April 4, 2003
By Nicole Rapagnani
When asked how he handles the load of being both a student and an athlete, senior linebacker Derek Curry simply replied, “Through the hectic schedule, I just rely on God to help get it done. I don’t worry about tests. I don’t worry about classes. I don’t worry about football. I just have faith in God that it is all going to be taken care of to the best of my abilities.”
When looking at the roster, many people do not take a moment to think that these athletes have much more going on in their lives than just football. Many of us seem to forget the demands of being a student too.
An example of one of these student-athletes is Curry. Besides being a football player, he is taking 21 credit hours this semester as a student enrolled in the Mendoza College of Business, majoring in management information systems and minoring in theology.
In response to how he manages his time, Curry said that he makes out a schedule every week.
“Everything just somehow gets done. I don’t know where the time goes, especially with spring ball starting.”
Learning how to allocate his time between football and academics has become easier for him in his college career.
“The older I’ve gotten, the better I’ve gotten at handling things and time demands. I’ve learned through experiencing different things, going through hard times and getting through them.”
The Irish will definitely be encountering something different this season, and will be relying on the leadership and experience of its seniors. As fans may have realized, there is so much depth to the team right now that positions are wide open, waiting to be filled. Along with Curry, junior Brandon Hoyte, senior Jerome Collins and senior Courtney Watson are rotating between practicing inside and outside linebacker. Also, senior Mike Goolsby, who is sitting out of spring drills, will also be in the mix come fall.
Curry, who was a starting outside linebacker for the 2002 “Return to Glory” season, helping the Irish to reach their 10-2 regular-season record, has not played inside linebacker since high school.
When asked what he thought about being rotated into inside linebacker at practice, Curry replied, “I like the position, but I like outside too. I’m willing to help the team in any way possible.”
Practice Note: Former University of Oregon star and current Detroit Lions starting quarterback Joey Harrington was at practice today. Harrington was traveling back to Detroit and stopped to visit the campus. The Irish coaching staff and Harrington go way back as Tyrone Willingham tried recruiting him to Stanford.