State-Journal.com - WHHS' Curry signs with Cards, will likely grayshirt

State Journal/Kelly Mackey Dylan Curry stand in front of (back row) Aaron hall, Tim Reed, Sean Wilkins, Don Miller, Mark Barrett, Mark Matthews, Don Wigglesworth, Craig Fry, (front row) Paul Curry, Missy Curry, Bailey Curry and (obstructed) Rita rector and Logan Curry as he talks to a crowd in the Western Hills auditorium after signing a letter of intent to play for the University of Louisville.

A lot has changed since Western Hills senior Dylan Curry committed to the University of Louisville football program last July.

One thing that didn’t change was Curry’s commitment to the Cardinals.

On Wednesday Curry signed a national letter of intent with U of L during a ceremony in the WHHS auditorium.

Louisville suffered through its second straight losing season last fall and fired head coach Steve Kragthorpe. Florida defensive coordinator Charlie Strong was hired as Louisville’s coach, and a decision was made recently for Curry to grayshirt.

As a grayshirt he won’t enroll as a full-time student at Louisville until January 2011 and that’s when his scholarship will go into effect.

“Other schools were still contacting me after they found out I was going to grayshirt,” Curry said. “They wanted to know if I wanted the opportunity to go out and start playing in the fall.

“I wanted to stick with my decision,” he added. “I talked to coach (Aaron) Hall, coach (Don) Miller and my family. They said this was the first big decision I had to make on my own.”

The decision was to stick with the Cardinals.

“I still love it up there,” Curry said, “and I don’t think I’d be any happier any place else.”

Wednesday’s ceremony took place in front of a crowd wearing more red than can be found in Frankfort outside of a U of L alumni meeting, and it was the perfect way for Curry to continue celebrating his 18th birthday, which was Tuesday.

Curry was part of the resurgence of the Western Hills football program, which posted back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in school history in 2008 and 2009.

Miller has been the coach at WHHS for the past four seasons.

“Dylan is serious and focused when he needs to be,” Miller told the crowd at Wednesday’s signing, “but he has a fun and humorous side that creates a perfect balance.

“He’s a great leader, a positive role model,” he added. “In one word he’s exceptional.”

Curry moved into the starting quarterback role midway through his freshman season and kept it the rest of his high school career.

He finished with over 5,000 passing yards and 1,000 yards rushing. He threw for 36 touchdowns and rushed for 24 more.
“He may not have the most staggering numbers,” Miller said, “but what he means to me, the team, the program speaks louder than any numbers could.

“He’s worked harder than any player I’ve coached to make himself a better athlete.”

Where Curry will play at Louisville hasn’t been decided.

“They’re still talking about tight end,” he said, “but the D-line coach said if he can persuade them, if tight end doesn’t work out he’d like for me to play defensive end.

“That wouldn’t bother me,” Curry added. “I want to get out on the field. It doesn’t matter what position.”

Grayshirting also doesn’t bother Curry. He found out that’s what the coaching staff wanted to do in mid-January.

“Coach (Mike) Sanford said they had a coaches meeting,” Curry said, “and they felt like to get the best out of my playing time and for me to not waste a year this would be the best thing to do.”

The current staff at Louisville isn’t the one that initially recruited Curry, but Curry and his family have gotten to know Strong and his staff in the last few weeks.

“I like the new coaching staff a lot,” Curry said. “They have so much experience and so much football knowledge, it’s all a perfect fit.”

Curry thanked his teammates during a brief speech following his signing.

“In four years you pushed me in ways I didn’t know I could be pushed,” he said, “but I pushed back and we made this something Western Hills can be proud about.

“One thing you can do for me is to keep the program at this level,” he added. “Don’t let it slide.

“I never thought I’d be standing here where I am today. All you have to do is work hard.”