, he's been there for me. The whole recruiting process, whatever I needed, he was there for me just so I can be in life where I am today."
Once again, Curry found himself able to turn a challenging situation into a life lesson.
"It was one of the hardest things for me because you can bend in life, but you can't break. When I lost him, it was like I was bent all the way back, but I still didn't break. It made me a stronger person. Even though I miss him, I know he's with me today, looking at me from a different angle."
The timing of his father's death was especially hard for Curry. Both he and his father had been looking forward to his first game back on the field, in St. Louis against Illinois.
"He talked about that game so much, it was something really special for me to be able to go out there and make a play and give all the credit to him. With all I went through, he was always there for me, so I had to go out there and do my best for him."
Despite all the adversity he's faced during his MU career, looking back Curry insists he wouldn't have had it any other way.
"As bad as the knee injury was, it's almost been a positive because it's changed my life in a lot of ways," he said. "I have no regrets to this day, because everything that happened to me I learned from."
And just because he'll soon be done leading his teammates doesn't mean Curry doesn't have other people he hopes to help lead.
"I want to be the person to be there and help everybody, not a selfish person just looking out for myself. I've got family and friends that I truly believe in and love, and I want to be there to help them through life. I want to be a guiding light for a lot of people but also be on top of my game and guide myself through life."
It's the goal of a true role model.
