Caden Curry needed only a dozen plays to show why he was one of Ohio State’s most coveted targets in the recruiting class of 2022.
Over the course of 12 defensive snaps last Saturday against Arkansas State – the first defensive snaps of his Ohio State career – Curry recorded four tackles.
He kicked off his second defensive series as a Buckeye by exploding off the edge and burying Arkansas State running back Ja’Quez Cross for a tackle for loss six yards behind the line of scrimmage, then bounced off of two blockers to tackle quarterback A.J. Mayer at the line of scrimmage one play later. He kicked off Ohio State’s next defensive series by splitting two blockers to stop a run for a gain of only two yards, and bounced off a block to make another tackle on his first play on the field on Ohio State’s final defensive series of the game.
That wasn’t all Curry showed in his defensive debut. On one of his first plays in the game, Curry drew the assignment of covering a running back on a wheel route out of the backfield and showed the speed to run stride-for-stride with the smaller back – an impressive feat for a defender who was playing defensive tackle for a high school team just a year ago.
On the penultimate play of the game, Curry helped force an incomplete pass by beating Arkansas State’s left tackle with a spin move across his face.
All of those plays came in the fourth quarter of a game that Ohio State already led by 33 points and after both teams had already taken many of their starters out of the game. But that didn’t make his performance any less impressive in the eyes of Ryan Day.
“1000%,” Day said when asked if he put stock in Curry’s performance despite it occurring late in a blowout win. “I think that's everything. When you step on the field, what are you doing? Are you doing your job? Are you producing? Are you doing the things that we've done in practice? And it doesn't matter what the score is, it shouldn't matter. Especially for a young player with an opportunity to get out there and show what he can do.”
Now, the question is whether Curry’s impressive showing in his defensive debut will lead to more opportunities for the true freshman defensive end to play as the season continues.
So far this season, Curry has been sixth in the defensive end pecking order behind J.T. Tuimoloau, Zach Harrison, Jack Sawyer, Javontae Jean-Baptiste and Tyler Friday. He didn’t play any defensive snaps in the season opener against Notre Dame, and didn’t play until the final snap of the third quarter against Arkansas State.
With so many veteran defensive ends on the depth chart in front of him, Curry says he understands he might not see a ton of playing time this year. But that made him all the more motivated to take advantage of his opportunity when it came on Saturday.
“Really, for me, it was just kind of being able to express myself after being kind of just working as hard as I could for the last six or seven months,” Curry said Wednesday.
Day suggested Tuesday, though, that more playing time could be in order for Curry after his strong initial showing.
“The more he plays, the more he’s gonna probably find a role for himself,” said Ohio State’s head coach. “He's very, very productive. He's been productive since he's got here. You can see that when he's on the field.”
Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles expressed a similar sentiment.
“I think he showed that he can play and he can definitely be in the mix,” Knowles said Tuesday. “He proved himself with step one getting in there and making plays, and that’ll earn him more opportunities.”
While it’s likely Tuimoloau, Harrison and Sawyer will continue to play the majority of snaps at defensive end this season, Curry certainly has made a case for a spot in the rotation behind them. After all, he’s already tied with Harrison for the most tackles among Ohio State defensive ends this season even though he’s played only the sixth-most snaps.
Curry played snaps as both a traditional defensive end with his hand in the dirt and standing up as a Jack linebacker against Arkansas State, giving him versatility Knowles can utilize in his scheme. And Knowles says he’s been impressed with Curry’s skill set since they both arrived at Ohio State in January.
“He's another guy that I noticed from the start when I got here because he has a tremendous first step,” Knowles said. “He's tough. For his size, he's one of those guys that just can get himself into position to make plays and just bounces off people. Twists, turns, pitches a fit.”
Curry’s teammates have also been impressed with how quickly he’s improved in his first year as a Buckeye.
“He's grown extremely well,” said defensive tackle Ty Hamilton. “He's been going up and up since like, first day he's been here, he’s just really good. It’s actually surprising how fast he's grown in such a short amount of time.”
There have been indications throughout the year that Curry is further along in his development than most of the other members of Ohio State’s current freshman class. He was only the second player in the class, after safety Kye Stokes, to have his black stripe removed during spring practices. He was the only scholarship freshman to play any snaps against Notre Dame, as he has played on the wing of Ohio State’s field goal unit for each of the first two games. And now, he looks like he might be the closest of any of Ohio State’s freshmen to earning his way into a consistent role on either defense or offense.
Curry credits his coaches at Center Grove High School (Indiana) with getting him ready to play at the collegiate level.
“They definitely got me prepared the best, I feel like, and they kind of gave me that edge a little bit,” Curry said. “And then getting in here early really helped. And just getting with the strength staff and getting with the nutrition and just eating every day, constantly, just trying to get my weight up definitely helped out.”
Caden Curry felt prepared to make an early impact at Ohio State because of his development at Center Grove High School.
Curry, who says he now weighs 250 pounds, also credits Mickey Marotti and the rest of Ohio State’s strength and conditioning staff with helping him improve his athleticism and physique to allow him to play a variety of roles as an edge defender. He acknowledges he didn’t expect to be covering running backs in space when he first arrived at Ohio State, but he says his development throughout the winter, spring and summer made that possible.
“Every strength coach and the strength staff in the offseason got me prepared for this,” Curry said.
When asked Wednesday if he had received indications that he could play earlier in this week’s game against Toledo, Curry replied affirmatively. But he said his focus is on continuing to work as hard as he has all year rather than on how much playing time he’ll get Saturday.
“I'm just trying to work hard in practice and earn my spot and just kind of just seeing where that can go,” Curry said.
“I think he showed that he can play and he can definitely be in the mix.”– Jim Knowles on Caden Curry’s debut against Arkansas State
Regardless of how much playing time Curry might see over the course of his freshman year, his Ohio State coaches and teammates believe big things are in store for his future.
“He's one heck of a football player,” Day said after Saturday’s game. “I’m glad he’s a Buckeye.”
Ohio State right tackle and fellow Indiana native Dawand Jones, who said he and Curry often travel together when going back and forth between their home state and Columbus, expects Curry to be a star by the time his Ohio State career is done.
“He's gonna be a top-10 player for sure one day,” Jones said.
