University of North Carolina Athletics
Curry Expected To Be Out Six Months
October 11, 1999 | Football
Oct. 11, 1999
By DAVID DROSCHAK
AP Sports Writer
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - First it was Brandon Spoon who was lost for the season. Now, Ronald Curry.
What it means is North Carolina (1-4) will attempt a colossal turnaround to what has been a lackluster season without its most touted defensive and offensive players.
Spoon, an all-Atlantic Coast Conference candidate at linebacker, was lost in the second week of the season after rupturing his left biceps tendon against Indiana.
On Saturday, Curry, who had accounted for 66 percent of the Tar Heels' offense, ruptured his Achilles' tendon in the second quarter of a 31-24 overtime loss at No. 8 Georgia Tech.
Curry had surgery Sunday and Dr. Tim Taft said the mobile quarterback and backup point guard on the basketball team will likely be sidelined for six months.
"That's a human tendency to do, say, `Boy, what else can happen?"' coach Carl Torbush said Sunday. "But we've got to find out what we're really made of when adversity has been thrown our way.
"There are several plays to where we could be sitting here 4-1 instead of 1-4, but we're not," Torbush added. "We can't control injuries, they are a part of the game. We've still got some goals and objectives that we can reach this year, but we can't wait any longer. We've got to get it done."
Freshman Luke Huard will get his first start Saturday at home against Houston. Huard has two brothers in the NFL and his father is a high school coach.
"Luke is not only a fine quarterback but he's a student of the game," Torbush said of the team's only quarterback on scholarship other than Curry. "The thing that sets Luke apart from others is he's got great leadership qualities. He has sat by and been a very loyal team member."
Huard, more of a pure passer than the scrambling Curry, was 7-of-15 for 45 yards in his relief role against the Yellow Jackets. He did run for one score and throw for a 2-point conversion.
Torbush said there will be no major changes in the offense with Huard under center.
"There will be certain things that we felt like we could do with Ronald that we don't feel like Luke can adapt to," Torbush said. "But there are also some things we feel Luke can handle that maybe was not Ronald's strong suit. What we have to do is pull out what is best and give Luke and our offense a chance to be successful."
Huard should improve against Houston this weekend after watching film of his mistakes against Georgia Tech, Torbush said.
"I think he'll have a better decision-making process as far as seeing receivers open quicker because he'll see some things (on film) that he couldn't see during the game," Torbush said. "He'll be quicker with his throws and release and his ball security will be better."
The real dilemma for Torbush now comes at backup quarterback, where he plans to take defensive back and special teams player Antwon Black and start giving him some snaps during Tuesday's practice.
Torbush and his staff will discuss Monday who will be the team's third-string quarterback.
