http://www.palatkadailynews.com/articles/2010/08/25/sports/sports01.txt
Mark Blumenthal
JACKSONVILLE - Walter Curry would like to suit up and play one official game in the National Football League.
He would love it more if he could suit up in that game for the home-area Jacksonville Jaguars.
"Yes I would," Curry said. "I'd like to do it for Jack Del Rio."
It's all part of Curry's continual fight to make it to the big time.
It's also understandable why he would love to get the chance to suit up for Team Teal. The Jaguars are the team nearest Crescent City, where he first became known as a football standout at Crescent City Junior-Senior High School from 1997-2000. And after a great career at Albany State in Georgia, the Baltimore Ravens picked him up via free agency, only to release him.
There were the Jaguars to scoop him up. For three straight seasons, Curry tried to earn a roster spot, but always ended up sticking with the practice squad. Three years and five stops later, Curry is back trying to earn a spot with the Big Cats.
For the first two preseason games, Curry is lining up at nose tackle on second team behind Terrance Knighton. In Saturday night's 27-26 Jaguars loss to the Miami Dolphins at EverBank Field, Curry saw quite a bit of action, recording a tackle on the first play from scrimmage of the second half with his stop of Patrick Cobbs after a 4-yard gain.
Seeing quite a bit of action in August is one thing. Seeing it when the summer becomes fall, that's another.
"Yes, sir," when asked if the next step was making it to Tampa for this weekend's game with the Buccaneers. "I want to be on the bus and then on the plane (to Tampa). After that, hopefully in Atlanta (for the final preseason game) and then after that, when they have the big roundtable meeting, I hope my name is on the 53-man roster."
You see, it's hit or miss for the 29-year-old Curry. He has no more practice squad eligibility left because of his three years in Jacksonville. He's either swinging for the fences and connecting to make the roster or he's getting cut and having to find employment elsewhere.
Listen to Curry talk and you'd think everything is all good as he cracks jokes and smiles. To Curry, no obstacle is big enough. That comes from playing at a small school like Crescent City, then going to Division II Albany State, where he earned All-American honors in 2004.
"When I was in high school, we wanted to play all the big schools," Curry said. "When I was in college, we wanted to scrimmage Georgia and Georgia Tech. That was the attitude we had. It's all in the heart.
"Coming from a small town, you have to work harder because you didn't go to a big school where they bring all the scouts," Curry added. "Then going from a small town to a small school (Albany State), you have to fight and work. It grows on you that when you get with all the big boys that played in Division I, all you know is the hard work. Being from a small school, we don't get the spotlight, we're not on TV playing."
When the Jaguars finally let him loose after the 2007 season, Curry, who was allocated to the now-defunct NFL Europa to play for the Rhein Fire and Berlin Thunder while with the Jags, went to the San Francisco 49ers for a short time. He also spent time in the Arena Football League with the San Jose SaberCats in 2008 and did two seasons in the Canadian Football League Toronto Argonauts.
That's six seasons in professional ball with seven different franchises in four different leagues. Curry said he's learned a lot of new things from a lot of different people in his ventures on two continents and three countries.
"I think if I can get a couple of years in the NFL and retire here," Curry joked, "I might go play in the UFL so I can say I played in all the leagues."
Coming back here, Curry had familiarity. Though the roster changed, much of the coaches were still here.
And Del Rio, the Jaguars' head coach and a man Curry has high regard for, was also here.
"I've been around guys in Europe that played six or seven years. I've been with coaches in different places and I've learned a lot. I've mastered my craft and gotten better. I came back here looking at this as a blessing because they gave me another chance. I would love to play for (Del Rio).
"I'm putting in a lot of work with this team," he added. "I think my hard work is going to pay off in the end, but all I can do is control what I do on the field and when they ask me to do something, I will do it."
And for the 6-foot-4, 309-pound Curry, he's doing it with a positive attitude instilled in him by mother Marlene, father Walter Sr. and stepfather Michael Scott. Curry understands this part of the journey could end soon.
But he's had a good time in the process.
"You're going to run into some tough times, but always look at the bright side," he said. "Just have fun. You're still doing something you love and right now, I'm still doing something I love and that's football.
"If they were to tell me that they were tired of me, I would say, 'Thank you for the opportunity again,' and then go somewhere else and play."
Where the fight to make the big time would continue.