Curtis shines in Blue-White game
Kevin Curtis knows how to play football.
The senior picked up where he left off last season, catching five passes for 127 yards and three touchdowns in the annual Blue-White game Friday at Romney Stadium.
He led the white squad to a 35-6 defeat of the blue squad.
Curtis finished the Aggies’ two spring scrimmages with six touchdowns in nine catches.
And no one is complaining.
“I’m sure glad he is on our team,” Utah State football Head Coach Mick Dennehy said. “He is a good player.”
Curtis went in for his first TD of the night off a quick pass from senior quarterback Jose Fuentes.
One of Curtis’ brightest moments came off a pass by Fuentes. It wasn’t pretty though.
Redshirt freshman cornerback Cornelius Lamb and Curtis realized the ball was behind them. Lamb made the adjustment to actually catch the ball for what looked like an interception but lost it when the ball bounced off his chest.
Curtis said he was fortunate for the ball to end up in his hands because he was only trying to knock it away from Lamb to avoid the pick.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been so lucky in my life,” Curtis said. “I turned around and the ball was sitting there. Lucky. I don’t know what else to say.”
Curtis’ final catch of the night looked a little easier and a lot prettier. He teamed up with senior quarterback Jeff Crosbie on a pass from eight yards out.
Dennehy had nothing but praise for Curtis after the game.
“The thing you love about Kevin Curtis is that he is confident. He knows how to play, yet there is not a guy on our team that works any harder at getting better,” Dennehy said. “That’s a great example to some of your younger guys.”
Someone to look up to will be important come fall to the underclassmen. Dennehy said he was pleased with the offense and defense of the first unit but was slightly concerned about the other squad.
“I’m a little disappointed,” he said. “The younger guys need a little bit more of a competitive attitude. Hopefully they will come back hungrier in the fall. I think they have gotten better, seen some improvement. We certainly need more than our first team guys ready to go.”
Sophomore Reggie Willson showed the kind of spirit Dennehy was looking for as he went for a 59-yard interception return for a touchdown. Willson said he was simply at the right place at the right time.
“The ball was a little tipped behind the receiver, I just broke on it,” he said.
Wide receiver Gary Coleman and running back David Fiefia capped off the Aggies’ scoring with a 35-yard and 1-yard touchdown, respectively.
Tailback Roger Fernandez, a contender to replace Emmett White, led all rushers with 74 yards and eight carries.
“He got some tough yards. You need to be willing to do that. He ran the ball as hard as I’ve seen him run it,” Dennehy said.
Fuentes led all quarterbacks, passing for 151 yards on 7-of-12 tries. Sophomore Travis Cox went for 59 yards on 4-of-7 attempts, followed by Crosbie who had 56 yards on 6-of-15 attempts.
As far as Curtis is concerned, he said he knows he will be a marked man this season and there is only one thing he can do about it.
“I’m just going to do my job,” he said.
The most important thing about spring football though – “We didn’t get anybody killed,” Dennehy said.