http://www.gofrogs.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/101116aab.html
GoFrogs: Curry and His Father Share a Special Bond
By: Jay Hinton, TCU Athletics Communications Staff Writer
FORT WORTH, Texas – TCU senior defensive tackle Aaron Curry and his father share a special bond not many student-athletes and their fathers share: Both have played college athletics.
At times, the 6-foot-2, 270-pound Oklahoma native calls up his dad, Aaron Curry Sr., for advice.
“I ask him for pointers from father to son because he was an athlete in college, and I ask him how he went about gamedays and his rituals,” the younger Curry said.
The elder Curry played basketball for the University of Oklahoma from 1976-80 and was a member of the 1979 Big Eight championship team. He is 23rd on OU’s all-time scoring list with 1,237 points. He was a third-round pick of the New Jersey Nets in 1980.
“I am blessed with that,” the younger Curry said. “He was a top athlete back in his day, and he’s already been through the things I am going through. I have that to rely on, and it’s a blessing.”
Curry relied on that, at times, during the 2014 season, when he was forced to sit out a season per the NCAA transfer rule.
Curry, who prepped at Keller Fossil Ridge High School, was ranked among the top 50 defensive tackles in the country by Scout.com and Rivals.com. He was an all-district selection as a senior when he totaled 59 tackles, three sacks and a forced fumble. As a junior, he recorded 68 total tackles, including four sacks.
He spent his first two collegiate seasons at the University Nebraska before returning home to Texas to play in his backyard for the Horned Frogs.
“It’s a blessing, honestly (to be back home),” he said. “My family gets to come to all my home games and watch me play. When I was at Nebraska, they didn’t have that opportunity.”
While sitting out, Curry used the time to hone his skills and learn the Horned Frog way.
“It was tough to sit out a year and to see how well they did that season — the Peach Bowl year — and I couldn’t play,” he said. “It gave me time to reflect on myself and work on my craft and to perfect my craft. It gave me extra time to go over the calls and watch a lot of film on how we play defense. I had guys like Chuckie (Hunter), D.P. (Davion Pierson) and Mike Tuaua to help me with the defense.”
Curry suited up for the first time as a Frog in the 2015 season opener at the University of Minnesota, and he finished with five tackles.
“I was so excited,” said Curry, who will graduate in December with a degree in criminal justice. “Taking that year off was tough, so to be out there — and especially with the boys who I didn’t get to opportunity to play with the previous season — it was exciting. I was happy.”
In 2015, he made eight starts (12 appearances) and recorded a career-high 41 tackles, in addition to four tackles for loss and three sacks.
Curry is now passing along the knowledge he has learned to the underclassmen.
“I appreciated what they did for me,” Curry said. “Coach Patterson always talks about the tradition that’s here and the older guys always teaching the younger guys, and I’m in that role right now. I’m the older guy and with all the freshmen coming in, I need to pass along everything I was taught.”
Now, he’s poised to help the Frogs improve on their season.
“I’m blessed to be playing every day and I’m going to give it my best,” he said.