Excited by offer, 2022 tackle Curry eager to visit UVa

Houston Curry wants to set the record straight.

The senior offensive tackle measures 6-foot-7—a full foot taller than he was listed following one accidental slip of the thumb on social media—and, as his Twitter bio describes it, weighs in at “265 (pounds) and counting.”

Curry has always been one of the tall kids, he says, growing steadily through his junior year at Simpsonville (SC) Hillcrest. But he’s also been lean, weighing closer to 230 pounds last summer prior to his senior season. With the goal of playing college football at the Power 5 level, Curry knows he needs to keep adding mass to his frame.

“I’m still trying to gain some,” he admitted to CavsCorner this week. “Still working out hard. Still making sure I’m getting enough food in my body.”

It’s been a big week for Curry, whose recruitment has been picking up steam as the February Signing Day approaches. He’s up to 13 offers, with the two most recent being the most significant. Last Friday, Washington State became the first Power 5 school to offer; on Wednesday, Virginia became the second.

That UVa offer came during an in-home visit—it was originally supposed to happen at Hillcrest before snow forced school to be canceled—from offensive line coach Garett Tujague. Before offering, Tujague spent about 45 minutes selling the university and his coaching style, and discussing UVa’s need to replenish its depth on the offensive line after losing the top six players from last year’s veteran group.

“We definitely had a good talk. The conversation definitely ended the way I was hoping,” Curry said. “I’m still kind of processing everything. It’s all going really fast. But I was definitely really excited about it for sure.”

Curry had sent film to UVa a few times during his senior season, but it wasn’t until earlier this month that he first heard from Tujague.

“I was actually sitting in the gym locker room before school one day,” he recalled, “I just opened up Twitter and I saw it and I was pretty shocked.”

Because of his size, Curry has played on the offensive line since his football career began. He’s also the first baseman and cleanup hitter for the Hillcrest baseball team and intends to finish his high school career on the diamond this spring. He believes that athleticism has always made him a stronger football player in pass protection, and has worked on his footwork and techniques to become a better run blocker.

After missing his entire 11th grade football season—Curry had to have surgery on his right elbow after a pitching injury suffered the summer prior to his junior year—he earned SCFCA 5A all-state honors as Hillcrest’s starting left tackle. He played right tackle in last month’s annual North-South All-Star Game.

Tujague had been in daily contact with Curry via phone call or text message for about two weeks leading up to Wednesday morning’s visit. Every few days, the O-line coach had shared minute-long videos of encouragement, so Curry went into the face-to-face meeting with a good sense of Tujague’s passion for his job and love of the game.

The O-line coach is the only member of the UVa staff that Curry has been in contact with. He’s eager to visit Virginia later this month, to meet the Cavaliers’ other coaches and players and get a feel for the university and facilities.

“I’m definitely looking forward to it,” Curry said. “It’ll be one that I remember for the rest of my life.”

He also intends to fly cross-country to Pullman to visit Washington State before making any decision on his college football future. Details of those visits are still being worked out, but Curry plans to be at one school this weekend and then the other the following weekend.

Curry is still getting bigger; so are his college options. These are opportunities that the 6-foot-7, 265-pound (and counting) lineman isn’t taking for granted.

“It’s been my lifelong dream to play Power 5 football,” he said, “and just to see that I’m close to reaching that goal, it’s pretty awesome.”

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