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Sept. 29, 2003
Cavalier fans have grown accustomed to seeing senior cornerback Almondo “Muffin” Curry around the ball and making the big plays. It should come as no surprise, then, that the player who has led the ACC defensive backs in sacks for two consecutive seasons got his start playing football with a youth league team called the Tornadoes. What might be surprising is that on his first touch of the ball, he lined up as a running back and scored a touchdown.
“I was always around football,” said Curry, whose uncles played the sport and introduced him to it at an early age. “All the kids in the neighborhood played. When I was six I wanted to join them.”
Join them he did, hooking up with the Hampton Tornadoes and Coach Keith, who has remained in Curry’s life as a mentor to this day. “I still keep in touch with him,” said Curry. Coach Keith continues to make trips to Charlottesville to see his former player, who sports a very different facemask than from his early days in football.
“I had a birdcage facemask,” recalls Curry. “It was not a very common type in our area, but it was all I had. It didn’t seem to matter when I was making the plays,” he added with a laugh as he recalled his days with the Tornadoes.
Curry moved on from the Tornadoes and up the ranks to Hampton High School where he won four state titles as the Crabbers went 53-2 during Curry’s four years there. He saw action primarily on the offensive side of the ball both at Hampton and at Fork Union Military Academy before shifting to the other side of the field as a freshman at Virginia.
“I had played defense at Hampton,” recalled Curry, who earned All-Region honors in high school as a defensive back. “So it wasn’t unfamiliar to me.”
Curry soon became more familiar with playing in the secondary as a Cavalier. He started at cornerback for the first time as a sophomore when the Cavaliers played North Carolina. He responded with five solo tackles. He started every game for the rest of the season, finishing with three quarterback sacks, the most ever by a Virginia cornerback. One of those sacks came as Curry tackled Clemson quarterback Woodrow Dantzler, causing him to fumble. Virginia recovered and went on to upset the Tigers 26-24. “It was a big win for us on the road,” remembered Curry. The next week Curry sacked the Duke quarterback twice, marking the first time that a Virginia cornerback had recorded a multi-sack game.
“Football is a competitive sport,” said Curry. “You just have to have the mentality to play football.”
That mentality is very evident to his teammates, who selected Curry as a team captain for the 2003 season. “It is an honor for me,” said Curry. “It is important for me and co-captain Matt Schaub to lead the way.”
Curry, who is listed at 5-foot-8, 175 pounds, makes no apologies for being one of the smallest cornerbacks in the league. “I have always been a physical player,” he said. “I just set my goals high and I refuse to let anything get in my way.”
Virginia head coach Al Groh recognizes Curry’s competitiveness, stating “he is a highly competitive player and has an excellent team attitude.”
Curry has high goals, including helping the Cavaliers in the continued resurgence of the football program. He points to the upset 48-22 win over #15 West Virginia in the Continental Tire Bowl last season as a significant step in the process. In that game, Curry disrupted a Mountaineer trick play by forcing wide receiver Phil Braxton to throw a bad pass that was intercepted by teammate Darryl Blackstock. The interception set up a Wali Lundy touchdown run with 19 seconds to go in the second quarter, giving the Cavaliers a 28-10 lead at halftime. Early in the third quarter, Curry intercepted a Mountaineer pass and returned it 26 yards to set up a field goal to help the Cavaliers extend their lead to 31-10. He also made four tackles in the game as the Hoos overwhelmed the Mountaineers and ended the 2002 season ranked #22 in the final AP poll.
“We proved a lot to people in that game,” recalled Curry. “There were many people who had counted us out, and I saw that as a challenge.”
Among Curry’s fans in the stands is his daughter, Dayz’ja, who lives in Hampton with her mother. She can often be seen in a cheerleading outfit, adding her voice to the many Cavalier fans that are standing in support of their team. Her father started playing football when he was her age, dazzling his teammates and opponents. Now, he still continues to impress those who watch him impact every game.